What Is Rice?
Rice is an edible starchy Cereal grain from the grass plant family Poaceae. Rice is the most common grain consumed all over the world. One-half of the world population today is known to consume rice. The biggest consuming population is dominated by the people of East and Southeast Asia.
Rice is cooked predominantly cooked boiling. It is then consumed plain or with a variety of soups, vegetables and meats. There are three basic kinds of Rice as elaborated below;
Basic Kinds of Rice
Short-grain rice
This rice is rounded and plump. Short grain rice has high starch content. It is therefore characterized by soft and plump grains that usually cling and stick together.
Long-grain rice
This kind of rice is much longer and narrow. Its starch content is much lower compared to that of short-grain rice. Cooked long-grain rice is light, fluffy and separate.
Medium-grain rice
Medium grain rice fits between short- and long-grain rice both in shape and its starchy composition.
Rice can further be differentiated and classified by its type as we shall see below.
Types of Rice
White Rice
This rice is white in colour and has been milled to remove the outer husk, bran, and germ. This is rice is easy to find, cheap and the most popularly consumed type of world over. Scientists and researchers have has classed it as less nutritious compared to brown rice. It is advantaged over brown rice are; it can be stored for long periods, and it cooks faster than brown rice. White rice can be short, medium, or a long-grain variety.
Brown Rice
Brown rice is a less processed type of rice. It is the whole grain version of the white rice with just the outer husk removed. It is nutrient-rich with bran and germ that are not removed during the processing. It has a nutty and chewy texture when eating. Brown rice can be short, medium, or a long-grain variety
Black Rice
Black rice like its name is black in colour. This type of rice is a nutritious source of iron, vitamins, antioxidants, and fibre. This rice will turn purple when cooked.
Aromatic Rice
This type of rice has a special fragrant aroma when cooked. Examples of aromatic rice are basmati (India) Jasmine (Thailand), Texmati (Texas), and Wehani and pecan wild rice (both from Louisiana).
Arborio Rice
This is a medium-short-grain, starchy white rice popularly used in the making of risotto. Otherrisotto rice varieties include Carnaroli, Vialone Nano, and Baldo.
Sticky Rice/ Glutinous Rice
This rice is a short-grained kind of rice that is typically used in Asian specialities like sushi. Glutinous rice has no gluten in it, unlike its name.
What is the Nutritional Composition of Rice?
White rice is relatively a good source of energy, carbohydrates, calcium, iron, thiamin, pantothenic acid, folate and vitamin E. It contains no vitamin C, vitamin A, beta-carotene, or lutein and zeaxanthin, and is notably low in fibre.
| Nutrient | Brown rice | White rice (unenriched) |
| Calories | 357 | 344 |
| Protein | 7.1 grams | 6.7 grams |
| Fat | 2.4 grams | 0 grams |
| Carbs | 76.2 grams | 77.8 grams |
| Fibre | 2.4 grams | 0 grams |
| Iron | 19% of the Daily Value (DV) | 4.5% of the DV |
| Niacin | 30% of the DV | 0 mg |
| Vitamin C | 0 mg | 0 mg |
| Calcium | 0 mg | 0 mg |
Tips for Cooking Perfect Rice
- No Peeking, and No mixing; Do not lift the lid covering the saucepan once you have covered the cooking pot or stir the rice while it’s cooking. Lifting the lid will release the steam leading to undercooked / unevenly cooked rice. Stirring on the other hand activates starch making your rice more sticky and gluey.
- Always rest the rice for 10 minutes; when the rice finishes cooking in the residual heat and the water is fully absorbed. Let the rice rest for 10 minutes before serving to achieve perfectly fluffy non-sticky rice.
- Don’t use high levels of heat to boil the rice; high levels of heat will bring your rice water to a rapid boil. The water will boil over and spill under too much heat. It is therefore to let your rice simmer over moderate heat.
Step by step preparation process of white rice
Ingredients
1 cup of white rice
1 teaspoon of butter
1 finely chopped onion
Salt to taste
1. Rinse the rice.
Rinse your rice if looks dusty. Place your rice on a large mesh sieve and let cold water run over it until the water is clear. This will take only 20 seconds of your time.
2. Rice to Water ratio.
For most types of rice, you’ll always use a ratio of 1 cup rice to 2 cups water, which you can scale up or down.
3. Bring the water to a boil
Over moderate heat bring the water to boil under low temperature. Then pour in the rice, add the onions, butter and salt to taste.
4. Get a steady simmer.
When you add the temperature of your water will decline significantly, and it’ll stop boiling for a minute or two. The water will start boiling again after it picks up heat. Let the rice cook slowly by simmering over low to moderate heat.
5. Do not take off the lid.
Cover the cooking pot and reduce the cooking heat to low. Do not take the lid off until all the water has dried out. You should be keen on listening to the rice boil, you will notice as the water reduces. Only check in the last minutes.
6. Leave your rice alone.
Turn off the heat, and cover the cooking pot again for 10 minutes. Be patient enough to let the rice rest after cooking.
8. Fluff up the Rice
Use a fork to gently mix and lift rice. This ensures that the rice grains do not stick to each other.
After 10 minutes of waiting you can serve your rice with your favourite stews like malewa, vegetables, and pork stew.
I hope you enjoy making your rice perfect with my recipe.
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