One of the most famous native delicacies among the Filipinos is rice cake prepared by mixing coconut milk and subjecting it to the steaming process. With the utilization of the technology introduced by the Department of Science and Technology High Impact Technology Solutions (DOST-HITS), the production of rice cakes at a very short period of time can be made possible. This study aimed to develop rice cakes popularly known as “suman sa lihiya” through the adoption of the water retort technology. This specifically determined the acceptability of the quality attributes of water retorted rice cakes and its hypothesized differences in terms of color, taste, texture, aroma and general acceptability by employing the three process schedules. Three (3) batches of washed and packed glutinous rice were subjected to water retorting machine at 115°C temperature for 50 minutes, 60 minutes, and 70 minutes respectively. The water retorted rice cakes were subjected to sensory evaluation of its quality attributes in terms of color, taste, texture, aroma and general acceptability using the 9-point Hedonic Scale by the selected panelists (n=30) who were considered as potential customers. Results of the sensory evaluation showed that the quality attributes of the water retorted rice cakes were liked very much by the panelists however, significant differences existed in terms of the texture and general acceptability of the product. The panelists considered water retorted rice cakes which were subjected to the second and third process schedules highly acceptable.

department of Science of Technology, food preservation, rice cakes, water retort