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As discussed previously, there seems to be little benefit to pasta cooking quality when gluten strength of LMW-2 genotypes is increased, particularly when drying by HT or UHT. In this study differences in pasta firmness made from 100% of a given contemporary Canadian cultivar were not statistically significant by either HT or UHT (Fig. 4). All exhibited superior pasta firmness compared to 100% Stewart 63 semolina. Greater gluten strength for LMW-2 genotypes does appear to be beneficial to cooking quality when blending with weak semolina. Whether spaghetti was dried at 70°C or 90°C, cooking quality rankings of blends with Stewart 63 at blend levels up to 75%, were generally in order of gluten strength: AC Navigator > AC Melita > Plenty. The variation in strength among LMW-2 genotypes is due to higher LMW glutenin content (Edwards et al., 2007a). LMW-2 glutenin is the gluten protein fraction associated with pasta texture. The stronger LMW-2 genotypes contribute more LMW-2 glutenin at comparable blend levels than weaker LMW-2 genotypes, accounting for superior pasta cooking quality of the blends with stronger genotypes.
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