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Instrumental Assessment of Cooked Rice Texture Characteristics: A Method for Breeders

¹Department of Food Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR. ²Corresponding author. Phone: 501/575 6822. Fax: 501/575 6936. Email: jfmeull@comp.uark.edu ³USDA ARS Southern Regional Research Center. ⁴USDA ARS Rice Research Unit. ⁵Ecole Nationale Superieure d'Agronomie Montpellier, France.

Sensory textural characteristics of cooked rice (61 samples) were predicted using a miniature extrusion cell and the novel data analysis method Spectral Stress Strain Analysis (SSSA). Thirteen sensory texture characteristics evaluated using a trained descriptive panel and stress values from an extrusion test were used in combination with partial least squares regression to evaluate predictive models for each of the sensory attributes studied. Among the textural attributes evaluated by the panel, four (stickiness, hardness, cohesiveness of mass, and uniformity of bite [relative ability of prediction values (RAP) > 0.6, n = 61]) could be satisfactorily predicted using an instrumental test and subsequent SSSA. The quality of the models determined varied for the two grain types evaluated. This instrumental method provides a valuable screening tool for rice breeders.