Visualization and quantification of taste deterioration of cooked rice during low temperature storage

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K14038
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 08030:Family and consumer sciences, and culture and living-related
• Research Institution: Otsuma Women's University (2021); Tokyo Seiei College (2019-2020)
• Principal Investigator: OTAHARA Miho 大妻女子大学, 家政学部, 教授 (00824632)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 米 / 米飯 / 品質評価 / 老化 / 画像解析 / 糊化度 / 熱分析 / 官能評価

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In the proposed squashed cooked rice grain method, a grain of cooked rice is mechanically compressed to 0.1mm, and the initial staling of cooked white rice is qualitatively and quantitatively determined from image analysis and brightness measurements. The objective of this study is to apply this method to various types of cooked rice.
In seasoned cooked rice, results from the squashed cooked rice grain method showed that vinegar and mixed vinegar suppressed staling, while salt tended progressing. In brown cooked rice, differences in staling were detected depending on the variety.These results indicate that this evaluation method can be applied to various types of cooked rice. The results of the degree of gelatinization measurement and differential thermal analysis suggested that the indices obtained by the squashed cooked rice grain method indirectly capture the state of starch retrogradation and structural changes due to rice staling during storage.

Free Research Field

調理科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

澱粉の老化による米飯の食味変化は食品製造業界においては商品価値を左右する。しかし米飯類についての評価のほとんどは，力学物性測定や官能評価にとどまっていた。本研究の結果，種々の米飯の品質変化の特徴を視覚的かつ数値的に明らかにすることが可能となった。さらに炊飯直後の米飯の糊化状態をも同様に評価出来る可能性が示された。この成果は米や米飯の新たな評価方法として，米や米飯の品質評価や管理，ならびに商品開発にも活用可能な有用な知見となると考える。