Characterization of endogenous enzymes of milled rice and its application to rice cooking

The relationship between the activities of endogenous enzymes in milled rice and accumulation of chemical components in the rice grains during cooking was investigated. Maltose and soluble starch were optimally hydrolyzed around 60 °C by both crude extracts and purified α-glucosidases of milled rice. Gelatinization onset temperature of rice flour was determined to be 63 °C with DSC analysis under usual cooking condition. Hydrolytic activities on carbohydrates and proteolytic activities of milled rice were enhanced at pH 5 compared to pH 7 at the range of 4–80 °C. When rice was cooked at pH 5, glucose and amino acids highly accumulated with soaking for 16 h before heating. We propose a new method of cooking with prolonged soaking at acidic pH, which is effective for increasing the amounts of chemical components in cooked rice.     

Accelerated aging of jasmine brown rice by high-temperature fluidization technique

After being cooked, newly harvested brown rice becomes a pasty mass and swells only slightly. To modify these undesirable brown rice properties, the paddy needs to be stored for at least 3–6 months. However, problems arise since brown rice has short shelf-life (3–6 months) due to accumulation of free fatty acids (FFA) leading to rancidity during storage. In the present study, high-temperature fluidized-bed drying technique in combination with tempering step was tested to alleviate the above-mentioned problems. The quality of rice dried at temperatures of 130 and 150 °C and tempered for 30 up to 120 min was compared to that of brown rice stored at ambient temperature (approximately 30 °C) for 7 months. The experimental results showed that the cooking and eating properties of the fluidized bed dried brown rice, i.e., hardness, solid loss, volume expansion and elongation ratio, changed in a similar fashion to those of the conventionally aged brown rice. The drying temperature and tempering time affected significantly the brown rice properties. The texture of cooked thermally treated brown rice was significantly firmer than that of the conventionally aged brown rice. In addition, it was found for the thermally treated brown rice that the contents of free fatty acids increased only slightly during storage while the glycemic index reduced from high to low-medium level.     

Influence of ohmic heating on the electrical conductivity,volume, and rice quality of each component of the water–rice mixture

Ohmic heating (OH) is a new heating method with high electrothermal conversion, simple equipment, high accuracy of temperature control, and rapid heating. It is used in cooking rice. This study aimed to investigate the effects of OH on the expansion behavior of rice grains, changes in the electrical conductivity (EC) of each component, temperature, and quality at different heating rates (3 °C/min, 6 °C/min, and 9 °C/min). The EC of the rice grains was calculated using the equivalent circuit method. The results showed that the total volume of the water–rice mixture did not change significantly during the heating stage of OH cooking of rice. The volume and the proportion of rice in the water–rice mixed layer increased slowly before 62.5 °C and then rapidly after that. The EC of the water layer rice soaking water was lower than that of the water–rice mixed layer rice soaking water. The regression models of the volume of the water–rice mixed layer, the proportion of rice in the mixed layer, and the EC of each component were established. Besides, the internal temperature distribution was uneven due to the difference in the EC of each part of the mixture, and the temperature gradually decreased from top to bottom. Hence, the upper rice grains softened faster. This finding provided technical support to develop an automatic rice cooking device with high efficiency using OH.     

Influence of cooking conditions on cooking loss and tenderness of raw and marinated chicken breast meat

The influence of different cooking treatments on tenderness and cooking loss, as main quality characteristics of chicken breast meat, was investigated. Industrial skinless chicken breast meat samples were designated as raw and marinated and cooked in the oven by hot air and hot air-steam mixture at 130, 150 and 170 °C, for 4, 8 and 12 min. Cooking losses were evaluated by weight changes before and after cooking, and tenderness changes were determined on cooked samples by measuring shear force using instrumental texture analysis. Results showed that marination, followed by air-steam cooking is the best combination to obtain the most tender chicken breast slices. The time and temperature of cooking showed similar effects on cooking loss and tenderness: short cooking time (4 min) and temperatures of 130–150 °C resulted in lower cooking losses and best meat tenderness, in both not marinated and marinated meat. Statistically significant correlations between tenderness and cooking loss indicated that the cooking loss correlated better with cooking time than with cooking temperature. An opposite phenomenon was observed for meat tenderness.     

