Abstract
Hardening process in the manufacture of rice cakes is the most important process, because it is time-consuming process. We aimed to develop a new cultivar of waxy rice characterized by both high yield and excellent processing properties. For this purpose, the urea dissolution and X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods were employed in order to quantitatively assess the factors associated with rice cake hardness. In this study, rice starch dissolution rate and measurement of relative starch crystallinity (RSC) are discussed. Four waxy rice cultivars with different hardening properties were selected as test samples, and pasting properties, hardness, urea dissolution of starch and XRD properties were assessed. It is supposed that dissolution rate and RSC are closely related to rice cake hardening, are suitable parameters for quantifying rice cake hardening, and are useful for predicting the hardness of new novel cultivars. To assess rice cake hardness in novel cultivars, it is important that tests focusing on the determination of different parameters, such as pasting properties, urea dissolution and XRD, be designed.
