Lady&Mister Chef
© 2013 Cristian Lucisano Editore Lady&Mister Chef
Reading - Section 3
The varieties of rice
As to colour:
White: polished rice is produced when the bran is taken away by milling.
Brown: brown rice is the grain without the husk; it is the most nutritious and tasty.
As to size:
Long: long-grain rice has grains five times as long as they are wide. They are soft and well- separated when cooked.
Medium: medium and short-grain rices include the Italian and Chinese ones; as they are stickier, medium and short-grain rice is used for dishes where the rice has to be moulded or kept together. Medium-grain is more suitable for savoury.
Short: White short-grain is better for sweet dishes, like pudding.
As to the needs of modern cooking:
Par-boiled: par-boiled rice is brown rice that has been pressure-steamed before milling, to retain some of the nutritional properties of the bran. It takes longer to cook but its grains are always fluffy and well-separated.
Pre-cooked: pre-cooked rice needs only a few minutes to finish cooking and can be used for quick dishes or salads.
