Abstract
Distribution of the chain lengths of amylopectin contained in the starch of Akamai, Haenuki and Sasanishiki, and the taste characteristics of the three varieties of rice were examined. The distribution of amylopectin chain lengths indicated the following characteristics : The values of Fr. III/Fr. II for Akamai was 3.6, for Haenuki, 2.9 and for Sasanishiki, 3.4. Among longer amylopectin chains, 19.0mol% of chains in Haenuki had an average length of 60 or more, while the greatest proportions of chains in Akamai and Sasanishiki averaged 30-40. Among shorter amylopectin chains, on the other hand, more chains had lengths of 10-20 for Akamai, Haenuki and Sasanishiki. The average chain lengths of the sum of Fr. II and Fr. III was 24.5 in Akamai, 39.5 in Haenuki and 19.9 in Sasanishiki. In a sensory evaluation, Akamai tended to have lower scores compared to Haenuki or Sasanishiki.
