Valorization of Fermented Rice Water (Oryza sativa L.) in Food Industry: A Review

Abstract

Rice (Oryza sativa) is an important staple food in Malaysia and gaining popularity in recent years due to its widespread availability and versatility to make various kind of dishes. The rice is often washed by rinsing, soaking, or boiling prior to any subsequent cooking procedure yielding suspension of dissolved starch that has a milky and slurry texture. The rice water is enriched with carbohydrate, protein, minerals and vitamin that leach out of the rice during the process. It is commonly used for other purposes in cosmetic and agriculture industry. Nevertheless, the disposal of rice water remains high as it often discarded by household and industries thus its utilization is indeed necessary to avoid environmental issues. Given the role of rice as staple food in tropical country especially Malaysia that represent one of the leading countries that cultivates and consumes rice, valorization of rice water for food consumption is considered to be a promising project since it yields more benefits and not widely explored. This review focuses on the valorization of rice water into food products through fermentation process as a method to reintegrate it into the food chain.