An application of image analysis for the study of kinetics of hydration of milled rice in hot water.

Two dimensional image analysis was carried out on basmati rice to
determine the hot water hydration kinetics. A miniature water bath
(105655615 mm) was fabricated to process the rice grains under the
CCD camera and on-line images were obtained at regular intervals of the
hot water hydration process at four temperatures from 60 to 75
C. Twodimensional
projected area of rice grains was converted into swelling ratios
for suitability of comparison of the swelling at different temperatures. The
reaction rate constant and the activation energy for the hot water hydration
were obtained from the swelling data. The activation energy was
38.213 kJ=mole and was comparable with other processes reported in the
literature. The hydration data was further analysed to obtain a polynomial
equation to correlate swelling ratios in terms of heating time and temperature.
This study helps in obtaining the swelling parameter of rice
during cooking to be used in the design of continuous cookers.