Processing and quality aspects of bulgur from Triticum durum

Abstract

Background and objectives Bulgur is an important food source in many countries around the world. In North America, its consumption is increasing as it can be used as a more nutritious quick cooking substitute to rice. The main processing steps of bulgur from Triticum durum are reviewed including the comparison of different technologies for cooking, drying, debranning, and milling of bulgur and the effects of processing on the nutritional components of the grain. Findings Every step of the production process is crucial to final product quality. Cooking methods include parboiling, autoclave, microwave, and steam, with autoclaving being the most used technique but disadvantages include higher losses of water‐soluble vitamins and some reports of color deterioration. Air, forced air, vacuum, microwave, and infrared dryers, as well sun and solar drying, have all been investigated with infrared and microwave drying being promising novel methods for drying bulgur after cooking. Different types of mills can be used for bulgur particle size reduction, and choice of mill will depend on size requirements; however, all bulgur should be larger than 0.5 mm with an ovoid shape and smooth exterior. Nutritional benefits of bulgur include relatively high protein and fiber content, resistant starch, B vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals such as lutein and ferulic acid. Conclusions Color is a much studied quality attribute; however, its importance to non‐traditional consumers is unknown. Research is lacking on whole grain (minimally debranned) bulgur and the optimization of nutritional quality in conjunction with processing parameters. Due to the partial debranning, there is wide variability in the reported fiber content of bulgur; however, overall it would be nutritionally beneficial to include bulgur in one's diet. Significance and novelty The production steps of bulgur are clarified and reviewed with consideration to the macro‐ and micronutrient content. This review will allow for future research on bulgur to increase its utilization as a low‐cost value‐added plant‐based food.

Drying Behavior of Bulgur and Its Effect on Phytochemical Content

“…It is important to mention that despite this decrease, no significant difference was found between the two drying methods. This might be due to the use of the same low temperature of 60 °C, which was reported to have the highest retention of total phenolic and yellow pigment content in the bulgur [ 25 , 39 ].…”

“…Bulgur production involves several steps: cooking, drying, tempering, and debranning [ 23 , 24 , 25 ]. Due to the importance of drying, several researchers have tried to model moisture diffusion in parboiled wheat [ 26 , 27 , 28 ] and wheat [ 29 , 30 ].…”

Biochemical and nutritional properties of wheat bulgur: A review

“…Bulgur is a multipurpose food that can be used in salads, soups, baked goods, stuffing, casseroles, and meat substitutes in vegetarian recipes. Its popularity is growing in North America because it is usually utilized as a healthier, faster‐cooking substitute for rice (Stone et al, 2020) Since the whole grain council (WGC) recognized bulgur as a whole grain, it has become more widely available in the United States and Europe (Erbaş et al, 2016).…”

Effect of soaking time and temperature on water absorption capacity and dimensional changes of bulgur

“…Soaking process could be added as a step of bulgur process for common bean bulgur (Ertaş and Türker, 2012) or soybean bulgur (Bayram et al, 2004) in order to decrease the antinutritional compounds, that is, 57% of phytic acid decrease is observed on common bean bulgur, at the end of process. Bulgur has high nutritional properties since it contains high content of dietary fiber (5.2–12.5 g/100 g) and vitamins (Stone et al., 2020). These contents are directly influenced by cooking (Dueck et al, 2020) and drying methods (Kadakal et al., 2007).…”