## 4 Conclusions  
This study examined the cooking and sensory properties of Chinese black rice subjected to gradient milling. The findings revealed a significant decrease in gelatinization time with increasing milling degrees, while the water uptake ratio of whole black rice was notably lower than that of refined grains. Furthermore, low-field NMR was employed to assess water concentration and the distribution of black rice during soaking and cooking. The results suggested that bran layers of black rice acted as a physical barrier, impeding the water's penetration into the kernels during both soaking and cooking. This difference in water penetration and distribution significantly impacted the eating quality of cooked rice. Furthermore, sensory attributes influencing the texture features of cooked black rice were closely linked to the milling treatment. The slightly milled black rice (B, milling degree:  
Figure 6: Heat map of hierarchical cluster analysis of Pearson correlation coefficient between odor value (smell score in sensory test) and response value of sensors in electronic noses or relative concentration of volatiles (\({}^{*}p<0.05\); \({}^{**}p<0.01\)). 0.57%) showed the highest scores for all sensory attributes both in the sensory test and taste analyzer measurement. Furthermore, the changes in the odor value (smell score in sensory test) in the sensory test of black rice with different milling degrees were mainly caused by the changes in the content of 2-pentyl-furan and guaiacol. To retain the bioactive phytochemicals and volatile flavor compounds in the bran layer, it is recommended to avoid excessive milling of black rice. This finding supported the observation that moderately milled black rice significantly enhanced the taste characteristics of whole black rice while preserving the maximum amount of bran fraction, making it a viable alternative staple food. Overall, this work not only contributed to our understanding of the interplay between milling, cooking, and the sensory aspects of black rice, but also offered valuable insights into the moderate milling of black rice to balance taste and nutrition. In the present study, trained panelists were recruited as tasters for the cooked black rice with varying milling degrees, rather than untrained consumers. To assess the acceptability and palatability of cooked black rice, future research should incorporate a consumer acceptance test involving untrained individuals and evaluate whether the taste analyzer can accurately predict the acceptability of cooked black rice. Furthermore, it is crucial to compare the results across larger populations to distinguish the effects of demographic characteristics such as age, gender, region, and training experience on sensory scores to provide a more accurate sensory description of cooked black rice. The following supporting information can be downloaded at: [[https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/foods13213453/s1](https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/foods13213453/s1)]([https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/foods13213453/s1](https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/foods13213453/s1)), Table S1: Detailed rating rules and record form for sensory evaluation of cooked black rice [25]. Methodology, S.Y. ; Formal analysis, S.Y., D.S. and A.W.-S.Z. ; Investigation, Q.G. and D.S. ; Data curation, A.W.-S.Z. ; Writing--original draft, S.Y. ; Writing--review & editing, D.S., A.W.-S.Z. and B.L. ; Supervision, J.H. ; Funding acquisition, Q.G., J.H. and B.L. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. The authors are grateful for the financial support of the Key R&D Program of Hubei Province in China (2023 BBB059). The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by The Ethics Committee of Huazhong Agricultural University (protocol code HZAUHU-2023-0024 and 17 August 2023 of approval). Informed Consent Statement: Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.