What is Parboiled Rice?

Table of Contents☰

About Parboiled Rice:

Parboiled rice, also called converted rice, is partially precooked in its inedible husk before being processed for eating.
It happens before rice is milled, that is before the inedible outer husk is removed to yield brown rice but before brown rice is refined to make white rice.
In some Asian and African countries, people have been parboiling rice since ancient times as it makes the husks easier to remove by hand.
The main steps of parboiling are
- Soaking. Raw, unhusked rice, also called paddy rice, is soaked in warm water to increase the moisture content.
- Steaming. The rice is steamed until the starch converts into a gel. The heat of this process also helps kill bacteria and other microbes.
- Drying. The rice is slowly dried to reduce the moisture content so that it can be milled.
- Husking: The dried, partially cooked rice is then milled to remove the outer husk. The result is parboiled rice.
Parboiling changes the color of rice to a light yellow or amber, which differs from the pale, white color of regular rice.
During parboiling, some water-soluble nutrients move from the bran of the rice kernel into the starchy endosperm. This minimizes some of the nutrient loss that normally happens during refining when making white rice.
Benefits:
- Parboiling rice improves its texture, increases its shelf life, and provides health benefits.
- Parboiled rice is higher in fiber and protein than white rice.
- Parboiling reduces the stickiness of rice so it yields fluffy and separate kernels once cooked.
- Additionally, parboiling inactivates the enzymes that break down the fat in rice. This helps prevent rancidity and off-flavors, increasing shelf-life
- Notably, parboiled rice has significantly more thiamine and niacin than white rice. These nutrients are important for energy production.
Potential downsides:
- It’s less nutritious than brown rice.
- It takes a little longer to cook.

Q1) What is starch?

Starch is a carbohydrate, specifically a polysaccharide, composed of glucose molecules linked together through chemical bonds. It is one of the most abundant carbohy.

Source: Govt imposes 20% export duty on parboiled rice; MEP on on basmati coming