Factor that determine the quality of grains during milling.

Milling is the process by which wheat is ground into flour. Separating the wheat grain into its
constituents (bran, germ and endosperm) involves the following processes. As wheat arrives in
the mill it is passed through a cleaning process to remove coarse impurities and is then stored according
to its quality.

Grinding which reduces the particle size, which impact on the glycemic index (GI) and resistant
starch content of the grain is one of factor that determine the quality during milling. When starchy food
are ground, their particles become much finer and, as this makes their hydrolyzation easier, and so
raises their Glycemic Index. This is what happens to cereals when they are ground into flour. Rice flour,
accordingly, has a higher GI than rice itself. Formerly, when wheat was ground by hand with a fly stone it
was reduced into large particles. Even when sifted, the resulting flour remained coarse. What at the
time was called “white bread” had a 60 to 65 GI, which was fairly reasonable. This is reading glycemic
Index of two different particle size:

Nutrients Whole-wheat flour / 100g White flour (T55) /100g

Proteins 12 g 8g
Lipids 2.5 g 1g
Carbohydrates 60 g 74 g
Fibers 10 g 3g
Water 15.5 g 14 g
Particle size Coarse Fine
Glycemic Index 40 70

Resistant starch (RS) is starch, including its degradation products, that escapes from digestion in
the small intestine of healthy individuals. Resistant starch occurs naturally in foods but is also added to
foods by the addition of isolated or manufactured types of resistant starch. Resistant starch content of
cooked rice may decrease due to grinding or cooking. Other types of processing increase resistant starch
content. If cooking includes excess water, the starch is gelatinized and becomes more digestible.
However, if these starch gels are then cooled, they can form starch crystals resistant to digestive
enzymes such as those occurring in cooked and cooled cereals or potatoes.
 In the nutshell, grinding which reduces the particle size will make higher glycemic index (GI).
Grinding process also reduce resistant starch content in the grains for digestion in the small intestine of
healthy individuals.

References:

1. N. Azudin., The Milling Process

2. Pomeranz. Y,(1988), ‘Wheat Chemistry and Technology’. Vol.1 I and II. AACC, St. Paul, MN, USA.