abstract
- A 0.71-mm-diameter punch mounted in the Instron Universal Testing Machine was used to measure hardness of 100 individual grains of 15 rices after cooking, A hardness distribution curve for each rice was obtained. The puncture forces of rices cooked at a fired water:rice weight ratio of 2 were more variable than those for rices cooked in excess water for the optimum cooking time. High- and intermediate-amylose rices cooked using a water:rice ratio of 2 were harder than corresponding rices cooked in excess water. For waxy and low-amylose rices, the reverse was generally true. Pairs of rices with almost identical physicochemical properties but which differed in preference tests by consumers also differed in their hardness distribution profile.