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Influence of Storing Rough Rice with High Moisture Content on Subsequent Drying Characteristics and Milling Quality

¹Student and intern, Food Science and Technology, Wageningen University, The Netherlands. ²Research specialist, University of Arkansas, Department of Food Science, 2650 N. Young Ave., Fayetteville, AR 72704. ³Corresponding author. Phone: 479-575-2841. Fax: 479-575-6936. E-mail: tsiebenm@uark.edu ⁴Professor, University of Arkansas, Department of Food Science, 2650 N. Young Ave., Fayetteville, AR 72704.

The objective of this research was to determine the influence on drying characteristics and resultant milling quality of storing high moisture content (MC) rough rice (Oryza sativa L. ‘Bengal’ and ‘Cypress’) under various conditions and durations before drying. Immediately after harvest, drying experiments were performed with samples of both cultivars using two drying air conditions: 52°C with 25% rh and 60°C with 17% rh. Rough rice from each cultivar also was stored for 27 and 76 days at -9 or 4°C. After storage, all samples were dried under the same two drying air conditions as at harvest. Head rice yields (HRY) were determined for all dried samples. There were no significant differences between the drying rates or resultant HRY of Bengal or Cypress rice samples stored for either 27 or 76 days at both storage temperatures and then dried compared with the HRY of samples dried immediately after harvest. This research shows that it may be possible to store high MC rice for extended periods of time without detrimental effects on HRY.