Stabilizers & Fibers
Rice Flour in gelato
Rice flour is a fine, gluten-free powder milled from white or brown rice, composed almost entirely of starch (~80-84%) with little sugar or fat. In gelato it acts as a natural starch thickener and body-builder rather than a sweetener.
Balancing parameters
Per 100 g of product, verified against independent food-science sources (listed below).
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Total Solids | 90% |
| Water | 10% |
| Sugars | 0.2% |
| Fat | 1.4% |
| MSNF | 0% |
| Protein | 6.2% |
| POD (sweetening power) | 0.2 |
| PAC (anti-freezing power) | 0.2 |
Typical use: 1-3% of the mix (up to ~4% for very lean or vegan bases)
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Open the balancerHow to use it in gelato
Rice flour is used as a starch-based thickener and bulking solid, valued because it is gluten-free and flavor-neutral. Cooked into the base it gelatinizes and binds free water, adding body, creaminess and scoopability without gums. Because it is native starch with only trace free sugars (~0.2 g/100 g), its contribution to POD (sweetness) and PAC (anti-freezing) is effectively nil, so it firms the mix and lowers perceived sweetness relative to adding sugar. Add it as total solids when balancing, not as sugar. Typically it is pre-hydrated and cooked to fully gelatinize; under-cooking leaves a raw, chalky note.
Origin & background
Rice (Oryza sativa) was domesticated in China's Yangtze River valley thousands of years ago, and milling rice into flour is an ancient East and South Asian practice underpinning foods like mochi and rice noodles. Modern composition tables such as USDA FoodData Central (FDC 169714) and Norway's Matvaretabellen catalog white rice flour as a starch-dominant ingredient (~80-84 g carbohydrate per 100 g).
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- USDA FoodData Central, Rice flour, white, unenriched (FDC ID 169714): https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/169714/nutrients
- USDA FDC mirror (myfooddata), Rice flour white unenriched #169714: https://tools.myfooddata.com/nutrition-facts/169714/wt1
- USDA FDC mirror (nutritionvalue.org): https://www.nutritionvalue.org/Rice_flour%2C_unenriched%2C_white_nutritional_value.html
- Matvaretabellen (Norwegian Food Composition Table), Rice flour: https://www.matvaretabellen.no/en/rice-flour/
- Thai organic rice flour physicochemical properties (LWT/ScienceDirect), moisture/protein/fat ranges: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0733521017306239