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The Character of "Rice"

Springtime water filled paddies after planting

Rice is identified by the length of grain, which directly affects how it cooks. The shorter the grain, the higher the natural starch, amylopectin, content. Higher amylopectin content result in stickier rice.

LONG GRAIN - A long, slender kernel which can be 4 to 5 times as long as it is wide. Cooked grains are separate, light and fluffy. Available in regular milled white, brown and aromatic forms. Use in pilafs, side dishes, salads, anywhere that requires the texture of a separate grain.

MEDIUM GRAIN - Shorter, wider kernel; 2 to 3 times longer than its width. Cooked grains are moist, tender and slightly clingy. Available in regular milled white, brown and aromatic. Use in risottos, rice puddings, or dishes requiring a stickier rice.

SHORT GRAIN - Plump, almost round. Cooked grains are soft and cling together. Available in regular milled, polished or brown. Use in sushi, rice puddings, and dishes requiring very sticky rice.

Rice Field in California

Rice seeds are sown in spring and they ripen in autumn. The harvested rice is separated into four elements, each of which has a function.

First, it is divided into straw and unhulled rice by a threshing machine. The unhulled rice is then separated into hulls and unpolished rice. This unpolished rice then goes through a rice-polisher which produces rice-bran as a by-product of the process. Altogether, the rice plant gives rice, bran, straw and hulls. Naturally, the polished rice is the only element consumed as food.

This does not mean, however, that the other ingredients are discarded. Human economic activity today results in too many waste materials. Insofar as the rice cycle is concerned, however, every element is fully fused. At the final stage, rice is reduced to organic waste to be put back into the soil, where it will service to assist in the growth of rice and other crops.