ABSTRACT
Rice (Oryza sativa L.), a member of Poaceae family, is consumed as staple food by more than half of the world's population. The characteristic features of rice are functions of variety, methods of cultivation, processing, and cooking conditions (Dhull et al., 2020). Physical properties comprise internal and external characteristics of rice kernel, such as grain dimensions, shape, color, hardness, density, and volume, which are pivotal for the production, preservation, and utilization of rice. Mechanical properties encompass tensile, compressive and bending strengths, modulus of elasticity, and toughness. This knowledge is utilized in the design of harvesters, dryers, storage structures, mills, and other processing machinery. The postproduction processing includes parboiling, drying, and milling operations. Parboiling is a premilling hydrothermal treatment carried out to extend storage stability, reduce broken grains, increase head rice yield and limit nutritional losses during the polishing process. Milling aims to remove germ and bran layers from the kernel endosperm, making rice edible and free from impurities. It forms the basis of the governing nutritional, cooking, and eating qualities of raw rice. Cooking quality of rice is judged on the basis of water uptake ratio, loss of solids during cooking, and time taken for cooking. Eating quality of rice is dependent upon the perception of the consumer and comprises aroma, flavor, tenderness, whiteness, and stickiness of rice.
