Rice

Rice is believed to have originally been grown from wild plants that thrived in Indonesia and South-Eastern Asia, and was grown and harvested in the Orient at least 5,000 years ago. From Asia, its cultivation has spread to all regions where soil and climate are suitable and its use has spread even farther. Today there is no part of the world where rice is not a staple.

Brown rice was the traditional staple diet of the countries of the East and it was not until the advent of colonialism and rice polishing that white rice became a popular food of “advanced” civilization

As in the case of the potato and many other vegetables, for many years Europeans and in particular North Americans insisted on throwing away many of the healthful attributes of rice.

In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries it was economically convenient to have rice in a form that was easily stored, quickly cooked, and long-lasting. Although, it has not been processed as much as white rice, even today brown rice sells at a higher price and brown rice of poor quality is visibly less attractive. Polishing conceals a multitude of faults In the United States, powdered talc, and glucose are also frequently dusted over white rice to enhance its appearance, with the result that a demand for polished white rice spread also into the Asian world. 

Then in the early 1960’s many people in Canada and Europe were attracted to the ideas of George Ohsawa,’ who had rediscovered the importance of dietary balance in traditional Eastern foods.        

With the general realization that the Milky-Way galaxy did not, does not, and will not ever revolve around the United States of America  came a new awakening of interest in Eastern culture and  ideas. Guided by the principle that digestive health underpins the total condition of the body came the bran boom of the 1970’s and brown rice and other associated healthier foods became more widely used. Brown rice is more than just nutritious- it is delicious, with a full, nutty flavour that white rice can never match but brown, or white rice is versatile, enhancing a wide variety of other foods in infinite combinations.
The reason, for the popularity of rice is no mystery: Rice is one of the few foods; that can be used in any course of the meal.
Economy of Rice:Not only is rice inexpensive, but there is no waste. In addition since it combines will with many different foods, rice makes more expensive foods go farther.
Varieties of Rice:Short Grain- Short grain rice grains are about 3/16ths of an inch in length and have a soft texture when cooked. Commonly used in puddings, short grain rice has a wide variety of savoury uses and is particularly good when served with sauces or with vegetables. It can be served with an ice-cream scoop. A slightly glutinous strain of short rice is cultivated in Japan and is being grown increasingly in Italy, France, and Spain.

Medium Grain- Medium grain is similar to short grain but slightly longer. Grown in Italy and the U.S.A., its appeal is mainly in the form of white rice.

Long Grain- Long grain rice is slender in shape and can be up to 3/8ths of an inch long. The grains are dry when cooked and do not stick to each other. The best varieties of long grain rice are grown in sub-tropical climates, particularly in Surinam, Thailand, and Texas.

Similar to long grain rice in thinness but shorter and somewhat chewier in texture are Basmati and California long grain rice. Long grain is the rice most often used in oriental cooking.

Sweet Brown Rice- Sweet brown rice is a very glutinous variety originating in Japan. Its sweet flavour and moist texture when cooked make it ideal for desserts where one wishes to keep sweeteners to a minimum, and also as an addition to some other variety of rice being cooked.

Red Rice- This grows in South-East Asia and is similar to long grain in shape. Because it is hardy, it is grown where other rice crops would not thrive. It is dull in colour when polished so until the Western world became more health conscious, generally the whole grains were eaten by poorer people or used as animal feed. A purplish-black long grain variety is grown in China and can sometimes be found in Chinese grocers. Green grains may appear in some varieties of brown rice, Particularly from France and Italy. These are fully-ripened grains which have not had sufficient sunshine during their final ripening to turn a golden-brown colour. Once cooked, these grains are similar to the browner grains in every respect.

White Rice-Almost any of the above varieties of rice can be turned into white rice by the removal of the bran layers of the grain and the germ to leave only the starchy white kernel. The bran and germ contain almost all the vitamins and minerals and oils of the grain, as well as much of the protein.

The main disadvantages of using white rice, apart from the loss of nutritive elements, comes from the loss of the high-fibre bran layers of the grain. The effect of consuming bran is twofold: firstly, the appetite is satisfied at a reasonable level (a truth of which the average Canadian would do well to take note of Canadian do not consume anywhere near enough fibre)- a feeling of fullness arises due to the very bulk of the bran and overeating leading to obesity is less likely to occur

Secondly, the fibre elements helps speed and facilitate the digestive process thereby reducing the likelihood of diseases of the intestine such as cancer.

Parboiled Rice- Sometimes deceptively and fraudulently called brown rice by the Americans; this is processed rice that is the result of an attempt to avoid the worst effects of rice-milling. The completely unhusked grains of rice are immersed in hot water, with the result that the grain is dyed and some of the B-vitamins and soluble minerals in the bran and germ soak into the starchy kernel. The grains are then dried and the bran and germ are removed (usually, and in all probability to be later sold as very profitable health food). The result is rice that has a dull brown colour, a little flavour, and just enough vitamins to keep the consumer from developing beriberi or pellagra, two diseases that arise directly from refining of rice where it is a staple part of the diet.

Wild Rice- Wild rice is not rice at all and is not even a member of the rice family. Actually it is a berry, coming from an aquatic grass the large dark fruits stand on long stalks in the lakes of Canada. The fruits are harvested by threshing the heads of the plants against the inside hull of a canoe. Wild rice is expensive, but a little mixed with long grain rice before cooking can have a considerable effect.

         

Always check your rice or the presence of any foreign bodies; a small stone or other particle can spoil someone’s enjoyment of an entire meal. There is no pre-cleaning method that is one-hundred per cent effective, so the extra precaution of picking over your rice is worth the minute or two it may take.

Then wash your rice. You can simply place the saucepan under a running tap and let the water flow over the top, or shake it in water in a closed container and then pour away the water through a strainer, either way; you get rid of dust, talcum, and dirt that may detract from the flavour of the rice

·        For maximum freshness, uncooked rice should be placed in a sealed container and kept in a cool, dry, and dark place (can also be stored in the refrigerator or freezer.

·        White long grain rice is still the most commonly used rice in Canada. Even among the Asian community the consumption of brown rice remains practically non-existent and a prejudice against it as the food of peasants will take a long time to disappear

REMEMBER

 You are NOT and do NOT want to wash away starch.

Rice is almost ALL starch

Starch is good for you.

Rice also contains carbohydrates, protein, minerals, and vitamins:

Rice is a splendid energy food.

MANY OF THESE BENEFITS ARE LOST THROUGH OVER-WASHING.

What you want to wash away is the dust and ARTIFICIAL TALC

PLEASE

 READ THE ABOVE

Used as a Vegetable, Some Rice Recipes

Detailed Contents: Used as a Vegetable-Boiled Rice-Pressure Cooking-A Chinese Method of Cooking Rice-Brown Rice-White Polished Rice-Re-Steam Rice-In Place of Water-Saffron Rice-Baked Rice-Rice-Cream Cereal-Popped Rice            -Popped Wild Rice-Canadian Far North Stir-fry-Baked White or Brown Rice-Rice Pilaff  -Pakistani Pilaff-Brown Rice Pilaff  

© Al (Alex, Alexander) D. Girvan. All rights reserved.