All About Rice

Almost people grow up eating some kind of basic rice dish: maybe chicken and rice, Spanish rice, fried rice, rice pilaf, or rice and gravy. Those dishes are still pleasing, but you may be ready to expand your horizons. To help, we've developed a guide so you can choose the right rice for anything you wish to cook.

Though long-grain white rice is most familiar, there's a host of other options--more than 40,000 of them, to be exact. From the intoxicating scent of popcorn rice to the resilient "bite" of Arborio rice, there's a type of rice for every course, from salad to main dish to dessert.

Arborio
This popular Italian rice is used to make risotto. Each medium-length grain has a white "eye" that remains firm to the bite, while the rest of the grain softens and lends creaminess. Once grown exclusively in Italy, Arborio is now also grown in California and Texas. Other Italian rices used to make risotto are carnaroli and vialone nano.

Basmati
Sometimes called "popcorn rice," this long-grain variety is highly regarded for its fragrance, taste, and slender shape. True basmati is grown in India and Pakistan, although many hybrids are grown elsewhere, including the United States. Texmati, for example, is grown in Texas.

Black
Both medium- and short-grain, this rice is grown mostly in Southeast Asia and in limited quantity in California. It gets its color from the black bran that surrounds the endosperm, or kernel. When cooked, the rice might turn purple or lavender--the bran dyes the white kernel inside. Look for Black Japonica or Forbidden Rice.

Brown
This is rice that has been hulled with bran intact. The bran lends chewy texture and nutty flavor, and contains vitamins, minerals, and fiber. It requires a longer cooking time because the bran is a barrier to water.

Glutinous
This word describes sticky rice. The term is confusing, however, because rice does not contain gluten, a protein found in wheat.

Instant
Also called precooked, this
rice has been partially or completely cooked and dried; it takes only a few minutes to prepare.

Jasmine
Thailand's favorite, this aromatic rice has more amylopectin, or sticky starch, than other long-grain rice, so it's moist and tender. It's grown in Asia and the United States.

Parboiled
Steam-pressure treatment before milling produces this tan grain that is firm and stays separate when cooked. Do not confuse it with instant rice--parboiled rice takes longer to cook. Look for Uncle Ben's version, called converted rice.

Red
This aromatic rice with reddish-brown bran has a nutty flavor and a chewy consistency. Look for Wehani (American grown), Bhutanese Red Rice (imported), and Camargue (imported from France's Provence region) in specialty markets. Red rice is great with hearty foods like pork or butternut squash.

Sushi
This short-grain sticky rice is glassy and smooth. It grows throughout Asia and in California.

Wild
The only grain native to North America, this is actually an aquatic grass. It's often sold mixed with long-grain white rice.

The Long and Short of It
More than 40,000 varieties of rice generally fall into one of three categories: short-, medium-, and long-grain. The most important differences are in cooking properties and taste.

All rice is composed of two types of starch--dry and sticky. The dry starch, amylose, is higher in long-grain (indica) rice and, when cooked, produces drier rice with separate grains. The sticky starch, amylopectin, is higher in short-grain (japonica) rice and, when cooked, produces soft rice with clinging grains.

Long-grain varieties are four to five times longer than wide. This includes the white rice that most Americans grew up eating.

Medium-grain varieties are two to three times longer than wide. Medium-grain rice absorbs flavor readily, which is why it's popular for paella and risotto.

Short-grain rice is plump--almost round--and cooks into soft grains that cling together. This kind of rice is popular in Asian countries but is less familiar in the United States.