Determination of the cooking degree for bulgur production using amylose/iodine, centre cutting and light scattering methods

In the present study, the amylose/iodine and light scattering methods were used to determine the cooking degree based on starch gelatinization for the production of bulgur as alternative to traditionally used centre cutting method. Cooking operation was carried out at boiling temperature (97 °C) using Triticum durum wheat for 130 min. The cooking degree was controlled using the three methods and the deformation degree of the intact wheat kernels. It was found that the gelatinization values obtained from the amylose/iodine method were higher than the others up to reaching 100% cooking degree. The results for the cutting method were same with the light scattering method. The optimum cooking time was determined as 40 min. Excess cooking caused significant deformation on the intact wheat kernel during the cooking operation. Both alternative methods i.e. amylose/iodine and light scattering can be used to the control of cooking system. In addition, the light scattering method can be preferred in the automation having bulgur production systems.