Rice is a cereal grain and represents the most important food for a large part of Latin America, East, South and Southeast Asia. Rice is the second most important grain after corn, and more popular that wheat, and potatoes combined. Wheat represents the main starch of Mediterranean- and Middle Eastern peoples, whereas northern Europeans like other grains (i.e rye) and potatoes.
Wild rice has been used for millennia by the First Nations of North America. It is not a grain, but a grass and requires much more (3 times more) water than rice in cooking. Wild rice is still being used by the First nations, although expensive due to the time involved in harvesting. It stores well for a long time.
Rice is planted in
Lowlands – rain fed
Deepwater – irrigated
Deepwater – coastal wetlands
Upland – draught resistant
Rice grains measure 5 – 12 mm. long and 2 –3 mm. thick. The plant grows top a height of 1 – 1.8 metres.
White rice, which is more popular than brown rice, is easier to cook, tastes more refined and to digest. It may be “buffed” with glucose or talc, a process known as polishing, or parboiled (converted), or milled to rice flour.
Brown rice is natural, tastes nutty, requires long cooking and takes much longer to digest.
There are long grain (Patna, Basmati), medium grain (used for sweets), or short grain (for risotto i.e. Vialone Nano, Carnaroli, Arborio),
Basmati and Patna rice are grown in northern India and Pakistan.
Considerable research and hybridization has taken place in Basmati production.
Indian officials recognize six “true line” Basmati – Basmati – 370, – 217, – 386, Dehradun, Tarori and Ranbir. Crossing Basmati with other types resulted in several strains. They are not considered pure and are classified as Pusa Basmati, Haryana Basmati, Kasturi, Maki, and Sugand. Indian exporters ship mainly true basmati, and distribute hybridized strains within the country.
Pakistani officials recognize five varieties including Super basmati, Basmati 385 and 198, all of which are high yielding hybrids and much less expensive to produce, but their taste and texture are inferior to the true Basmati. True Basmati is fragrant, delicate, flavourful, and doubles in volume when properly cooked. It must be consumed shortly after cooking and never reheated.
Basmati is shaped like a sword, and represents only one per cent of the total rice production, hence considerably more expensive. For this reason many exporters blend true Basmati with inferior strains in an attempt to maximize their profits. Fakes of basmati can only be detected through DNA analysis, and expensive and time-consuming procedure, which governments and/or the private sector are not, interested in pursuing.
The consumer must rely on the integrity of the exporter
Texmati, a hybrid developed in Texas, should not be confused with true basmati. True rice connoisseurs frown upon parboiled (converted) rice, which has practically no taste, but is convenient when it comes to cooking time and expertise.
When buying rice, at least in Canada, select stores with a high turnover to ensure quality. Try a few brands and decide for yourself. Tilda and Quill are two reliable brands available in Indian grocery stores.
The largest producers of rice are
(Millions of tons)
China 135
India 85
Egypt 39
Malaysia 37
Indonesia 37
Bangladesh 26
Vietnam 18
Thailand 10
Myanmar 10
Philippines 9.7
Japan 8.7
Brazil 8.1
South Korea 5.0
U.S.A 3.9
Guest Writer – Hrayr Berberoglu E-mail or interested in his books?.
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Tyler
May 27th, 2009 at 22:42
I love rice, mainly brown rice and especially wild rice. Here in Mn we have a lot of wild rice grown in the northern part of the state, and we try to make a meal using it once every other week. I also love saki, a Japanese alcohol made from fermented rice. Yum!
Tylers last blog post..Rip Gto