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The introduction of high temperature (HT) drying (60°C to 80°C) and ultra-high temperature (UHT) drying (80°C to 110°C) of pasta (Pollini, 1996) have influenced durum wheat quality specifications in recent years. HT and UHT drying produce pasta of acceptable or even superior cooking quality from mediocre quality raw material (Malcolmson et al., 1993). HT and UHT drying can also improve pasta color, but care must be taken to ensure that Maillard (non-enzymatic) browning reactions are minimized (Dexter et al., 1984). Gluten strength has less influence on the cooking quality of HT and UHT pasta compared to LT pasta (D'Egidio et al., 1990). Nevertheless, gluten strength remains an important durum wheat specification. Gluten index (Cubadda et al., 1992) and physical dough tests, particularly the mixograph and the alveograph, are widely used (Dick and Youngs, 1988; D'Egidio et al., 1990).
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