Maida is a type of wheat flour originated from the Indian subcontinent.[1][2]

Production

Maida is made from the endosperm: the starchy white part of the grain. The bran is separated from the germ and endosperm which is then refined by passing through a sieve of 80 mesh per inch (31 mesh per centimeter).[3] Although naturally yellowish due to pigments present in wheat, maida is typically bleached, either naturally due to atmospheric oxygen, or with any of a number of flour bleaching agents.[4]

While it is milled from winter wheat that has a high gluten content, heat generated during the milling process results in denaturing of the protein, limiting its use in the preparation of leavened breads.[5]

Controversy

A common misconception is that maida contains alloxan, which itself is banned in a lot of countries for usage in food, added as a bleaching agent or formed as a byproduct of bleaching.[6] While it is a minor product of xanthophyll oxidation, there is no evidence that trace amounts of alloxan formed comprise a health risk.[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Manu Vipin (2011-10-31). "A life without bread and pasta? Unthinkable!". Times of India. Retrieved 2012-04-22.
  2. ↑ Sharon Tyler Herbst and Ron Herbst. "The Food Lover's Companion - Fourth edition by Barron's Educational Series (2007)". Retrieved 2014-07-05.
  3. ↑ "Patent US5114079 - Simplified method and apparatus for producing white flour from wheat grain".
  4. ↑ "Patent US2433611 - Bleaching of wheat flour and like milled products".
  5. ↑ "Patent US6098905 - Method for producing an atta flour".
  6. ↑ "Why this Kolaveri against Kerala porotta?". The Times of India. 10 July 2013.
  7. ↑ Schwarcz, Joe (2003), Alloxan (PDF), Department of Chemistry McGill University: Office of Science and Society, p. 1, archived from the original on September 15, 2011, retrieved September 10, 2011{{citation}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.