Abstract
We investigated the gelatinization characteristics of the starch in rice soaked above 65°C for more than 4 hours. The degree of gelatinization of the rice starch increased with increasing soaking temperature. However, the degree of gelatinization remained the same for cooked rice that had been soaked at different temperatures before cooking. X-ray diffraction did not show any specific changes in starch depending on the soaking treatment. The lower molecular size starch components were eluted into the cooking water from the rice soaked at 65°C. The viscosity of rice flour paste soaked at 65°C was lower than that of the paste soaked at 20°C. This difference was not apparent in the starch paste samples. The low stickiness and adhesiveness of the cooked rice soaked at 65°C seemed to result from degradation of the starch by an enzyme reaction during a long period of soaking.
