Cereal Chem 63:346-348   |  VIEW ARTICLE
Physicochemical Properties and Cooking Quality of Microwave-Dried Rice.

J. I. Wadsworth and S. P. Koltun. Copyright 1986 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

Starbonnet and Labelle varieties of long-grain rice and Nato variety of medium-grain rice were dried under vacuum with microwave energy to determine the effects of microwave-vacuum (MV) treatments on the physicochemical properties and eating characteristics of the milled rice. Milled rice was evaluated by alkali reaction, water-uptake capacity, amylographic gelatinization and pasting characteristics, and taste panel. There were no significant differences between the air-dried controls and the MV treatments for both peak viscosity and setback viscosity. The alkali-spreading values and water-uptake capacities for some of the MV-treated samples were statistically slightly greater than the control samples; however, the differences were not great enough to be of any practical consequence. The taste panel could not distinguish between MV-treated samples and the controls. MV techniques can be used to dry rice without materially altering the cooking and eating characteristics.