Resumen

JIMENEZ-JUAREZ, JA; ARAMBULA-VILLA, G; CRUZ-LAZARO, E de la  y  APARICIO-TRAPALA, MA. Characteristics of the grain, dough and tortilla produced from different maize genotypes in the mexican tropics. Universidad y ciencia [online]. 2012, vol.28, n.2, pp.145-152. ISSN 0186-2979.

Maize (Zea mays L.) tortillas are the primary staple food of Mexican people. In Mexico, as in most of Central and South America, maize is used mainly for human consumption. This study evaluated nine tropical maize genotypes classified as: improved (HS-3G hybrid and 536-VS variety), pre-improved (22, 23, 25, 32, 43 and 49 of the CIMMYT populations) and "criollo" (native mejen variety). The physical properties of the grains, dough and tortillas were evaluated for each genotype. The parameters recorded were the length, width, thickness, weight of 1000 grains, weight in hectoliters and hardness for the grains, the adhesiveness and cohesiveness for the dough, and the capacity to puff up, to make rolls, and the tension and cutting strength of the tortillas. The maize genotype with the greatest grain size, weight of 1000 grains and hardness was population 22. The weight in hectoliters of all genotypes satisfied the minimum requirements established by the quality norm (74 kg hL^-1) for maize to be processed. With respect to tortilla texture, population 43 and the native mejen variety presented the lowest tension and cutting strength, and the best tortillas. Grouping the genotypes, the greatest grain weight was recorded for the pre-improved variety, while the greatest hardness, cohesiveness, tension and the lowest tensile and cutting strength in tortillas were obtained for the "criollo" variety.

Palabras llave : Grain; population; processing; dough; tortilla.