2020 Volume 31 Pages 33-42
Steam Convection Oven (SCO), with its production efficiency and easily controlled cooking temperature and time, is in big demand from large-scale cooking facilities. Therefore, establishing ideal rice cooking methods using an SCO benefits business management and promotes healthy food service facilities. The aim of this study was to clarify how different kinds of physiological properties are related to palatability. We measured thermal history, gravimetric, moisture content, and texture of cooked rice using both large- and small-scale cooking equipment. We used an SCO and a gas-rice cooker as cooking equipment for the former and an induction heating (IH）-rice cooker for the latter. In addition, we estimated palatability via a preference sensory evaluation. We set the SCO to 150 or 170℃, and found that the rice boiled faster in an SCO compared with both the IH-rice cooker and gas-rice cooker. Notably, the lower layer of the SCO (set at 170℃) was the most efficient cooking method. Physiological properties were affected by both the boiling duration and maximum temperature. However, the cooked rice tended to be more clustered and stickier when cooked in the SCO at 170℃. The collapsing rice cells and the outflow of starch was thought to contribute to the clustering and stickiness. There is no significant difference in palatability between the different methods utilized to cook the rice. However, the preference sensory evaluation revealed a lower assessment in all questionnaires for the cooked rice from the SCO at 150℃. In future, investigations of cooking time and additional amounts of water for cooking rice using the SCO at 170℃ should be pursued.
