The purpose was to assess the effect of degree of milling (DOM) on cooking kinetics, sensory attributes, and energy requirements when cooking rice in excess water. Commercial milling equipment was adjusted to produce parboiled and non-parboiled rice samples that were milled to varying DOMs, including brown rice lots having no milling. Surface lipid content (SLC) ranged from 0.15% to 0.55% for non-parboiled rice and from 0.40% to 0.95% for parboiled rice. The percentage gelatinized kernels, moisture content, peak force and sensory attributes were determined as a function of cooking duration for all samples. The cooking duration required to attain 'well-cooked' rice was determined, after which the energy required for cooking was measured. Within the SLC range tested, DOM did not affect cooking kinetics, texture and flavor of rice. Non-parboiled brown rice required the most energy, expressed as energy per unit mass of uncooked rice, to be cooked, followed by parboiled brown, parboiled milled and non-parboiled milled rice. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.