Abstract

                                Pressure parboiling is one of the developing methods, in which penetration of moisture into the paddy is in the form of water vapour under pressure, which gelatinizes the starch in the kernel. In the present study a pressure parboiling tank with uniform steam distribution assembly has been designed and developed. CO 45 paddy was selected for conducting the experiments. Three levels of soaking time (30, 75 and 12 min), steaming pressure (49, 122.6 and 196 kPa) and steaming time (10, 25 and 40 min.) were selected to study their effect on milling and cooking qualities. Maximum head rice yield. Breaking Hardness Value (BHV), transluence index and minimum cooking time were achieved, when paddy was soaked for 30 minutes and then steamed under 123.6kPa pressure for 22 minutes.

Key words : Pressure parboiling, Gelatinization of paddy