Comparison of industrial and homemade bulgur produced from einkorn wheat (Triticum monococcum) and durum wheat (Triticum durum): Physicochemical, nutritional and microtextural properties

Abstract

Einkorn (Triticum monococcum) is a diploid hulled wheat which is still cultivated inTurkey, Italy, and some Balkan countries. Bulgur is a parboiled or steamed, dry and partially debranned whole wheat product. Although bulgur is produced generally from durum wheat in many countries, Einkorn bulgur is a traditional food widely known and produced in the countries where grown and cultivated Einkorn. Provided that the basic production method remains the same, some preparing techniques can be changed and produced as industrially and homemade. Depending on the process and raw materials, physicochemical and nutritional properties of bulgur can vary. In this study, the impact of bulgur production processing on the einkorn and durum wheats was investigated for the first time. The physicochemical analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and ICP-OES techniques were applied to the comparison of the wheat and bulgur samples. Practical applications: The differences between the microstructural properties of Einkorn and durum wheat/bulgur were shown with the SEM micrographs. While the physicochemical properties were not been affected by the production method of einkorn bulgur, they were affected by the type of the wheat. Furthermore, the boiling method of the einkorn bulgur samples affected the appearance of the microstructural texture. The traditional shape and size of the einkorn bulgur were found inappropriate to the present Turkish Food Codex bulgur communiqué. Moreover, einkorn bulgur contained higher amount ash and fat content, and of trace and major elements especially in terms of Zn, Fe, and Al.