干法、半干法和湿法磨粉工艺制备的糙米米线品质研究

采用干法、半干法和湿法3种方式将糙米磨粉制备糙米米线,干法粉碎强度10～40 Hz,半干法调节含水量为20%～35%及湿法料液比为1∶1、1∶2、1∶3、1∶4,研究了3种磨粉方式对糙米米线蒸煮品质和质构性质的影响,并分析了糙米磨粉颗粒细度及损伤淀粉含量与糙米米线蒸煮品质的相关性。结果表明,磨粉方式及磨粉工艺条件显著影响糙米米线的蒸煮、质构和感官品质,糙米磨粉颗粒细度与糙米米线最佳蒸煮时间显著正相关,与糙米米线断条率显著负相关。糙米磨粉损伤淀粉含量与糙米米线最佳蒸煮时间、硬度显著负相关,损伤淀粉含量与糙米米线断条率显著正相关。干法粉碎强度10、半干法水分调节含量20%、30%和35%、湿法粉碎料液比1∶3～1∶4时,糙米米线的品质较好。     

Comparison of microwave-assisted induction heating system (MAIH) and individual heating methods on the quality of pre-packaged white shrimp

Microwave-assisted induction heating (MAIH) is a novel heating technology that combines microwave heating in the upper section and induction heating at the bottom. Our previous study demonstrated that optimal cooking in white shrimp can be achieved by MAIH either at 130 °C for 80 s or at 90 °C for 100 s. The objective of this study was to compare the cooking of white shrimp using microwave heating or induction heating alone with that using MAIH under the optimum cooking condition. The following three methods for cooking white shrimp were analyzed: (1) induction heating (IH) at 90 °C for 100 s or at 130 °C for 80 s; (2) microwave heating (MW) at 1300 W and 2450 MHz for 80 or 100 s; and (3) MAIH at 90 °C for 100 s or at 130 °C for 80 s. The results showed that using only induction or microwave heating gave the shrimp an uncooked or undercooked appearance; meanwhile, cold spots and non-uniform temperature distribution were observed in the thermal image of the shrimp. On the contrary, the shrimps processed by MAIH were found to be fully cooked, and a uniform temperature distribution was observed in the corresponding thermal image. Furthermore, no detectable aerobic plate count (APC), psychrophilic bacteria count (PBC), and coliform were found in the shrimp samples processed by MAIH. The color (L*, a*, b*, W, and ΔE), hardness, cohesiveness and chewiness of the samples processed by MAIH were all significantly greater (p < 0.05) than those of shrimp processed by induction or microwave heating alone, indicating that MAIH cooking shrimp exhibited better color and texture than MW or IH alone. The results showed that the shrimps heated with MAIH at both 130 °C or 90 °C had better microbiological, physical and chemical quality, as compared to MW or IH heating alone.Industrial relevanceThis novel MAIH technology allows shrimp to be heated and pasteurized after being packed, thereby eliminating the post-pollution issue. Therefore, it has a great potential for developing short-time in-package pasteurization processes in food industry.     

Changes in the texture,microstructures, colour and volatile compounds of pork meat loins during superheated steam cooking

We evaluated changes in the texture, colour, microstructure and volatile compounds of pork loins after superheated steam (SHS) cooking at 120, 140, 160 or 180 °C for 5, 10, 15 and 20 min. Results showed that the texture changed significantly with heating temperature and time. Hardness increased significantly with increasing temperature above 140 °C. Scanning electron microscopy micrographs showed that cooked pork with SHS had more complete muscle fibre bundle structure than that of pork in HA. The L* value indicating colour was significantly increased during the early period and then decreased, whereas the a* and b* values showed a continuous increase. Ninety-five volatile compounds were identified in cooked pork from SHS by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry with solid-phase microextraction. The amount of volatile compounds increased during cooking and decreased as cooking time increased and was well retained at 140 °C. Considering those variations, samples cooked at 140 °C showed better quality attributes.     

