The main rice varieties
Following the growth of interest in Europe for exotic products since the mid-19th century, rice has joined potatoes on the menu. Today, rice has become a permanent item on our weekly menu. However, there are thousands of different types of rice. Each type of rice that we know has its own use. In order to choose the rice for a dish, it’s important to know more about rice.
Rice can roughly be divided into two types: brown rice and white rice. White rice also varies in the length and shape of the grain, which delivers different results after cooking and determines how the rice is used.
Long grain brown rice
After the rice is harvested, the husk is removed from the grain but the bran layer around the grain remains. The rice with the bran layer is called brown rice. This type of rice contains more vitamins and minerals, has more fibre and is therefore more nutritious than white rice. Brown rice takes longer to cook than white rice and makes you feel fuller for longer.
· When cooked, brown rice is dry, has a slightly nutty flavour and is the ideal basis for a rice salad and a good accompaniment to any meal.
Long grain white rice
In white rice, the bran layer is removed and the grain is milled and polished, giving the surface of the grain a powdery starch layer. Depending on how it is cooked, white rice gives a dry to slightly sticky result. In many countries where rice is eaten with chopsticks or with the fingers, people tend to prefer slightly sticky rice to that perfect dry grain.
· White long grain rice is the most popular type of rice in Europe and is often eaten with a range of Asian dishes and meals.
Before the rice is milled, the grain undergoes a process of soaking, cooking or steaming and drying, whereby the nutrients from the bran layer are absorbed in the core. This process does not affect the cooking time, but makes the milled rice more nutritious.
Other frequently used fragrant rice varieties are the Indian nutty flavoured basmati rice and the floral Thai jasmine rice. These rice varieties owe their flavour to the volatile aromas in the rice. Nutty pandan rice is pre-treated with aromatic pandan leaves. All three rice varieties are delicious with gourmet Asian meals.
· Minute rice
By pre-treating white, brown or parboiled rice (steaming or boiling and drying), the cooking time of the rice is shortened and the sticky qualities are eliminated. The result is then nearly always a very dry, powdery rice.
Medium grain rice
This almost oval rice grain absorbs a lot of moisture, but stays firm. The grain also releases some starch which binds with the cooking liquid and gives a much stickier result.
· Well-known medium grain rice varieties are Arborio rice, used for risotto, and Arroz de Valencia, ideal for paella.
Round or short grain rice
This rice is a very sticky rice variety which often disintegrates during cooking and releases a lot of starch, which binds with the cooking liquid. This rice is often used in puddings, desserts and sweet Asian dishes.
· After cooking, the sticky or glutinous rice grain easily breaks up, producing, as the name implies, a sticky result. Sticky rice is mainly used in Asian sweet and savoury snacks wrapped in banana leaves.
· Pudding rice is a broken round grain rice which produces a moist, creamy result.
· Sushi rice is Japanese rice which can be both short grain and medium grain. Because of its ability to stick perfectly in small heaps, sushi rice is ideal for different types of sushi.