Semolina and Its Features

Semolina is the product of milling process of durum what which is used to produce different types of pasta.

Semolina is a term derived from Italian word “semola” which in Latin language is called “simila”. The semolina tasken from durum wheat is called “sooji” in India and “semolina irmik” in Turkey .

Milling of wheat into flour is a process that is fulfilled in grooved still rollers. The spaces between them is slightly narrower than the width of wheat kernels. Therefore, as the wheat is fed into the mill, the rollers flake off the bran and germ while the starch or endosperm remains through sieve. The particles which separates from enoscope is called semolina.

The semolina made from durum wheat is amber yellow in colour and is usually used in production of dried products such as pasta (noodles, vermicelli, ribbon, and long noodles), couscous (in north of Africa) and bulgur in Turkey , Cyprus and the Middle East ). When flour comes from softer types of wheat it is white in colour which, in this case it is called flour, not semolina. In United States coarse flour coming from softer types of wheat is called farina.

Among key features of durum wheat is the hardness of grain, amber yellow colour, and aromatic taste. When it is converted into macaroni its cooking quality is good and shows high resistance during cooking.

In some countries including Italy, France, and Greece the law stipulates that macaroni should be made merely from durum wheat and any use of other cereals is considered a fraudulent act.

The semolina earned from durum wheat, in addition to higher quantity of protein, has high-quality type of protein. Uniformity of grain and grain size and minimum starch existing in the grain have caused good water absorption even in mixing time (for producing pasta) and elastic strong protein network properties. When macaroni is produced with semolina and then the macaroni is cooked, firstly, minimum water loss will occur and secondly, its texture will remain stable and uniform till the time of consumption.

The main pigmets existing in semolina are lutein and xanthophyll which are of carotenoid family. These pigments have ve ry strong antioxidant properties and they have been proved to be heathy and to have therapeutic effects including preventing cancer, cardiovascular diseases and cataract. They are untinflammation and decrease the formation of skin, lung, kidney, and large intestine tumors. Furthermore, carotenoids improve immunity system of body and thud shorten the cure period and eriod of hospitalization for surgical operations. One other feature of carotenoids is that they facilitate absorption of iron by body.

Nutritional Value of Semolina Macaroni

Macaroni is a healthy food which has very little fat and is full of complex carbohydrates and useful proteins. The nutritional and improving properties of pasta are mainly result of having protein, fibers, vitamins, and minerals. A lot of researches have been made on nutritional properties of pasta. These researches show that using pasta increases the sugar of blood much lesser in comparison to eating white bread and considerably decreases the probability of catching type 2 diabetes. As a low-priced food, macaroni can improve nutrition quality in developed countries and may alleviate the effects of malnutrition in developing countries. Macaroni, as a unique compound in respect of price, easiness of supply, variety, nutritional value, and endurance has given it an important role in world demand.

Sources

1. Wayne Gisslen (2001), Professional Baking, John Wiley & Sons

2. Grain Product Basis – Semolina and Cousous

3. Semolina popularly referred as SEMO is a common food in West Africa especially among Nigerians. It is eaten as either lunvh or dinner with stew or soup. It is prepared just like Eba (Cassava Flour) or Fufu with water and boiled for 5 to 10 minutes. “Couscoius”. www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu.

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