Evaluation of physicochemical properties of plasma treated brown rice

A novel processing technology is developed to modify brown rice in a more selective way with the help of low-pressure plasma. The microstructure of the brown rice surface and the cooking, textural and iodine-staining properties of plasma treated brown rice are determined. The plasma treatment results in an etching of brown rice surface, which allows water to be easily absorbed by the rice kernel during soaking. After plasma treatment, the cooking time of brown rice is reduced, and the cooked brown rice has a soft texture and is easier to chew. In addition, the increment of the iodine-stained area indicates that the kernel structure of brown rice is substantially affected by plasma. Thus, plasma treatment can be used to improve the cooking properties and the quality of brown rice.     

Quality Evaluation of an Ohmically Cooked Ham Product

Selected parameters (cooking loss, instrumental colour and texture and sensory quality) of a brine-injected pork muscle cooked by a novel and rapid ohmic cooking protocol were examined and compared with those obtained in conventionally cooked samples. Ohmic samples were cooked using either a low-temperature long-time (LTLT) protocol (2 min equilibration, 5 min ohmic heating to 70 °C, 8 min holding) or a high-temperature short-time (HTST) procedure (2 min equilibration, 6 min ohmic heating to 95 °C) performed within a hot air cabinet set at 80 °C (LTLT) and 100 °C (HTST). Conventional cooking (steam oven at 80 °C for 120 min) was conducted to a core temperature of 70 °C. The LTLT treatment gave a much lower cooking loss value (4–5% lower, p < 0.05) than the other treatments, though the full magnitude of this difference was not completely reflected in the proximate composition of the cooked products. Ohmically cooked ham showed a significantly (p < 0.05) lighter surface colour with Hunter L values of 65.3 (LTLT) and 63.5 (HTST) relative to the control (61.4). Texture profile analysis (TPA) indicated a significant difference (p < 0.05) in hardness (N) especially between the HTST surface (82.1 N) and the conventional centre (58.8 N). Although the ohmic cooking protocols yielded products with quite acceptable eating qualities, sensory evaluation found the overall quality of the conventionally cooked ham to be significantly (p < 0.05) superior, indicating that further optimisation of the ohmic cooking protocols would be required prior to any commercial adoption.     

基于自热米饭所需的高温流化全谷物筛选及配合技术研究

为有效提高自热米饭的营养价值及食用品质,该文以糙米、发芽糙米、黑米、绿豆、红小豆、小麦、青稞糙米为研究对象,首先研究高温流化处理前后7种全谷物吸水率、膨胀率的变化;然后测定添加到自热米饭中的7种全谷物在4℃下储藏0、1、14 d及14 d复热后的硬度,筛选出适合添加到自热米饭的全谷物;另外对筛选出的全谷物的浸泡时间和在自热米饭中添加的方法进行工艺优化;最后以全谷物的用量占自热米饭总质量的30%为目标,将筛选出的全谷物进行两两配方设计,进行感官评定,得到食用品质较好的组合配方。结果表明:高温流化处理后全谷物的蒸煮品质得到改善,且适合添加到自热米饭的全谷物种类为红小豆、绿豆、黑米和小麦;采用流化绿豆和流化红小豆浸泡1 h,流化小麦和流化黑米浸泡0 h,浸泡后均与精米混匀后蒸煮的制作工艺最佳;得到3种食用品质较好的组合:流化红小豆15%、流化绿豆15%,流化绿豆15%、流化黑米15%,流化红小豆10%、流化黑米20%。     

The impact of cooking method on the phenolic composition,total antioxidant activity and starch digestibility of rice (Oryza sativa L.)

