Impact of Genotype and Environment on the Quality of Amber Durum Wheat Alkaline Noodles

Canada Western Amber Durum wheat cultivars (4), Canada Western Red Spring (1), and Canada Western Hard White Spring (1) wheat were grown at three sites in 2007 to evaluate the effect of genotype (G) and environment (E) on the quality of yellow alkaline noodles (YAN). YAN were evaluated for color, appearance, and cooked texture. Brightness (L*) and yellowness (b*) of YAN made from durum cultivars were significantly higher than common wheat. Durum flour yellow pigment content was approximately fourfold greater than common wheat while noodle speckiness was approximately half of CWRS at 2 hr with environment accounting for >75% of the variance for each parameter. Resistance to compression (RTC) and recovery (REC) of cooked durum alkaline noodles were equivalent or superior to common wheat noodles even when lower grade durum wheat flour was used. In conclusion, cooked durum noodle texture parameters were all significantly influenced by genotype and environment, with environment accounting for 66-71% of their variance.