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Effects of Degree of Milling, Drying Condition, and Final Moisture Content on Sensory Texture of Cooked Rice

¹USDA, ARS, Richard B. Russell Agricultural Research Center, P.O. Box 5677, Athens, GA 30604-5677. Corresponding author. Phone: 706/546-3167; Fax: 706/ 546-3607; E-mail: bglyon@ars.usda.gov. ²USDA, ARS, Southern Regional Research Center, New Orleans, LA. ³USDA, ARS, Rice Quality Laboratory, Beaumont, TX. ⁴University of Arkansas, Rice Research and Extension Center, Stuttgart, AR. ⁵Louisiana State University, Rice Research Station, Crowley, LA. ⁶California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation, Biggs, CA. ⁷Riviana Foods, Inc., Houston, TX.

Different cultures have different preferences for cooked rice flavor and texture characteristics. These differences provide opportunities for U.S. rice varieties to fit into global markets to meet consumer demands worldwide. It is important to assess the properties of U.S. rice varieties and determine the factors that influence their eating quality. Cooked rice texture attributes can be affected by postharvest handling practices, such as degree of milling, drying condition, and final moisture. This article reports the effects of postharvest handling parameters on the texture of cooked medium- and short-grain rice varieties grown in Arkansas (AR) and California (CA), as measured by descriptive sensory analysis. The rice samples were Bengal (AR), Koshihikari (AR), Koshihikari (CA), M-401 (AR), M-401 (CA), and M-202 (CA). The six rice varieties were regular- or deepmilled and dried under one of five drying conditions to achieve final moisture levels of 12 or 15% (n = 120). A trained sensory panel developed a lexicon of 16 sensory attributes that described cooked rice texture at different phases of evaluation, beginning with manual adhesiveness and ending with mouthfeel characteristics after swallowing. Rice varieties differed in some physicochemical and sensory properties. Significant differences (P < 0.05) in adhesive properties, such as manual and visual adhesiveness and stickiness to lips, were observed. Rice samples also differed in mouthfeel properties. Factor analysis of sensory data grouped attributes into four groups that explained 68.5% of the variation in data. Primary sensory differences were due to adhesive properties assessed in the early stages of evaluation.