This study investigated changes in the phenolic composition, total antioxidant activity (TAA) and starch digestibility in white and brown rice due to three different cooking procedures, and subsequent reheating of cooked rice after storage. Among the analyzed samples, brown rice showed the highest TAA and phenolic content (622.5 mg/kg DW). All cooking methods resulted in significant decrease of phenolic content and TAA of rice (p < 0.05). The greatest loss was observed after processing in rice cooker, which reduced phenolic content of both brown and polished rice by ～30% and ABTS radical‐scavenging activity by 20 and 28%, respectively. In general, the levels of polyphenols and TAA of cooked rice tended to further decline after storage and reheating, but to a much lesser extent when rice was prepared using microwaves. The application of in vitro digestion system disclosed that the microwave cooking resulted in the highest starch digestibility among cooking methods used.

Practical applications

Rice is one of the most commonly consumed staple foods worldwide. Scientific and epidemiological studies have showed that their phytochemicals exhibit antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory, antihypertensive and chemopreventive effects. Therefore, their high consumption, easy availability throughout the year and use as an additive to meat and high‐fat foods may make rice, especially in the form of whole grains, potentially important chemopreventive component of the diet. The appropriate cooking procedure of rice is crucial for preservation of bioactive compounds as well as digestion of starch and thus duration of the glycemic response. Preferably, this study is focused on the evaluation of the effect of cooking methods on the health‐related quality of rice. The results provide practical advice that the consumption of freshly cooked rice ensures its highest nutritional quality, while rice microwaving is recommended both when cooked rice will be reheated after storage (e.g., in restaurants) and accelerated starch digestion is in favor.     

Ohmic heating for cooking rice: Electrical conductivity measurements,textural quality determination and energy analysis

In this study, an innovative technique, namely ohmic heating was applied in rice cooking and compared with conventional method using electric rice cooker. Four types of rice samples including white rice of two varieties (KDML105 and Sao Hai), brown rice and germinated brown rice of one variety (KDML105) were used. Electrical conductivities of mixtures between rice samples and 0.1 M salt solution at various ratios were measured. Empirical models were developed for predicting electrical conductivities of rice samples as a function of temperatures. Textural properties of cooked rice samples and energy consumption were compared between ohmic and conventional cooking methods. The purposes of this work were to (1) study the possibility of applying ohmic method in rice cooking and (2) compare between cooking rice by ohmic and conventional method. The results revealed that it is possible to apply ohmic method for cooking all rice samples by using 0.1 M salt solution in the mixtures. The electrical conductivities of white rice (KDML105), white rice (Sao Hai), brown rice and germinated brown rice (KDML105) mixtures were 0.246–0.900, 0.375–1.005, 0.617–1.370 and 0.485–1.182 S/m respectively. The rice cooked by ohmic method had significantly different textural properties from that cooked by electric rice cooker. The magnitude of difference depended on the rice types. The electrical energy consumption of ohmic cooking system was approximately 73–90% of energy required for conventional rice cooker.     

Effects of drying conditions in hybrid dryer on the GABA rice properties

In this study, pre-germinated rough rice was dried under various conditions using a hybrid dryer that incorporated heat pump dryer with fluidized bed drying (FBD) system in order to compare with the single-stage drying by hot air dryer. The main objective was to investigate the effect of drying conditions on the cooking and physical properties, nutrients and sensorial qualities of GABA rice products. It appeared that the FBD at 100–140 °C led to noticeable increase of head rice yield. The germination process caused the decline of gelatinization enthalpy of brown rice flour, the change of pasting properties, the reduction of cooking time and escalation of the total phenolic content, antioxidant activity and GABA content. The FBD at higher temperature significantly raised the degree of starch gelatinization and caused longer cooking time, higher hardness and adhesiveness of cooked GABA rice. Three-stage drying comprising FBD at 60 °C for 10 min in the first stage followed by FBD at 100 °C in the second stage and then heat pump drying at 45 °C together with tempering step between drying stages was recommended due to its superior GABA rice product quality.     

