THE QUALITY OF WHEAT val 
endowed with its characteristic porous structure. If a 
cereal meal devoid of gluten is mixed with water and 
yeast, fermentation will take place with formation of 
gas, but the gas will escape at once and the product 
will be solid and not porous.’’* 
The above quotation is sufficient to show that gluten 
is of the greatest importance from the milling point of 
view. It is to this gluten content that the ‘‘strength’’ 
of wheat refers. Gluten is a mixture of two substances 
—gliadin and glutenin—and may be obtained in a crude 
state from wheat meal or flour, by washing the dough, 
made by kneading the meal with water, which removes 
starch and other non-gluten compounds. Not only is 
the amount of gluten important, but its quality is a very 
potent factor in giving flour its baking qualities. This 
quality is dependent upon the ratio of the amount of 
gliadin to the amount of glutenin in the flour. The most 
favourable ratio seems to be one of the former to three 
of the latter, and, for the purpose of obtaining this ratio, 
flours are mixed after milling, or more commonly in some 
countries wheats are mixed before milling. A good gluten 
has a light yellow colour, is sticky, but not elastic. This 
difference is at once apparent if a small quantity of 
“‘strong’’ Canadian wheat is masticated after one of the 
“‘soft’’ New Zealand wheats. 
3. ‘‘Strong’’ and ‘‘Weak’’ Wheats. 
From the point of view of the gluten content wheats 
are divided into two main classes, ‘‘strong’’ and ‘‘weak,’’ 
each marked by certain external characters, which can 
readily be judged by the eye of the practised wheat 
buyer. 
‘‘Strong’’ wheats are usually red in colour, their skin 
is thin and brittle and the grain is usually rather small. 
*««The Story of a Loaf of Bread,’’ by Prof. T. B. Wood. 
Page 36. 
