마이크로웨이브 해동에 따른 쌀 품종별 냉동밥의 품질 특성 변화

Changes in the quality characteristics of frozen cooked rice with different amylose contents following microwave thawing were evaluated. Cooked rice was frozen at ‒20^oC for 3 d and thawed for 3 min using a microwave. The moisture content of cooked rice decreased from 64.7-66.3 to 53.1-56.1% following microwave thawing. The lightness and redness of cooked rice decreased after microwave thawing, whereas yellowness increased. The hardness, adhesiveness, and chewiness increased in cooked rice with decreases in the freezable water content of cooked rice. The freezable water content in ice freezing and ice melting of cooked rice in microwave thawing decreased significantly because of water incorporation for the formation of double helices and crystal lattices via recrystallization. The inner microstructure of cooked and thawed rice showed larger holes and a rough polyhedral inner structure in the grain. These results indicate that microwave reheating highly affects the quality properties of cooked rice, which may provide useful information for consumers.