Rheological Properties and Textural Correlation of Glutinous, Japonica, and Indica Rice Starches in Cooked Rice Quality

ABSTRACT The rheological and textural properties of starches from glutinous rice (GR), japonica rice (JR), and indica rice (IR) were systematically investigated to establish their relationships with cooked rice quality. GR starches exhibited the highest peak viscosities and the lowest pasting temperatures but very weak gel‐forming capacity, consistent with negligible amylose content. In contrast, IR starches, especially DFR‐S, displayed superior thermal stability, the highest final, and setback viscosities, and the largest storage modulus (G′), indicating strong retrogradation and elastic gel network formation. All starch pastes showed pseudoplastic and shear‐thinning behavior. Significant positive correlations were found between cooked rice hardness, cohesiveness, and chewiness and starch rheological parameters, including pasting temperature, setback viscosity, and consistency coefficient (K). The setback viscosity/peak viscosity ratio and K provided the strongest predictive models for cooked rice texture ( R 2 > 0.95 for cohesiveness and resilience). Variations among genotypes with similar amylose content further suggested contributions from amylopectin fine structure. These findings offer quantitative predictive tools for cooked rice quality evaluation and a theoretical foundation for breeding and processing strategies.