Principles of Cereal Science and Technology, Third Edition Authors: Jan A. Delcour, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium and R. Carl Hoseney, R&R Research Services, Manhattan, Kansas, U.S.A. ISBN: 978-1-891127-63-2

Front cover photograph of piles of flour taken by Lieve Lamberts and Luc Van den Ende, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2009910724

International Standard Book Number: 978-1-891127-63-2

©1986, 1994, 2010 by AACC International, Inc.
Published 1986. Third Edition 2010
All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, including photocopy, microfilm, information storage and retrieval system, computer database or software, or by any other means, including electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper

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Preface to the Third Edition

If I have seen further it is by standing on ye shoulders of Giants.
–Issac Newton to Robert Hooke, February 6, 1676

Fifteen years have elapsed since one of us (R. Carl Hoseney) completed the second edition of Principles of Cereal Science and Technology. The book has been used around the globe as a textbook for students beginning their studies of cereal science. It has also been useful to many industry professionals, particularly those who came to the industry with a limited background in cereal science.

In a discussion of what a next version would need to bring, the two of us came to the conclusion that so much had changed in cereal science and technology that a total reediting, development of current views, and additions on specific hitherto uncovered topics would be necessary. At the same time, we felt that we needed to take advantage of progress in publication technology to make the text more attractive to read or study. Also, we thought that the book would need to introduce a European perspective on specific aspects, including terminology, to make it more universal. Finally, we felt strongly that this edition should follow the lead of the first two editions and be written for beginners in the field. We thus did not position it as a reference book but instead as a basic background for those who are just starting their study of cereals.

As stated above, in the past decades, many profound developments have occurred in cereal science and technology. This made it necessary for us to critically review, update, and reorganize each and every chapter of the former version. Enzyme technology in general, and enzyme applications in cereal processing and cereal-based food systems in particular, have advanced so much that we have introduced up-to-date information on specific starch-, nonstarch polysaccharide-, and lipid-degrading enzymes and their day-today use to improve cereal processing and/or final product quality. Examples of thorough changes further include an up-to-date view of starch rheological behavior, the concept of enzyme-resistant starch, and views on bread firming and on the way pasta product quality can be related both to raw material characteristics and processing conditions. New developments further prompted us to profoundly revise the sections on gluten proteins and on industrial gluten-starch separation. We further more thoroughly dealt with the way that gluten functionality in breadmaking can be impacted by ascorbic acid. We also thoroughly revised the chapter on cookies and cakes.

Both of us gratefully acknowledge that we stand on the shoulders of our personal giants. They brought us to where we are today. Also, in our careers, our students, our colleagues, and our industry contacts have been our true teachers because of the way they have continuously challenged us in their search for answers to basic scientific questions as well as for solutions to technical problems. In particular, we are extremely grateful to former and present staff members at both the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium and Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS. We also thank the many people who allowed us to use their figures and data. We are also indebted to those who improved the quality of and/or made new figures for us; they are acknowledged in the legends of the figures. We acknowledge with thanks the work of Sabine Vercruysse for painstakingly making the figures much more uniform and thus more readable and to the staff of AACC International for guidance through the production process and patience with the highly opinionated authors. Special thanks go to Luc Van den Ende, to Lieve Lamberts, and to Bram Pareyt for providing a concept for the book cover; to our colleagues Guido Aerts and Guy Derdelinckx for their suggestions for the malting and brewing chapter; and to our colleagues Jon Faubion, Khalil Khan, and Perry Ng for their suggestions for text improvements.

Finally, we hope that you, the reader, will not hesitate to inform us of your suggestions for further improvement of the book and that you will enjoy reading it as much as we have enjoyed writing it.

Jan A. Delcour
R. Carl Hoseney

Preface to the Second Edition

In the eight years or so since the first edition of this book appeared, the field of cereal chemistry has continued to grow and, I am afraid, also has become more complicated. Few people in the field were studying the rheology of doughs in the early 1980s, but in this edition it merits a chapter. The same is true of glass transitions and their tremendous influence on cereals and their products. Also, in this edition, the chapter on proteins has been split into two chapters, with one concentrating on the gluten proteins, an area in which advances are rapidly being made. The other new chapter in this edition is a short one on feed, as the feeding of animals consumes large quantities of cereal products. Additions and corrections were made to almost all the previous chapters. I would like to thank those who pointed out our errors, both of omission and commission, in the first edition and hope that you will do so with this edition.

The objective of this edition stays the same as it was previously, that is, to form a base for your study of cereal science. It is hoped that with this background you can go to the standard reference works in cereals. I have had people tell me that the first edition was not a good reference work. I agree; it was not intended to be. I also hope that readers learn that the study of cereals is fun and that it remains fun for them, as it has for me for the last 35 years.

I would like to thank the many people who allowed me to use their figures and data. They are acknowledged in the credits section at the end of the book. I also would like to thank Deirdre Bath and Boetel for their help in getting this edition together and Jon Faubion, Huifen He, and Arlene Hamamoto for critically reading all or parts of the manuscript.

R. Carl Hoseney

Preface to the First Edition

The field of cereal science and technology is very broad and complicated. Cereals are complex biochemical entities that vary in composition and properties from year to year, from location to location, and from one cultivar to another. Cereal science is also complicated by the fact that the same raw material may be used to make different products. Therefore, the definition of “good quality” for a cereal such as wheat changes depending upon whether the wheat is used to make a loaf of bread or a cookie.

To understand cereals and their processing into products, the cereal scientist must be a jack-of-all-trades. He or she must understand chemistry (all areas), biochemistry, physics, engineering, and many other sciences. In addition, the scientist must also understand the “art” of the cookie baker and the brewmaster. Clearly, no one will accomplish all of these. Those of us who have mellowed with age in the field have long since reconciled ourselves to the fact that we cannot understand it all. We have forgotten how difficult this is for the new, bright, idealistic student to accept.

The purpose of this book is to provide such students with a basic background, something that they can stand on as they start their studies of how cereals work. In an attempt to accomplish that goal, the book is written as a text, not simply as a reference book. I hope that it will provide the student with the necessary background to understand the reference books listed at the end of the chapters. I also hope that the students using this book will find, as I have, that the study of cereal science is fun!

Many people allowed me to use their figures and data or gave permission for figures and tables to be reprinted. In the interests of simplicity, the credits for the figures are given in a section at the end of the book.

I would also like to thank many other people for their help with the book, particularly those students who have sat through my many hours of lecture and asked the key questions that made me realize that I was not explaining something clearly. I thank Kathy Zeleznak and Art Davis for their help with the figures, Judy Toburen for her typing, and Walter Bushuk and Y. Pomeranz for reviewing the manuscript.

R. Carl Hoseney