Abstract:

Rice was irradiated by electronic beam at respective doses of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 kGy to examine the effect of
high-energy electron beam irradiation on cooking quality of rice. The results indicated that electron beam irradiation had
no significant impact on the moisture content or water-absorbing capacity of rice (P > 0.05). The water-absorbing capacity
and volume expansion of rice under cooking conditions dropped markedly with the increase of irradiation dose (P < 0.05).
Electron beam irradiation affected the cooking quality of rice significantly (P < 0.05). The rice subjected to electron beam
irradiation at 5 kGy exhibited noticeable browning during subsequent cooking. This study found that the dose of electron
beam irradiation should not exceed 2 kGy and that the preferable dose is 1 kGy.

Key words: rice, irradiation, color aberration, texture profile analysis, eating quality