Parboiling of paddy is a hydrothermal treatment in which rice is produced by a process of soaking, heating, steaming and drying of paddy prior to milling. Parboiled rice is “par”-tially”boiled” (i.e. Partially Cooked Rice), Modifies the starch which drives natural vitamins & minerals from the bran into the grain. Water and steam are two essentials to transform the natural cereals into parboilied rice.
Soaking
The paddy is soaked in the huge water-filled vessels for a specific time & temperature for a specific variety of rice. Special care is taken during soaking as different varieties require different water temperatures prevailing weather conditions This process increases vitamin-B in rice and decreases percentage of broken grains in it. It also improves hardness of Par-boiled rice which retains its shape even after cooking.
Steaming
Steaming can change the physical structure of rice and keep the nutrition, to increase the production ratio and make rice easy to store or drying. It improves grain length and uniforms the colour of Par-boiled rice. This process of pre steaming softens the paddy, to achieve desired color of par-boiled rice, it reduces the soaking time of the paddy, It also increases the capacity of par-boiled rice to absorb water during cooking
Consequences of parboiling
