Influence of cooking water hardness on the chemical, colour and textural characteristics of bulgur at different processing stages

The hardness of water is important for food quality where it is used as a direct ingredient in production, thus it is a very critical parameter for the texture and colour of bulgur as it is used in the cooking operation. In line with this fact, the effects of water with 3 different hardness (soft, hard and very hard) on the proximate composition, functional properties, mineral composition, colour, texture, thermal, structural and sensory characteristics in wheat, cooked wheat and after drying, debranning and milling stages of wheat (fine bulgur) were investigated. Production of bulgur with very hard water contributes to the retention of minerals in the structure of wheat and therefore the bulgur produced. Water hardness negatively affected the antioxidant activity of wheat samples after cooking and the drying, debranning and milling stages. Colour and sensory analysis proved that cooking with very hard water has a reducing influence on the yellowness of bulgur which causes a production defect. Based on the obtained results, it is recommended to use soft water in bulgur production as cooking with very hard water influences the functional and sensory properties of the product adversely.