Abstract
This study was conducted to determine the optimal cooking conditions for brown rice using an electric pressure rice cooker. The effects of steeping conditions and cooking pressure on the hydration, gelatinization, texture and palatable properties of cooked brown rice were evaluated. Based on water uptake and DSC data, the optimal steeping time and temperature for brown rice were determined to be 25 minutes and ${\sim}60^{\circ}C$, respectively. The cooking conditions for brown rice were then divided into the following 6 categories: steeping at $25^{\circ}C$ for 25 minutes and cooking at an atmospheric pressure of 1.7 (25P) or 1.9 (25HP), steeping at $57^{\circ}C$ for 25 minutes and cooking at an atmospheric pressure of 1.7 (57P) or 1.9 (57HP), steeping at $85^{\circ}C$ for 15 minutes and cooking at an atmospheric pressure of 1.7 (85P) or 1.9 (85HP). The susceptibility of cooked brown rice starch to degradation into maltose by ${\alpha}$-amylase, which is related to the degree of gelatinization and in vitro digestibility, were then determined. The amount of maltose produced by cooked brown rice samples was highest in the 57HP group, followed by the 57P and 85HP groups. Storing cooked brown rice at $73^{\circ}C$ for 24 hours resulted in significantly higher amounts of starch being degraded into maltose in the 57P, 57HP and 85HP groups than in the other groups. Textural analysis demonstrated that the 57P, 57HP and 85HP groups had significantly lower gumminess and chewiness values when compared to the other groups, and that 57HP received had the lowest hardness of all treatments. These results were confirmed by the results of the sensory evaluations. Furthermore, the 57P and 57HP groups were found to have a higher glossiness, stickiness aroma and taste score than the other groups. These findings were taken to indicate that steeping conditions and pressure exerted a positive synergistic effect on the cooking quality of brown rice. The texture analyzer also revealed that storing the cooked rice at $73^{\circ}C$ for 24 hours only led to significantly lower scores in gumminess, hardness and chewiness in the 57P and 57HP groups, which indicates that these groups underwent a lesser degree of retrogradation than other groups. Taken together, the results of the present study demonstrate that steeping brown rice at $57^{\circ}C$ for 25 minutes and a higher cooking pressure improved the palatability and in vitro digestibility of brown rice significantly.
