March, 1910.] 



211 



Edible Products. 



With regard to the composition of 

 purely Indian rices, Professor A. H. 

 Church, in his Food Grains of India, 

 states that analyses had been made of a 

 large number of samples of cleaned rice, 

 and these gave figures which were 

 wonderfully accordant, considering the 

 great differences in the appearance of 

 the specimens and the very diverse con- 

 ditions under which they were grown. 

 He found that the nitrogenous consti- 

 tuents or albuminoids oscillate within 

 narrow limits — probably nine samples 

 out of ten, he thought, would be found 

 to contain not less than seven per cent, 

 and not more then eight. The compo- 

 sition of Indian rice is given as under :— 



Water 



Albuminoids 



Pat 



Starch 



Fibre 



Ash 



12-8 

 7-3 

 '6 



78-3 

 •4 

 •(5 



Dr. J. W, Leather gives the averages 

 of four sorts of fine rice and four 

 sorts of coarse rice as follows :— 



Water, 



Fine 1225 

 Coarse 1210 



Albumi- 

 noids. 



6'45 

 6'91 



Fat. 



•92 

 1-03 



Carbo- 

 hydrates. 



78-83 

 77-99 



Fibre. Ash, 



'21 

 •45 



1-33 

 1-57 



In these analyses the albuminoids 

 are said to be somewhat low owing to 

 the "albuminoid nitrogen," equivalent 

 to 90 per cent, of the total nitrogen, 

 being calculated into albuminoids, using 

 the factor 6'25. 



Mr. Hooper reminds us that the pro- 

 teins or albuminoids of rice have re- 

 cently been studied by O. Rosenheim 

 and S. Kajuira. These chemists find 7 

 per cent, of total protein present in 

 rice, of which 014 is a globulin, 04 an 

 albumin, and the remainder a protein 

 which, like the glutenin of wheat, is 

 soluble in dilute alkali. 



It was pointed out in the Indian 

 Trade Journal long ago that the polish- 

 ing of rice meant a diminution in its 

 nutritive value. Experiments conducted 

 in the United States in 1904 proved 

 conclusively that while raw rice afforded 

 9*88 per cent, of proteids, the brans or 

 rice meals gave from 926 to 1341 per 

 cent, of proteids and from 9 to 14'3 per 

 cent, of fat. The rice dust contained 

 from 8-5 to 11 per cent, of proteids and 

 from 5'2 to 6-9 per cent, of fat, while 

 the polished rice, ready for sale, con- 

 tained only G-5G per cent, of proteids. 

 The idea of polishing rice is, of course, 

 simply to please the eye, and the prac- 

 tice is largely followed in most Euro- 



27 



peau markets and is likely to continue 

 as long as the demand persists. Rice 

 sustains a further reduction of its food 

 value by boiling, which process removes 

 more than half the fat, over 8 per cent, 

 of the albuminoids, less than 8 per cent, 

 of the carbohydrates, and 17'6 per cent, 

 of the ash. There would seem, there- 

 fore, to be good ground for the idea 

 that is fairly current in the East that 

 parched rice contains the most nutri- 

 ment. 



The results of the analyses of one 

 hundred and fifty-nine samples of Indian 

 rice are tabulated below for easy re- 

 ference :— 



ffa) Carbo- 

 lac " hy- Fibre. Ash. 

 drates. 



•40 79-82 '44 -73 

 •40 78-86 '48 -80 



Sam- 



Water, 



Pro- 



Bengal... 



Bengal 



Eastern Ben- 

 gal & Assam 



Burma 



Cuttack 



Central Pro- 

 vinces. 



United Pro- 

 vinces. 



Nepal ... 



Punjab 



Bombay 



Bombay 



Madras 



Madras... 



14 11-10 7-51 

 12 12 37 7-09 



16 11-19 7-67 



10 11*54 7-54 



11 10-92 6-58 



•53 79-21 

 ■98 78-59 

 •31 80-81 



•58 '82 

 •58 -77 

 •35 1-03 



7 9'05 6-68 -88 32-05 -42 '92 



•89 



.10 10-03 7*44 2'83 77*14 1-00 1'56 



.13 11-28 7-50 -85 79'13 -82 "92 



.14 12-89 6-98 -36 78'63 



.16 12-61 7-69 2-65 74 63 



.14 13-15 7 27 2-56 74'90 



.11 8-94 7-10 '74 81'54 



.11 11-69 6-81 1-03 79'00 



5 



•89 1-53 

 •74 1-38 

 •43 125 

 98 



•49 



Mr. Hooper explains that the average 

 percentage of protein in these rices is 

 7*25, with the highest in Eastern Ben- 

 gal and Assam and Bombay and the 

 lowest in Cuttack and the Central Pro- 

 vinces. But the most interesting con- 

 clusions, he says, are drawn from the 

 individual analyses where the percent- 

 age varies from 9*81 in a sample from 

 Broach to 5*44 in a sample from Cuttack. 

 It has been found that in some cases 

 the local reputation and market value 

 of rice coincides with its high nitrogen 

 content. This is noticed in the case of 

 certain rices of Eastern Bengal and 

 Assam, Cuttack, Nepal, and Bombay. 

 In other cases there is no connection 

 between the high market value and 

 the nitrogen contents, as instanced in 

 the dadkhani rice of Bengal. The ex- 

 amination has resulted in giving a 

 prominent place to certain rices which 

 deserve attention at the hands of culti- 

 vators as containing over 8 per cent, 

 of albuminoids. 



Finally, it has been demonstrated 

 that the richness of the grain appears 

 to be due not so much to the races of 

 the plant or the appearance of the grain 

 as to the cultivation. The secret of an 

 abundant crop of excellent rice lies in 



