Suitability of Argentinian maize hybrids for polenta production

The objective of this study was to determine the suitability of different soft-endosperm commercial maize hybrids to obtain polenta of good technological quality. Ten commercial soft-endosperm hybrids and two open-pollinated varieties (quality controls) of maize were used. Grain physical characteristics were determined, and polentas from each genotype were obtained. The chemical composition of semolina was determined, and polenta was evaluated in terms of viscoelasticity, cooking characteristics and colour. The semolina yield was between 50.96 to 69.36%. The control genotypes showed the lowest values for peak viscosity, with 3670.5 and 3966.25 cP. Hybrid Next22.6 showed the highest consistency value, while C6006, Col17, Ds507 and Srm566 presented the lowest value of all samples tested. Hybrid N7822 first, followed by Ds507 and Srm553, proved to be suitable for the food industry. The good characteristics of this dish were associated with high pasting temperature and semolina yield, and low consistency and viscosity values.