What is Parboiled Rice?
Parboiling happens before rice is milled, that is before the inedible outer husk is removed to yield brown rice but before brown rice is refined to make white rice.
The three main steps of parboiling are (1, 2Trusted Source):
Parboiling changes the color of rice to a light yellow or amber, which differs from the pale, white color of regular rice. Still, it’s not as dark as brown rice (1).
This color change is due to pigments moving from the husk and bran into the starchy endosperm (the heart of the rice kernel), as well as a browning reaction that happens during parboiling (3Trusted Source, 4Trusted Source).
Quality & Specification:
|
Quality Parameters |
Specification |
Margin of tolerance with claim for deviation beyond specification |
Rejection |
|
Moisture (maximum) |
13.0% |
14.0% |
above 14.0% |
|
Broken grain (Maximum) |
5.0% (Rice of size 3/4th and below will be considered as broken and less than 1/4th broken should not be more than 2%) |
8.0% (Rice of size 3/4th and below will be considered as broken and less than 1/4th broken should not be more than 4%) |
above 8.0% |
|
Foreign matter (Maximum) |
0.3% |
0.5% |
above 0.5% |
|
Dead, damaged & discolored grains (Maximum) |
3% in total |
4.0% |
above 4.0% |
|
Radio-Activity (maximum) |
50 Bq/Kg of 137Cs/134Cs (Relaxable for the crop of SAARC and South East Asian country) |
50 Bq/Kg of 137Cs/134Cs (Relaxable for the crop of SAARC and South-East Asian country) |
above 50 Bq/Kg of 137Cs/134Cs |
Nutrition comparison:
During parboiling, some water-soluble nutrients move from the bran of the rice kernel into the starchy endosperm. This minimizes some of the nutrient loss that normally happens during refining when making white rice (1).
Here’s how 5.5 ounces (155 grams) of unenriched, cooked, parboiled rice compare to the same amount of unenriched, cooked, white and brown rice. This equates to about 1 cup of parboiled and white rice or a 3/4 cup of brown rice (5Trusted Source):
|
Parboiled rice |
White rice |
Brown rice |
|
|
Calories |
194 |
205 |
194 |
|
Total fat |
0.5 grams |
0.5 grams |
1.5 grams |
|
Total carbs |
41 grams |
45 grams |
40 grams |
|
Fiber |
1 gram |
0.5 grams |
2.5 grams |
|
Protein |
5 grams |
4 grams |
4 grams |
|
Thiamine (vitamin B1) |
10% of the RDI |
3% of the RDI |
23% of the RDI |
|
Niacin (vitamin B3) |
23% of the RDI |
4% of the RDI |
25% of the RDI |
|
Vitamin B6 |
14% of the RDI |
9% of the RDI |
11% of the RDI |
|
Folate (vitamin B9) |
1% of the RDI |
1% of the RDI |
3.5% of the RDI |
|
Vitamin E |
0% of the RDI |
0% of the RDI |
1.8% of the RDI |
|
Iron |
2% of the RDI |
2% of the RDI |
5% of the RDI |
|
Magnesium |
3% of the RDI |
5% of the RDI |
14% of the RDI |
|
Zinc |
5% of the RDI |
7% of the RDI |
10% of the RDI |
Notably, parboiled rice has significantly more thiamine and niacin than white rice. These nutrients are important for energy production. Furthermore, parboiled rice is higher in fiber and protein (6Trusted Source, 7Trusted Source).
On the other hand, some minerals, including magnesium and zinc, are slightly lower in parboiled rice, compared to regular white and brown rice. That said, these values can differ based on variables in the parboiling process (1).
Both parboiled and white rice are sometimes enriched with iron, thiamine, niacin, and folate, which reduces some of these nutrient differences when compared to brown rice. Still, brown rice is the best source of nutrients, overall.
