The Effects of Soaking on Rice Granules for <i>Bedak sejuk </i>Production

Abstract

Bedak sejuk, is a traditional cosmetic product that still being used and fond by many women in Malaysia. It is produced by the traditional methods that passed from generation to generation. Rice grains were soaked in water at least for three months or until it fully dissolved. The aim of the study is to determine the effects of soaking on rice granules for bedak sejuk production. Local rice grains (Indica) were soaked in water at ratio of 1:1 (w/v) in a container with lid for 42 days and the water were changed at 14 days interval. The soaking process was a series of batch process. A growth profile of microbial in the fermented supernatant showed that the lag phase started on day 3 of soaking process and the exponential phase started on day 8 of soaking process. The final pH value of fermented supernatant was 4.04 while the final titratable acidity which is expressed as lactic acid was 0.62 mg mL-1. Reducing sugar increased while total starch decreased during the soaking process. For particle size distribution of rice granules, there is no clear differences in the size distribution but there is slight changes of weight fraction of the rice granules. The analysis of fermented supernatant suggests that natural fermentation occurred during the soaking process while the analysis of rice granules suggests that hydrolysis of rice starch occurred during the natural fermentation process.