Research Article
Effect of Traditional and Contemporary Cooking Techniques on the Nutritional Quality of Different Rice (Oryza sativa) Varieties: A Comparative Study
Keerthana S, Shruti. SN, Hershal T and Akshatha*
Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Padmashree Institute of Management and Sciences, Bangalore, India
*Corresponding author: : Akshatha, Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Padmashree Institute of Management and Sciences, Bangalore, India. E- mail Id: akshatha.pims@gmail.com
Article Information: Submission: 06/08/2026; Accepted: 05/09/2026; Published: 07/09/2026
Copyright:© 2026 Keerthana S, et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Background: Rice (Oryza sativa) is a major staple food worldwide, and its nutritional quality is influenced by both rice variety and cooking method.
Methods: This study compared traditional cooking methods (open-vessel cooking, steaming and roasting followed by pressure cooking) with contemporary methods (pressure cooking and soaked pressure cooking) using white basmati, brown basmati and parboiled rice. Physical characteristics, proximate composition, nutrient retention and starch properties using standard analytical methods and analysed by one-way ANOVA (p < 0.05).
Results: Cooking method significantly influenced the physical, nutritional and starch properties of all rice varieties (p < 0.05). Pressure cooking produced the highest water uptake ratio (3.70), cooking yield (370%) and grain weight increase (270%) in white basmati rice. Brown basmati retained the highest dietary fibre (1.16 g/100 g) and ash (0.82 g/100 g), whereas parboiled rice exhibited the highest true density (1.90 g/cm³). Protein retention in open-vessel cooking of white basmati rice (105.72%), pressure cooking in brown basmati rice (96.20%) and roasting followed by pressure cooking in parboiled rice (175%). Roastedpressure-cooked white basmati rice showed the lowest starch (45.45%) and total sugar (50.50%) contents. Light microscopy confirmed progressive starch gelatinization during cooking and greater retrogradation in soaked pressure-cooked rice after cooling.
Conclusion: The results demonstrated that both rice variety and cooking method significantly influenced cooking quality, nutrient retention and starch behaviour. Selecting an appropriate cooking method for each rice variety can improve the nutritional and functional quality of cooked rice, providing valuable guidance for consumers, nutritionists, and the food industry.
Methods: This study compared traditional cooking methods (open-vessel cooking, steaming and roasting followed by pressure cooking) with contemporary methods (pressure cooking and soaked pressure cooking) using white basmati, brown basmati and parboiled rice. Physical characteristics, proximate composition, nutrient retention and starch properties using standard analytical methods and analysed by one-way ANOVA (p < 0.05).
Results: Cooking method significantly influenced the physical, nutritional and starch properties of all rice varieties (p < 0.05). Pressure cooking produced the highest water uptake ratio (3.70), cooking yield (370%) and grain weight increase (270%) in white basmati rice. Brown basmati retained the highest dietary fibre (1.16 g/100 g) and ash (0.82 g/100 g), whereas parboiled rice exhibited the highest true density (1.90 g/cm³). Protein retention in open-vessel cooking of white basmati rice (105.72%), pressure cooking in brown basmati rice (96.20%) and roasting followed by pressure cooking in parboiled rice (175%). Roastedpressure-cooked white basmati rice showed the lowest starch (45.45%) and total sugar (50.50%) contents. Light microscopy confirmed progressive starch gelatinization during cooking and greater retrogradation in soaked pressure-cooked rice after cooling.
Conclusion: The results demonstrated that both rice variety and cooking method significantly influenced cooking quality, nutrient retention and starch behaviour. Selecting an appropriate cooking method for each rice variety can improve the nutritional and functional quality of cooked rice, providing valuable guidance for consumers, nutritionists, and the food industry.
Keywords:Rice Cooking Methods; Nutrient Retention; Proximate Composition; Starch Gelatinization; Cooking Quality.