Effect of Cooking Method and the Nutritional Quality of Some Rice (Oryza Sativa) Varieties Consumed in Minna, Niger State, Nigeria,

Abstract

The study investigated the effect of different cooking methods on the nutritional composition of selected rice (Oryza sativa) varieties consumed in Minna, Niger state. The samples were cooked by parboiled method and ordinary cooking method and the proximate composition of different varieties of local rice, Nigerian bagged rice, and foreign rice were evaluated and compared. The results showed that the moisture content of the raw, parboiled, ordinary cooked, and foreign rice were (12.067±0.167, 13.500±0.288, 13.167±0.167) and for local rice were (11.000±0.577, 11.867±0.333, 11.833±0.167) there was no significant difference (P< 0.05). The carbohydrate content was found to record a significant increase with both cooking methods for all varieties of rice. For foreign rice recorded 77.613±0.470 for raw, 81.340±1.320 for parboiled, 83.750±0.645 for ordinary cooked, and for Local rice recorded 73.983±0.130 for raw, 75.617±0.792 for parboiled and 77.617±0.792 for ordinary cooking. Also, there was a significant loss of nutrients between the two cooking methods, but the ordinary cooking methods recorded a higher retention of nutrients than the parboiling methods. It is therefore important to encourage the best cooking practices that will ensure the retention of nutrients