Submitted to: Cereal Chemistry
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: September 4, 2003
Publication Date: February 1, 2004
Citation: Champagne, E.T., Bett Garber, K.L., Grimm, C.C., Mcclung, A.M., Bergman, C.J. 2004. Sensory characteristics of diverse rice cultivars as influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Cereal Chemistry. 81:237-243. Interpretive Summary: In today's global marketplace, consumers are demanding rice with specific flavor and texture characteristics. For producers and processors to have control over the sensory quality of their products, they need to understand genetic influences on texture and flavor and how sensory characteristics vary with pre-harvest and post-harvest factors in specific cultivars. The objective of this study was to gain an understanding of flavor/texture differences amongst diverse cultivars related to genetic influences. Grain flavor was highest in cultivars with low amounts of starch in the form of amylose. Cooked texture of the cultivars was also strongly related to amylose content. Statistical cluster analysis grouped the cultivars into clusters with common texture and flavor characteristics. These clusters provide insight into similarities and differences in texture and flavor of cultivars not realized by comparing their composition. This research will assist producers and processors in directing their products to appropriate markets and thus meet consumer demand for rice with specific flavor and texture.
Technical Abstract: Lack of a knowledge-base for predicting how genetic, pre-harvest, and post-harvest factors affect the sensory characteristics of rice results in producers and processors not having control over the sensory quality of their products. In this study, differences in the texture and flavor of seventeen diverse cultivars related to genetic differences were characterized. Sensory attributes of cooked rice were measured by panelists using descriptive sensory analysis methodology. Cooked texture of the cultivars varied widely and correlated well with amylose content with correlation coefficient (r) values in the range 0.76 - 0.97 for eleven of the fourteen attributes. Flavor attribute intensities were low and similar, with the exception of grain flavor. Grain flavor ranged in intensity from 2.5 to 4.8 and correlated highly and negatively with amylose content (r= -0.95). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Ward's Cluster Analysis grouped the cultivars into three and/or five (Ward's Cluster Analysis) clusters with cultivars belonging to each cluster having common texture and flavor characteristics. These clusters provide insight into similarities and differences in both texture and flavor of cultivars which cannot be gleamed from physicochemical data (e.g., amylose and protein contents).