ABSTRACT
I. INTRODUCTION The literature contains numerous references to gelatinization of starch from plant material from such diverse sources as cereal grains, tubers, and legumes. Starch gelatinization has been most extensively examined in cereal grains, and there is a growing body of literature pertaining to the gelatinization of rice starch and, to a lesser extent, rice flour. These studies have added considerable information about the gelatinization properties of starch from different rice varieties. They have examined changes in gelatinization parameters when rice starch or flour has been exposed to other food components, such as different moisture levels (1-4), protein (5), lipid (6), salt (3), and both salt and sugar (4).
