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The effects of rice flour and corn starch on estimated glycemic index of rice vermicelli
C. MINGFEN (1) (1) China Grain Products Research & Development Institute, , Taiwan.

Taiwanese rice vermicelli (mi-fen) is the traditional food in Taiwan, which is made with higher amylose long rice grain or rice flour and water. A glycemic index is considered to be one of the important objective indices for changes in blood sugar level in human body. The glycemic index of rice vermicelli would be affected by raw material and processing. Rice vermicelli is predominantly made with high amylose rice which inherently has a lower GI. Because of the cost and quality concerns, the main material rice which is made by Taiwanese traditional rice vermicelli was replaced by starch in recent years. As a result, less rice shall be added to this product. The objective of this study was to analyze the estimated glycemic index (eGI) and texture of rice vermicelli using corn starch, dry-milled rice flour and wet-milled rice flour. The results showed that vermicelli made with long rice flour which has lower eGI(65~80). However, using corn starch on vermicelli making had higher TPA force value and lower cooking loss(3.5~5%), but there was no significant difference in cooking yield. Additionally, the vermicelli with dry-milled flour has lower eGI than wet-milled. To conclude, traditional Taiwanese rice vermicelli made with rice flour has more potential in lower GI and therefore, good for diabetic consumer.