Cereal Chem 57:421 - 425.  |  VIEW ARTICLE
Wheat Hardness: Comparison of Methods of Its Evaluation.

W. Obuchowski and W. Bushuk. Copyright 1980 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

Twelve measurements obtained with two different models of the Brabender Hardness Tester, two (new and used) Strong Scott Barley Pearlers, and a Brabender Quadrumat Junior mill, were assessed for their potential as indices of wheat grain hardness and for their ability to differentiate cultivars within a wheat class. The wheat hardness index, flour yield, and grinding torque, all obtained with the two-step Brabender Hardness Tester, gave the same ranking of the cultivars examined. Particle size index, obtained with the Quadrumat mill, also ranked the cultivars in the same order except that the differences between samples were, in some cases, smaller than the experimental error. Pearling resistance index, obtained with the Strong Scott barley pearler, did not give the same ranking as the other methods did. This discrepancy was attributed to differences in bran properties rather than in endosperm hardness. The results of all methods of hardness evaluation were dependent on moisture content. The moisture content of maximum discrimination varied somewhat among the methods investigated.