What do you know about rice?

[Daisymae]

I had a question regarding rice. In many books and magazines I have read that brown rice is more wholesome, more healthy than the white varieties. They never give an explanation though.

If I were to purchase whole grain white rice, would the nutrient content be comparable to the brown rice? Is there a higher starch content to white rice? Where does "wild" rice fall into these comparisons and what is wild rice?

[zebraman]

Hey Daiseymae;Wild rice isn't actually rice.It is the seed of a type of grass.Wild rice is more nutritious.

[Shamrock1121]

I think you have your terminolgy a little mixed up. *There's no such thing as "whole grain white rice". *There is whole grain rice - and there is white rice.

All white rice was brown (or whole grain rice) before it was processed. *Refining removes the germ and the bran (the outside coat) layers, much like they do for making whole grain wheat into white flour. *Once those portions are removed, it takes the fiber (bran) and most of the nutrition (germ), but leaves a rice product that cooks quicker than brown rice and is also easier to digest.

Because of the oil-containing germ, brown rice goes rancid quicker than white rice.

There are different types and lengths of rice. *Long-grain (four times longer than wide) rice is the most popular rice in the US. *It's 90% of all rice used. *It contains a higher percentage of a starch, amylose, which keeps the grains separate after cooking. *Some long-grain varieties are very perfumed; these include basmati, jasmine, popcorn, and wild pecan. *Wehani, a recently developed variety, smells like popcorn.

Medium-grain rice (twice as long as wide) has a more equal blend of amylose and amglopectin starches and has cooking qualities and starch composition similar to both long- and short-grain varieties. *In terms of stickiness, it is more similar to short grain.

Short-grain rice has an almost round kernel and they cling together once cooked because of its high percentage of the starch, amylopectin. *This rice is slightly more nutrient dense than medium- or long-grain rice and is the preferred grain in the macrobiotic diet. *It is used as a side dish, in soups, risottos, puddings, and croquettes.

Sweet Rice is a very sticky, sweet grain rice used in Asian cooking for sweets or snacks and as the basis of rice wine, mirin, amasake, and mochi.

There is more nutrition in wild rice than common *brown/white rice. *It is from a marsh grass.

Source for much of this information was found in "The Splendid Grain" by Rebecca Wood. *If you need to know about rice flour, I'd be happy to give you that information as well.

You will find a nutrition chart for rice at this link:

http://www.goya.com/english/nutrition/basics_rice.html

-Karen *

[Shamrock1121]

Here's information about wild rice - source: "The New Book of Whole Grains" by Marlene Anne Bumgarner.

Wild rice is not a rice at all, but a tall aquatic grass which is a distant relative of cultivated rice. It grows naturally in China, Japan, and parts of North America, particularly in the great Lakes region. It was the staple grain of the Chippewas and even now grows primarily on their land.

Attempts to cultivate it commercially have not been successful, and the old methods of harvesting it are still the most common. (end of information)

Much of the wild rice is air dried, then parched (heated in a dry pan). Parching gives it a longer shelf life.

-Karen

[PrepLady]

Another little factoid--rice has a very low phytate content. Phytates are acids that prevent certain nutrients (like zinc) from being absorbed in the bloodstream. Most grains contain phytates; it's nature's way of attempting to keep animals from eating all the seed. Therefore, for best nutrition, most grains should be soaked for several hours, preferably in some sort of acidic solution (like yogurt, buttermilk, water with a little vinegar or lemon juice, or by making real sourdough, with all the flour being affected by the sourdough mixture--not just a little bit of it in a starter). But rice has such a low phytate content that you can just cook and eat.

More info on soaking grains: www.westonaprice.org

Forget canned soup--rice is good food!

[Daisymae]

thanks so much for your helpful info! i can always count on BHM. Thanks!