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Effect of Kiln Drying on Falling Number of Oats

¹University of Helsinki, Department of Food Technology P.O. Box 27, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki. ²Corresponding author. Phone: +358 0 191 58236. Fax: +358 0 191 58463. E-mail: tiina.kaarlehto@helsinki.fi

The suitability of the falling number method for oats was studied using samples of oat groats, oat bran, oat endosperm flour, and rolled oats. Sample sizes of 4.5–8 g were tested. The results showed that a standard 7-g sample falling number determination would be suitable for oats, the falling number of samples varying from 328 to 721 sec. Due to high gelatinization temperature of oat starch, falling number values <300 sec showed greater variation than those >300 sec. Oat groat samples from two separate kiln drying processes showed that kiln drying increased the falling number values by 30–89%. The falling number determination is a potential tool for estimating the adequacy of kiln drying of oats. However, further modifications of the method should be developed to better consider the pasting properties of oat starch.