How durum wheat is grown
Durum is the hardest wheat there is, which is why it makes pasta and not light bread.
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The short version
Durum is a hard wheat with four sets of chromosomes, bred from emmer wheat thousands of years ago. It makes up only 5 to 8 percent of the world's wheat. Farmers grow it for its hard, glassy kernels, which mills turn into coarse yellow semolina.
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Sow the hard wheat
Durum grows like other wheats but has a different heritage, with four sets of chromosomes rather than six. Italy is a major production area.
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Combine the ripe heads
Harvesters cut the crop and thresh out the grain once the heads are ripe. Buyers check the share of hard, vitreous kernels, which sets the grade.
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Clean and send to the mill
Chaff and stones are cleaned out before the grain ships to a mill. Durum resists milling more than any other wheat, so it comes out coarse and not as a fine flour.
Worth repeating
- The word durum is Latin for hard.
- Durum is the second-most cultivated wheat species, though it is only 5 to 8 percent of global wheat production.
- Commercial dry pasta is made almost exclusively from durum semolina.
Where it goes next
Durum wheat feeds 2 lines directly.
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Sources
Cite this page: "How durum wheat is grown." Assembly Line, 2026-11-03. https://assemblyline.org/make/durum-wheat