Pulse milling technologies

Milling, by definition, is a process by which materials are reduced from a larger size to a smaller size. In the case of pulses, there are several processes that can be defined in this way including dehulling or decortication (resulting in dehulled or decorticated intact seeds), dehulling and splitting (resulting in dhal or splits) or grinding to produce pulse flours and fractions. Each of these milling processes involves particular steps and milling equipment discussed in this chapter. The physical and compositional properties of pulses, the mill type, and the milling conditions used will affect the yield and quality of dehulled or split product and any flour or fractions prepared from this product. Furthermore, the selection of flour mill type, milling conditions, screens and/or sieves for separating the ground material will influence the particle size of the resulting flour, which will impact flour quality and functionality. In pulse fractionation, the use of either dry or wet processing plus the specific conditions used will influence the compositional and functional properties of pulse fractions. Further research is warranted to extend current knowledge of how genetics and the environment influence the properties of pulse seeds and how these properties affect the milling performance across a range of pulse species. Additionally, further research aimed at developing new genetic tools suitable for early screening of breeding lines would enable greater efficiencies in breeding programs for pulses with desired milling performance and quality.