A A C C   2 0 0 0   A n n u a l   M e e t i n g

Flavor compounds are commonly volatilized or degraded in processes that utilize elevated temperatures such as rice cake popping. Rice cakes are usually coated after puffing with flavored sprays to introduce new flavors. However, such introduced flavor is found only on the product surface. This study describes a method of coating rice grains before puffing to ensure uniform flavor distribution throughout the rice cake. Flavored rice cakes were prepared from short grain brown rice coated with cornstarch containing aroma compounds (apple - ethyl-2-methyl butyrate, onion - propyl disulfide, and anise-trans-anethole). The cornstarch coating was prepared from aqueous slurry (8% db) that was jet-cooked at 95psi, 121°C and 2 min holding time to produce a starch paste. The cooked starch was cooled (25°C) and directly blended with salt (2% w/w) to produce slurry or blended with corn oil (5% w/w) and salt (2% w/w) to produce emulsion. The rice grains were coated with either slurry or emulsion, conditioned to 20% moisture (db) and puffed into cakes. Flavor loss was evaluated at 0, 4 and 8 weeks. The aroma compounds were well absorbed by both the emulsion and the starch paste. The largest flavor loss was observed right after popping ranging from 22% in cakes prepared with apple paste to 65% in cakes coated with emulsion containing anise. The loss of flavor compounds in the rice cakes during 8 weeks of storage was negligible (1-7%). There was no significant difference in flavor retention of rice cakes coated with either slurry or emulsion. The results indicate that jet cooked starch as a slurry or emulsion is effective as a flavor carrier.