Relationships of selected physical, chemical, and sensory parameters in oat grain, rolled oats, and cooked oatmeal - A three-year study with eight cultivars

Eight Scandinavian oat cultivars were studied as grains, greats before and after kiln drying, rolled oats, and oatmeal for 62 physical, chemical, and sensory parameters over three consecutive crop years. The objectives were t o study cultivar and year differences, and the relationships between parame ters to find out the cultivars most suitable for rolled oats production and to understand how grain parameters are reflected on great, rolled oat, and oatmeal characteristics. The cultivars and crop years differed (P < 0.05) in most of the parameters. In addition, many great, relied oats, and oatmea l variables showed a significant year by crop interaction. Several grain va riables were significantly interrelated but only two, moisture and amount o f dark and damaged grains, had a strong correlation (r > 0.70) to rolled oa t parameters, the former correlating negatively to crude fat and the latter positively with maximum viscosity value, However, some weaker (r < 0.70) n egative associations were found such as those between kernel size value and <beta>-glucan content and water binding capacity of rolled oats. In genera l, the variables analyzed at different processing stages correlated strongl y, indicating good retention of great properties during processing. Various associations were found between the physicochemical parameters of rolled o ats and sensory properties of oatmeal. In principal component analysis, fac tor 1 mostly represented rolled oat parameters such as crude fat, color val ues L and a, and oatmeal parameters such as toasted aromatics, coarseness, and size of swollen particles. Factor 2 represented properties that pertain to structure and water and rolled oats interactions. The cultivars were al so grouped according to these properties. The results suggest that the roll ed oat process deserves optimization on a cultivar basis, particularly when specific product properties such as good water binding capacity are requir ed.