Parboiling increased browning of brown and milled rices. Parboiling of red rice resulted in black coloured rice. Sucrose was not thermally degraded during steaming. The levels of the Maillard precursors glucose and fructose were mainly determined by their losses in Maillard reactions, glucose formation as a result of thermal starch degradation and isomerisation of glucose into fructose during steaming. Free lysine levels were not affected by parboiling. To determine the extent of Maillard browning in parboiled rice, furosine measurements can be used for mild parboiling conditions, while HMF is a better indicator for mild and severe parboiling conditions. The Maillard precursors and indicators were more abundant in outer bran layers than in endosperm. The strong correlation between free HMF and increased redness led us to conclude that Maillard browning was reflected most in the red colour of parboiled brown rice.