INTRODUCTION
Dormant plant seeds are used as the raw material to prepare a large variety of foods. Sprouted wheat grains are known as a natural organic food, containing a broad range of nutrients in balanced natural amounts and combinations. Introduction of sprouts into the diet stimulates metabolism and hematopoiesis, boosts immunity, compensates for vitamin and mineral deficiency, normalizes the acid-alkaline balance, promotes the elimination of toxins from the body, stimulates digestion, and slows the aging process. Grains with sprouts shorter than 5 mm contain a sufficient amount of antioxidants, which decelerate or prevent oxidative processes when used in low concentrations. Furthermore, enzyme systems of the grain are activated during germination, and complex nutrients are cleaved into smaller molecules easily digestible by the human organism. The use of sprouted wheat grains in public catering is very limited due to the short shelf-life of this product. Storage of dried grains provides a solution for this problem; however, it necessitates the development of a technology for the use of dried germinated wheat. The aim of the present work was to develop technological parameters for the hydrothermal processing of powder produced from sprouted wheat grains.
OBJECTS AND METHODS OF RESEARCH
The powder produced by grinding dried sprouted wheat grains (Technical Specification (TU) 9290-002-50765127-03, OOO SibTar, Novosibirsk) in a Robot Coupe R4 cutter (ROBOT COUPE) was the object of investigation in the present work. The powder had a beige color and a typical smell of wheat flour; particles of 250–300 µm in size constituted 80 ± 0.05% of the powder, and the size of the rest of the particles ranged from 300 to 450 µm; the solids content of the powder was 96.5 ± 0.05%.
Conventional methods were used for the analysis of the physical and chemical characteristics, namely, the content of dry matter was assayed according to GOST (State Standard) R 50189-92 using a moisture analyzer ELVIZ-2C, and active acidity was assayed using a multichannel ion meter Ekspert-001 (3.0.4). The degree and rate of swelling of the sprouted wheat powder were determined according to the procedure developed at the Belarusian branch of VNIMI (All-Union Research Institute of Dairy Industry): namely, 1 g of dry powder obtained from sprouted wheat was placed into a centrifuge tube, and water was added to a ratio of 1:1–1:2. The mixture was incubated in a steamer (Stlf Cooking Center 61) for 60 min at a temperature of 25±1, 45±1, 65±1, or 85±1 °C. The samples were then centrifuged for 5 min at 1000 rpm, the supernatant was decanted, and the moisture content of the residue was measured.
