Heat treatment improves the dispersion stability of rice bran milk through changing the settling behavior

Poor dispersion stability of nutritious rice bran milk limits its production. In this study, the dispersion stability of rice bran milk after heating at 95 °C for 0–5 min was investigated. Visual observation revealed improved dispersion stability and changes in settling behavior with heat durations. After heating for 5 min, the serum turbidity increased from 1.86 to 2.95. The centrifugal sedimentation rate unexpectedly rose from 9.25% to 29.18%, indicating an increase in volumetric particle concentration. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed that heating induced starch gelatinization and protein denaturation in rice bran milk, leading to increased volumetric particle concentration. Rice bran protein aggregates after heating were developed and embedded in the gel-like network composed of swollen starch granules. These results suggested that rice bran milk, due to thermal-induced alteration in biomacromolecules, may behave progressively from free settling to hindered settling to compression settling, resulting in improved dispersion stability.