不同浸泡工艺改良糙米品质的研究

分别采用清水浸泡和复合酶浸泡糙米,在单因素实验的基础上,利用正交实验分析法,确定了最佳清水浸泡糙米的工艺条件:料液比1∶1.6,温度40℃,时间50 min,此条件下糙米的吸水率达到(15.18±0.60)％;最佳复合酶浸泡糙米的工艺条件:pH 5.0,温度50℃,时间50 min,复合酶质量浓度0.4 g/L,酶配比...     

Vitamin fortified rice grain using spraying and soaking methods

The objective of this work was to fortify three types of rice grains (brown, white milled and parboiled) with B complex vitamins (B₁, B₂, B₃, B₅, B₆, B₁₂), using two different physical treatment methods, (1) soaking of whole dehusked or milled rice kernels in vitamin solutions at 90 °C for 15 min and (2) full spraying of whole kernels with vitamin solution at 35 °C, both followed by oven drying. Various nutrient concentrations were added and the vitamin retention of dried fortified as well as of cooked rice were determined. Fortified rice was evaluated based on vitamin retention, estimated as the percentage of vitamin in rice after fortification treatment versus the total amount of added plus its initially vitamin quantity. It was found that the average retention of all vitamins in dried rice was high and varied from 54.3% to 85.3% for the spraying and from 53.5% to 76.2% for the soaking method respectively. After rice cooking, the retention was maintained in sufficient level (>70%) for all vitamins except for B₁₂. When excess of water was used for cooking, the water-soluble vitamins were leached; however a significant amount of vitamins still remained, varying from 13.5% (B₁₂) to 51.2% (B₁). The good retention of vitamins, even after cooking, achieved applying these relatively simple techniques, may be attributed to the absorption and diffusion of vitamins in the interior of rice kernels in high concentrations. Dried fortified rice samples properties were evaluated.     

Quality and proteome changes of beef M.longissimus dorsi cooked using a water bath and ohmic heating process

This study investigated the effects of different cooking methods, namely water bath cooking (WB), short time ohmic cooking (STOH) and long time ohmic cooking (LTOH) on color, cooking loss, shear force value and proteome changes in beef M.longissimus dorsi at the same endpoint temperature of 72 °C. The cooking loss and shear force value of the ohmically cooked meat were significantly lower (P < 0.05) and redness a* value was significantly higher than that of the WB cooked samples. Proteomics analysis showed that ohmically cooked meat had less protein damage than those of WB cooked ones. Seventeen protein spots of differential abundance in two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) image between STOH and WB cooked samples were successfully identified, and thirteen protein spots between LTOH and WB cooked samples were identified. Most of them belong to myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic proteins and may be related to changes of meat quality parameters.Industrial relevanceDuring thermal processing, proteins, the primary constituents of meat, undergo structural modifications such as oxidation, degradation, denaturation and aggregation. These changes of proteins have important effects on the quality of the final meat products, such as color, tenderness and flavor, and ultimately affect meat palatability and acceptability. Nowadays, innovation is necessary in developing new cooking methods to meet the industrial demand for more efficient production and consumer's demand for higher quality and safer meat products. Ohmic cooking, also known as electric resistance cooking, relies on the heat that is generated when electrical current passes directly through conductive foodstuff to cook the food. Compared to conventional cooking, ohmic cooking has the advantages of much shorter cooking time, higher yield and more uniform heating distribution, and ohmically cooked meat has superior color, higher tenderness, etc. Therefore, as a potential food processing technology, ohmic heating not only increases energy efficiency, but also improves meat quality. In this study, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and tandem mass spectrometry were used to investigate the quality and proteome changes of beef M.longissimus dorsi following ohmic cooking and water bath cooking, and the results indicated that protein damages in ohmically cooked meat were much less than that of water bath cooked ones, and this might contribute to the lower cooking loss, higher tenderness and better color in ohmically cooked meat. The results of the study suggested that ohmic cooking has a great potential in industrial production of meat products.     

