Abstract
Rice was washed by using a whisk at three mixing speeds: one revolution per second, two revolutions per second and four revolutions per second. The rice was also washed by hand at two revolutions per second as a control. The proportion of rice granules broken when the whisk was used was higher than that when washed by hand under all the conditions examined, the higher the mixing speed, the higher the breakage ratio. The amount of solid material separated from the rice granules into the water during washing was also higher when a whisk was used than when washed by hand, although there was no effect from the mixing speed. The textural and sensory properties of the cooked rice that had been washed by using a whisk were not significantly different from those of the cooked rice that had been washed by hand. We conclude from these results that washing rice by whisking affects the integrity of the grains and offers no advantages over hand washing.
