The effects of natural fermentation on the physical properties of rice flour and the rheological characteristics of rice noodles

The effects of fermentation of whole polished rice grains on the physical properties of rice flour and the rheological characteristics of rice noodles were investigated. Natural fermentation had little effect on the crystalline structure of rice starch, as measured by X-ray diffraction, but the ratio of the crystalline to the amorphous regions increased. The thermal properties of rice flours were determined using differential scanning calorimetry and a rapid viscosity analyser (RVA). The gelatinization temperature, T-p, and the RVA peak viscosity of rice flour decreased, while the gelatinization enthalpy, Delta H, increased after fermentation. The FTIR spectra of fermented and control rice flours were similar. Fermented rice starch granules had slight superficial corrosion when examined using scanning electron microscopy. Fermentation may thus change the amorphous region of the starch granule as well as the chemical components and thereby modify both physical properties of rice flour and rheological characteristics of rice noodles.