Abstract:This study investigated the effects of varying different degrees of milling on the appearance changes, nutrient content, cooking, and taste quality of the brown rice variety Kongyu 131. Spearman’s method was employed to determine the correlation between the milling degree and brown rice quality, with the aim of obtaining brown rice with balanced taste and nutrition. The results showed that as the milling degree increased (milling rate 0%~7%, with all % indicating the mass fraction), the percentage of whole brown rice decreased by 1.20% and that of bran retention decreased by 72.70%. The content of nutritional components significantly decreased when the milling rate was increased to 7%: the protein content decreased by 8.60%, crude fiber content decreased by 3.40%, starch content increased by 11.00%, and amylose content increased by 4.60%. The contents of calcium, zinc, iron, manganese, and copper decreased by 37.70%, 19.21%, 17.01%, 37.52%, and 28.25%, respectively; the VB1, VB2, VB3, VB5, and VB6 contents decreased by 52.39%, 25.00%, 47.98%, 35.36%, and 42.64%, respectively. Analysis of cooking quality revealed that when the milling rate was increased from 0% to 7%, the water absorption, swelling, and solid loss rates increased by 50.88%, 62.19%, and 5.27%, respectively. The maximum disintegration value (1 232.56 Pa•s), minimum pasting temperature (85.73 ℃), and best taste were observed at a milling rate of 4%. Correlation analysis showed that the indices affecting the level of brown rice quality were, in descending order: crude fiber>final viscosity>enthalpy>VB3>calcium content>hardness. In summary, the optimal degree of milling for brown rice was 4%, at which bran retention was 88.80%; the taste of this rice was superior to that of commercially available brown rice of the same variety and exhibited more balanced nutrition.