Durum wheat

This article is about the cultivar of wheat. For the Turkish döner wrap, see dürüm.
Not to be confused with Durham (disambiguation).

Durum
Durum wheat
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Pooideae
Genus: Triticum
Species:
T. durum
Binomial name
Triticum durum
Synonyms[1]
List
    • Triticum accessorium Flaksb. nom. inval.
    • Triticum alatum Peterm.
    • Triticum algeriense Desf. ex Mert. & W.D.J.Koch nom. inval.
    • Triticum bauhinii Lag.
    • Triticum brachystachyum Lag. ex Schult. & Schult.f. nom. inval.
    • Triticum candissimum Bayle-Bar.
    • Triticum caucasicum Flaksb. nom. inval.
    • Triticum cevallos Lag.
    • Triticum cochleare Lag.
    • Triticum densiusculum Flaksb. nom. inval.
    • Triticum fastuosum Lag.
    • Triticum hordeiforme Host
    • Triticum laxiusculum Flaksb. nom. inval.
    • Triticum longisemineum Flaksb. nom. inval.
    • Triticum maurorum Sennen nom. inval.
    • Triticum molle Roem. & Schult. nom. inval.
    • Triticum orientale Flaksb. nom. inval.
    • Triticum platystachyum Lag.
    • Triticum pruinosum Hornem.
    • Triticum pyramidale Percival
    • Triticum rarum Flaksb. nom. inval.
    • Triticum rimpaui Mackey
    • Triticum siculum Roem. & Schult.
    • Triticum tanaiticum Flaksb. nom. inval.
    • Triticum tiflisiense Flaksb. nom. inval.
    • Triticum tomentosum Bayle-Bar.
    • Triticum transcaucasicum Flaksb. nom. inval.
    • Triticum trevisium Desv. nom. inval.
    • Triticum venulosum Ser.
    • Triticum villosum Host

Durum wheat[2] (/ˈdjʊərəm/), also called pasta wheat[3] or macaroni wheat (Triticum durum or Triticum turgidum subsp. durum),[4] is a tetraploid species of wheat.[5] It is the second most cultivated species of wheat after common wheat, although it represents only 5% to 8% of global wheat production.[6] It was developed by artificial selection of the domesticated emmer wheat strains formerly grown in Central Europe and the Near East around 7000 BC, which developed a naked, free-threshing form.[7] Like emmer, durum wheat is awned (with bristles). It is the predominant wheat that grows in the Middle East.

Durum in Latin means 'hard', and the species is the hardest of all wheats. This refers to the resistance of the grain to milling, in particular of the starchy endosperm, causing dough made from its flour to be weak or "soft". This makes durum favorable for semolina and pasta and less practical for flour, which requires more work than with hexaploid wheats such as common bread wheats. Despite its high protein content, durum is not a strong wheat in the sense of giving strength to dough through the formation of a gluten network. Durum contains 27% extractable wet gluten, about 3% higher than common wheat (T. aestivum L.).[8]

  1. ^ "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species". Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  2. ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "​Triticum durum​". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  3. ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  4. ^ "Triticum durum". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  5. ^ "Wheat". Archived from the original on 2014-03-30.
  6. ^ "Global durum wheat use trending upward". world-grain.com. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  7. ^ "Triticum (genus)". Biodiversity explorer. Archived from the original on 2008-10-10.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference zilic was invoked but never defined (see the help page).