There are volumes of information on the processes
for making instant rice. The most famous instant rice is Minute Rice.
Also it happens that myself and another gentleman developed a fast
cooking rice process for Uncle Ben's several years ago.
The basic principles involve raising the moisture
of milled white rice through cooking in steam or water, then treating
the cooked grains in such a way that cracks, holes or fissures form in
the kernel so that the surface area of the dried grain is much larger
that normal rice.
The 'Instant' or fast cooking
properties come from the fact that water can now much more quickly
penetrate the grain. Like the difference between a solid piece of rubber
and a sponge.
Quite critical to the process is
the drying technique. One large manufacturer uses fluid bed drying,
which keeps the grains separate during the drying process so they don't
stick together.
There are volumes of information
on this subject. One of the best is Luh, Bohr S. 'Rice Production and
Utilization', an AVI Series book.
