Physicochemical Differences Between Milled Whole Kernel Rice and Milled Broken Rice

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the existence of distinct differences between selected physicochemical properties of head and broken milled rice. Polyuronic acids were found to affect hardness of the rice kernels. The broken kernels were measurably softer than intact kernels for all cultivars. Values for alkali spreading and amylographic pasting properties indicated that broken kernels were more porous, and exhibited lower peak and setback viscosities than intact kernels. This suggests differences in the relative amounts of amylose and amylopectin in head rice and brokens. A protein‐phytin complex may be more prominent in broken kernels than head rice.