Triticale Flours: Composition, Properties and Utilization

Triticale (X Triticosecale Wittmack) is an artificial hybrid of wheat (Triticum sp.) and rye (Secale sp.) first bred in laboratories during the late 19 century. In little more than a century, triticale has developed from a biological curiosity to a practical crop. Plant breeders have made efforts to overcome main problems of triticale: preharvest sprouting, susceptibility to diseases, sensitivity to photoperiod, and production of shriveled grains. Triticale world production is in constant growth, in 2005 15,000,000 t were produced all over the world. Today, it is used as forage or grain. The chemical composition of triticale has similarities with wheat and rye, showing intermediate values in many of the parameters. Due to presence of rye proteins, triticale flours have low gluten content, deficient gluten viscoelasticity, and, consequently, produce breads with inferior quality than wheat. However, triticale is still an alternative for human food, essentially in areas where soil and climate conditions limit wheat growth. In Latin America triticale performs well in southern semi-arid regions and in Brazilian acid soils. In some parts of eastern and northern Europe where wholemeal flours are used today for breadmaking, triticale breeding is increasing progressively. In this article we approach the aspects linked with the utilization of triticale flours for human consumption. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________