ABSTRACT
The amylograph is undoubtedly the most sensitive test available for assessing sprout damage in cereals. In the amylograph, flour protein causes an appreciable part of the hot paste viscosity. This is readily seen when wheat flour and starch prepared from that wheat flour are compared in an enzyme-free state. The American Association of Cereal Chemists Official Methods describe the amylograph as “used primarily to determine the effect of alpha-amylase on viscosity of flour as a function of temperature”. By inactivating a proportion of the flour and keeping the remainder in an enzyme active state, a family of curves can be produced showing the effect of enzyme of field sprouting on the sprout-damaged material itself under conditions of pasting that resemble some of the conditions of industrial usage. The amylase-inactivation method enables an examination of the inherent pasting ability of flour components.
