Precooking Technology and Product Development of Coarse Cereals

Abstract The purpose of this study is to develop instant coarse cereal porridge to improve the convenience of coarse cereals by precooking. The effects of cooking time on the rehydration rate and gelatinization degree of coix seeds, red beans, lotus seeds, wheat kernels, and glutinous rice are investigated using the atmospheric pressure precooking process. Cooking time and quality variations of the coarse cereals are analyzed before and after precooking. The optimal cooking times for coix seeds, red beans, lotus seeds, wheat kernels, and glutinous rice under atmospheric pressure cooking are 110, 65, 40, 40, and 35 minutes (abbr. min), respectively. The rehydration rates are 171.5%, 190%, 170.67%, 224%, and 182.67%, respectively, and the gelatinization degrees are 90%, 74.54%, 80.1%, 92.85%, and 96.97%, respectively. The cooking times of pre‐cooked and pressed coix seeds, red beans, lotus seeds, wheat kernels, and glutinous rice are 10, 8, 12, 10, and 6 min, respectively. Compared to coarse cereals without precooking, the cooking time is reduced by 6.6, 6.5, 3, 4, and 2.3 times, respectively. Instant porridge prepared by combining precooked coarse cereals and dried fruits and vegetables can be consumed after soaking in boiling water for 20 min or boiling for 10 min.