Genetic Study of Cooking Quality in Rice

Abstract

Cooking behavior of milled rice has been emphasized in all breeding programs. Two physio-chemical properties of starch that affect the cooking quality of rice are gelatinization temperature and amylose content . Gelatinization is related to the cooking time while amylose content is associated with the texture of cooked rice. Longer cooking time is required for varieties with high gelatinization temperature. High amylose varieties that tend to get moist and sticky on cooking. A rapid method for estimating the gelatinization temperature is the rate of disintegration of milled rice in a dilute alkali solution. Low index of alkali-digestion indicates a high gelatinization temperature and vice versa. Different groups of consumers have their own specific cooking quality preferences. In development of new varieties, quality of such kind preferred by consumers must be combined with other agronomic trains responsible for high yielding ability.