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Article 12. Rice

Rice is one of the most versatile foods known to man. It is made into paper, into milk and wine – and of course, dished up in myriad ways to please the palate. First cultivated in India some 6000 years ago, it was taken to China about 2000 BC. The ancient Hindu holy books make frequent reference to anna (rice grain) and anna lakshmi (goddess of prosperity) as the source of life. In classical Chinese, the word for agriculture and rice cultivation is the same word. In several other oriental languages, the word for rice and food is also the same. Arabs introduced rice to Egypt, and with the Roman conquest of Egypt, rice moved westward to southeastern Europe.

In North America, rice is sprinkled on newlyweds to symbolize fertility and good fortune.

Rice is said to have arrived in the US in 1694 when a ship took shelter from a storm in Charleston, South Carolina. The captain gave the colonists parcels of rice seed in appreciation of their hospitality. Rice became a commercial crop in 1880 and most of it is now grown in the Mississippi delta.

Primarily a carbohydrate that is 80 percent starch and 10 percent water, rice is the grain most of the world eats to simply survive. There are about 7000 varieties of rice which range from white to black, yellow, pink and red, light brown and deep brown, some with heavenly aromas (basmati and jasmine) and others with a distinct “Indian bazaar smell” – the choice is infinite, yet most North Americans eat either long-grain or medium grain polished white. A pity, because brown, basmati, arborio and wahini are more flavourful. Easily digested and with a high B complex content, it is said to calm the nervous system and help overcome allergies.

Sake – a rice wine indigenous to Japan is usually served slightly warm, thus promoting good digestion.

While in general brown rice is considered better than white, not all white rice is polished rice (and thus of lesser nutritional value). White Basmati rice, for instance, is not polished rice. So next time you dish it up, don’t feel guilty! It is a lovely grain, and very beneficial to a delicate digestion. Its distinctive flavour is due to an aging process of somewhere between 5 and 7 years to which the rice is subjected. Hence the higher price.
There are some American hybrid basmati rices “Texmati” and “Calmati” (from Texas and California respectively) which though tasty, lack the particular fragrance of Indian basmati.

Avoid “quick-cooking” or “minute rice”. It is simply not food.

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Parboiled rice – also known as converted rice is a nutritionally more valuable product than just polished white rice. This ingenious process was developed in southern India several centuries ago and eventually made its way across to the western hemisphere. It involves heating rice while still in its husk which drives water-soluble vitamins from the bran layer into the endosperm (the inner kernel), thus providing the grain with higher levels of the B vitamins thiamine, riboflavin and niacin than regular milled rice. Parboiling also ensure better storage qualities since there is no germ or bran to go rancid. It retains much of the nutritional value of unpolished (brown) rice.

How to cook the stuff: Always wash the rice well and let sit in a sieve to remove excess moisture Use a ratio of
1 1/2 cups of boiling water to 1 cup dry of rice (white basmati needs only 1 1/4 cups water), preferably first coating it with a little oil, butter before adding the water and a pinch of salt). Bring to a boil, cover and then reduce the heat to very low (a bare simmer). Don’t stir or muck around with it. Leave it alone. It will thank you 15 or 20 minutes later by being light and fluffy, each grain separate.

Think ahead: When cooking rice for a given dish, always cook a little more (freeze it if necessary). It will come in exceedingly handy when you want to make another meal in a jiffy.

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Edith Carter

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