Determining Applications of Intermediate Wheatgrass in Conjunction With Common Wheat: Assessing Affects on Functionality and Digestibility

Fortifying traditional wheat‐based products can diversify bakery applications and enhance the use of complementary grains in the food industry. Unlike common wheat, intermediate wheatgrass (IWG) is a perennial grain that is reported to have higher protein, fiber, and ash content. To maximize the use of IWG in bakery applications, this research investigates the functionality and nutritional quality of a variety of wheat‐based flatbread, noodle, pasta, and cookies, with the incorporation of different degrees of wholemeal IWG. IWG at 25% incorporation for flatbread, 75% incorporation for noodle, 50% for pasta, and 50% for cookie formulations resulted in products with quality attributes comparable to the control formulations, indicating its potential to be used in specific product formulations. Incorporation of IWG resulted in decreased glucose release over time and increased protein digestibility.

Practical Applications

This article contributes to the growing body of research identifying additional end use applications for IWG aside from bread formulations. IWG from the Canadian prairies has not been extensively studied and this work provides a comprehensive overview of the functional properties and composition of IWG grown in the region.