Grain info and cooking chart 9-1

1 info

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
Forms of Rice
Types of Rice
The Versatile Grain
and the
Elegant Bean
by Sheryl and Mel London
ISBN 0-671-76106-4

Directions

Long Grain: For either white of brown, long grain rice has the largest kernels. After cooking the grains remain fluffy and separate. For brown rice, the hull is removed but the germ and bran are left on the kernel. For white rice, several versions are available: * Converted: Steamed and pressurized before milling, thus replacing some of the nutrients back into the kernel. * Enriched: Some of the nutrients that are lost in the polishing process are partially replaced by the manufacturer. Instant: Partially cooked and then dehydrated, the least nourishing of all the forms available.

Medium Grain: These are shorter grains than long grain rice, and they have a better cohesive quality. Not quite as sticky as short grain rice.

Short Grain: This has thicker kernels than the long or medium grain.

They are also much softer and they stick together when cooked.

Generally used in dishes like risotto.

Glutinous Rice: A still stickier version of the short grain variety, also known as sweet rice, sticky or waxy rice. Usually used in the cooking of Southeast Asia. This is the rice used for Japanese sushi.

It is an opaque, oval, short tan grain, slightly sweet and very sticky with a tender texture.

Arborio: A short grain rice from the Piedmont section of Italy. Each grain has a translucent outer portion and an opaque center. When cooked, it yields a creamy product with an al dente firm-to- the-tooth consistency. It has the ability to absorb large amounts of liquid and is the prime choice for risotto Vialone Nano: A smaller kernel than arborio; currently sold only in Italian specialty markets. It makes a very creamy risotto.

Red Rice or Christmas Rice: This is basically a brown short grain rice similar in color to Wehani. It has a russet color, an unusual wild mushroom-like flavor and a chewy texture.

Basmati Rice: This is a long grain aromatic variety. Generally aged for at least a year after harvest in order to develop its full flavor. It's a long slender opaque grain, ranging in color from, white to tan. Mildly fragrant while cooking; when cooked it has very long separated grains, and is firm, white and fluffy. There are a few homegrown varieties of aromatic rice that are much milder in flavor: * Texmati: Grown, of course, in Texas. It is a combination of basmati and long grain American rice. Creamier color when raw. Fluffier, milder in flavor and aroma than imported basmati. * Wehani: A California variety that is reddish brown. It's a hybrid of brown rice crossed with Indian basmati. Very nutty flavor after cooking. Sticky, toothsome texture. * Wild Pecan: It has no pecans. However, it is gently milled to retain most of the bran and the taste resembles pecans. It's an amber-colored long grain Louisiana rice containing some of the bran. After cooking, it resembles brown rice.

Popcorn Rice: Very white, long grain domestic Louisiana rice. Smells just like movie theater popcorn while cooking. White, long, separated grains after cooking. Very flavorful.

Thai Black Rice (Japonica): A long, slightly plum grain with blunt ends. Unlike most varieties of long grain rice, the black rice is quite sticky and shiny. Usually used for making desserts. Its dark color leaches into the cooking water, turning it purple and staining the end product since the bran coating on this rice is more soluble.

Smells like grassy new-mown hay. Good flavor, toothy, slightly glutinous flavor.

Jasmine White Rice: A soft, very white, delicately flavored long grain aromatic rice. When cooked, it's soft, very white with a delicately mild flavor and separated grains.

Wild Rice: Not truly a rice, but the seed of a wild aquatic plant usually found in the Great Lakes section of the U.S. The seeds are hand-gathered, making it more expensive than the varieties of true rice.

Submitted By DIANE LAZARUS On 03-16-95

Related recipes