Three varieties of paddy in brown, red (non-waxy) and black (waxy) forms were de-husked and milled before and after inducing retro-gradation and their physical properties were studied. Normalized grain weight, porosity of parboiled paddy (PP) and its de-husked rice (DR), were high compared to their respective native. True and bulk density were lowest for black variety, its DR, its raw and parboiled forms compared to other varieties of paddy. Angle of repose increased from raw paddy to PP whereas it decreased from raw DR to parboiled DR. Under similar conditions of milling of DR, raw and parboiled milled rice of black variety was the darkest. Raw husk showed higher EMC compared to husk of parboiled. Hardness followed the pattern: Raw: Paddy (~230-280 N) > DR (~120-260 N) > Milled rice (~110 N); for parboiled: DR (~270-480 N) > PP (~260-425 N) > Parboiled milled rice (~250-340 N). Cooking time was high for DR of parboiled ones and least for waxy raw milled rice. Results of this study will be helpful in understanding the quality of pigmented rice cultivars, design and fabrication of some of the equipments in rice processing industry.
Keywords: De-husked rice; Equilibrium moisture content; Hardness; Normalized grain weight; Retro-gradation.