Cooking quality of sake rice

• Project/Area Number: 15K07277
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Crop production science
• Research Institution: Kansai University of Welfare Sciences
• Principal Investigator: MIZUMA Tomochika 関西福祉科学大学, 健康福祉学部, 教授 (40555504)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2018)
• Budget Amount: ¥2,470,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥570,000); Fiscal Year 2017: ¥780,000 (Direct Cost: ¥600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥180,000); Fiscal Year 2016: ¥780,000 (Direct Cost: ¥600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥180,000); Fiscal Year 2015: ¥910,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥210,000)
• Keywords: 酒米 / 官能評価 / 炊飯米 / 食味

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Sake rice is a type of rice suitable for brewing Japanese sake (rice wine). Varieties and production areas are officially designated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) of Japan. This study aimed to identify a new type of table-rice that was texturally different from conventional varieties. Thus, we examined the cooking characteristics of sake rice. In the present study, the cooking quality of sake rice was compared with that of table-rice. (1)Sensory texture evaluation showed that cooked sake rice had a good eating quality that was comparable to table-rice. (2)Cooked sake rice showed unique texture properties (hard, elastic, and less sticky) that were not found in table-rice. From the above results, the application of the unique texture of sake rice in cooking is expected in the future.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

日本人のコメ離れが指摘され食料自給率の低下が深刻化する中、コメ需要の掘り起こしが国家レベルの重要課題となっている。これに対して、酒米を主食用に転用するという手法により解決をこころみたのが本研究である。検討により、酒米の主食用米としての特性の一端を解明し、その可能性を示すことができた。しかしながら、既存の食用米とは異質な酒米における食味評価の困難性があきらかになり今後の検討課題を示すことにもなった。