ABSTRACT
During storage, the milling, physicochemical properties, and eating quality of rice change, which is generally termed “aging.” Aged rice is preferred by processors because of better processing characteristics, and therefore there are attempts to develop accelerated aging processes. In this study, the effects of various heat treatments and their influences on the milling, physicochemical, and cooking properties of two long-grain rice cultivars during storage were investigated with a randomized complete block design with an 8 × 5 × 2 full-factorial treatment design. Two long-grain rice cultivars, Wells and XP723, were treated with eight different heat treatments, including two levels of UV irradiation, two levels of autoclaving, three levels of convection oven heating, and one control, and then stored for 180 days at room temperature. The heat treatments significantly influenced all properties, including head rice yield (HRY), surface lipid content, peak gelatinization temperature, pasting properties, and cooked rice texture. All properties except HRY exhibited a significant two-way interaction of cultivar and heat treatment. The severe autoclaving treatment resulted in rice of significantly different protein compositions when compared with the control. Storage impacted all properties except HRY and peak gelatinization temperature. Autoclaving (particularly severe autoclaving) produced samples with more distinct characteristics for most properties. Cooked rice hardness and stickiness exhibited not only significant main effects but also significant two- and three-factor interactions.