几种糙米性质研究及隆粳软1号糙米蒸煮条件优化

对几种糙米的成分、断面结构以及RVA特征谱进行研究,同时优化了新型米种隆粳软1号的蒸煮条件,为更好地探究新型米种的性质及其应用前景提供了研究思路和理论基础。本研究采用RVA-Super4快速粘度分析仪进行糙米粉糊化特性的快速测定,并测定了不同米种水分、总淀粉、蛋白质、脂肪、直链淀粉、总膳食纤维以及灰分的含量。通过单因素实验确定浸泡温度、浸泡时间、蒸煮加水量对隆粳软1号糙米蒸煮品质的影响,并结合响应面分析法得到隆粳软1号糙米最佳蒸煮工艺条件为:浸泡时间40 min,浸泡温度38 ℃,蒸煮加水量为1:1.8,此条件下隆粳软1号糙米蒸煮食味品质较好,硬度与黏度比值为32.98±0.21,为解决新型米饭蒸煮问题提供了参考。     

基于响应面法大米蒸煮方式与参数对米饭物性的影响分析

利用响应面分析法研究大米蒸煮方式及参数对米饭物性的影响,为米饭的制作及食味的调节与改善提供参考。在常压蒸煮方法下研究大米加水、浸泡、蒸煮条件对米饭物性的影响确定各因素的水平范围,然后进行响应面设计与模型分析。通过响应面分析法建立了常压蒸煮法下大米加水量(水米比),浸泡时间和蒸煮方式三因素与米饭黏硬比的二次回归模型,方差分析证明了模型的可靠性。实验结果表明:水米比、浸泡时间和蒸煮方式及它们的交互作用对米饭黏硬比影响显著,三个因素对黏硬比的影响强弱依次为:蒸煮方式、水米比、浸泡时间。水米比与蒸煮方式的交互作用对米饭黏硬比的影响最显著,浸泡时间与蒸煮方式次之,而水米比与浸泡时间影响最小。     

Milling breakage susceptibility and mechanical properties of parboiled brown rice kernels

Parboiling, a hydrothermal treatment of paddy or brown rice, impacts both head rice yield and texture and nutritional characteristics of cooked rice. Here, milling breakage susceptibility of parboiled brown rice was investigated on both bulk and kernel level. Brown rice was parboiled by soaking at 40, 55 or 65 °C and steaming at 106, 120 or 130 °C. The breakage susceptibility and changes in starch and proteins of bulk samples were related to the properties of individual rice kernels. An increase in milling breakage susceptibility from 1% to 11% corresponded to a decrease in average bending force of individual kernels from 34.9 to 14.6 N. Furthermore, both white bellies and fissured parboiled rice grains were more breakage susceptible. Their average bending force was respectively 14.1 N and 17.6 N compared to an average of 39.6 N for intact parboiled rice grains. Whereas the level of proteins extractable with sodium dodecyl sulfate containing medium had no impact, the degree of starch gelatinization was critical in determining the presence of both white bellies and fissured parboiled rice grains. More in particular, complete starch gelatinization ensured the absence of white bellies and minimized fissuring in the parboiled end-product, thereby decreasing milling breakage susceptibility.     

Effect of chitosan on Bacillus cereus inhibition and quality of cooked rice during storage

Improper cooling of cooked rice at an inappropriate temperature or leaving cooked rice at room temperature can cause food poisoning attributed to Bacillus cereus. Natural food preservative of either squid or crab polymer chitosan solution was added to examine their antibacterial properties against Bacillus cereus in cooked rice during storage at 37 and 4 °C. Both types of chitosan could retard the growth of B. cereus and total aerobic counts in cooked rice stored at 37 °C up to 1 day. In addition, the effect of chitosans on the physical and textural properties of cooked rice during storage was studied. Both chitosans slightly increased the moisture content of cooked rice. However, chitosans had no effect on the whiteness and hardness of cooked rice during storage (P > 0.05). Therefore, both chitosans have a potential to be used as food preservative for cooked rice with no negative effects on rice quality.