The purpose was to assess the effects of degree of milling on hydration and textural characteristics of rice cooked using a range of water-to-rice ratios, and to compare the energy requirements when using these fixed water-to-rice ratios to the energy required when cooking with excess-water. Surface lipid contents (SLCs) ranged from 0.15% to 0.55% for non-parboiled rice and from 0.40% to 0.95% for parboiled rice. Cooking degree was assessed by measuring cooked-rice peak force, moisture content and percentage gelatinized kernels. Milling degree had little to no effect on cooking characteristics of all milled samples. Differences in cooking characteristics between milled and brown rice were less pronounced for parboiled than non-parboiled rice. Non-parboiled milled rice required the least energy to be 'well-cooked', followed by parboiled milled rice, non-parboiled brown rice, and parboiled brown rice (there were no significant differences between non-parboiled and parboiled brown rice). In general, excess-water cooking required more energy than fixed water-to-rice ratio cooking. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.