Cooking Qualities of Parboiled Little Millet and Proso Millet: Effect of Soaking and Steaming

Abstract

Parboiling of little millet (Panicum sumatrense) and proso millet (Panicum miliaceum) was carried out by soaking at different soaking temperatures (30, 40, 50, 60 and 70°C) and durations of steaming (10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 min). The parboiled millet grains were shade dried and pearled in a laboratory scale pearler cum polisher. Parboiling of these millets was assessed for the cooking qualities, in terms of cooking time, water uptake, swelling index and elongation ratio.  Parboiled little millet took 9 - 14 min for cooking with water uptake ratio of 3.3 - 4.7 and showed swelling index and elongation ratio ranging from 1.73 - 2.74 and 1.69 - 2.61, respectively. For proso millet cooking time and water uptake were recorded as 11 - 13 min and 2 - 4.2, with swelling index and elongation ratio of 0.7 - 1.72 and 1.42 - 4.26, respectively. Soaking at 50 and 60°C and steaming for 25 and 10 min, respectively, for little millet and proso millet yielded higher cooking qualities, viz., water uptake, swelling index and elongation ratio, and with less cooking time, which are considered as optimum conditions.