Know Your Food: Rice

This month I want to focus on a staple dish: Rice. While most Americans think that there are only two types of rice - white and brown - there are actually over 4000 different types of rice grown around the world. There are some key differences between the rice types however, which can make ones selection easier.

Brown Vs White
The most common decisions made when choosing rice is whether to get brown or white. While the nutritious benefits of brown are highly touted, you also need to take flavor into consideration, especially when cooking. Brown rice has a mildly nutty taste, and is chewier than its white counterpart. White rice has a more delicate flavor, and has a longer shelf life than brown rice. Brown rice has a higher tendency to go rancid due to the oil present in the bran, but the rice bran oil can help lower your LDL cholesterol, so if you refrigerate your brown rice you won't have to worry about it spoiling.

Long Grain Vs Medium Grain Vs Short Grain
When it comes to your rice grains, size is a very good indicator of the rice's purpose. To put it in the simplest terms, the shorter the rice, the stickier it is. Long grain rices are best for fried rice dishes, most Indian foods, and pilafs. Medium rice grain is good for Mexican and Japanese dishes, and short grains are good for sticky rice dishes like desserts and risottos. Your choice of rice can be based on the dishes you make or the kind of rice you prefer - I enjoy stickier rice, so I tend to go with Jasmine (an unusually sticky long grain) over Basmati (a very loose rice).

Parboiled
Parboiled rice is simply rice that was partially boiled before it was husked. It is a white rice that is slightly more nutritious, as some of the hull's vitamins were absorbed into the grain through the boiling process. It takes longer to cook than regular rice, and the taste is changed, though whether it is a preferable change or not is up to the cook to decide.

Wild Rice
Wild rice is a sneaky little devil, as it isn't a rice at all, but rather a grass seed. It is very chewy and has a distinct nutty flavor. It is very difficult to produce, so you don't tend to just buy it in bags, but it shows up in a lot of mixed grain bags for uses in pilafs and casseroles.

Red Rice
More nutritious than white rice and uniquely hued, red rice is a unique rice variety that can be occasionally found in oriental markets and other specialty stores, either labeled as "Bhutanese red rice" or "cargo rice". If you can find it, definitely try it out. :)
Black Rice
A medium grain rice, black rice was once called the "Forbidden Rice", for only the Chinese Emperor was allowed to eat it. Black rice turns a rich purple color when cooked, and is slowly being seen in stores. Black rice is currently being touted as the new super food, having the richest nutrient content of any rice and has as much antioxidants as blueberries while having lower sugar and being higher in iron and fiber.