Rice: Geek Report

I thought I’d start out the New Year with something very very basic. You’ve probably guessed what it is (the title of this entry being a very large tip-off). Rice. Like most fundamentals, rice is simple and complicated all at the same time. To get started I consulted my pal, Harold McGee (if someone actually knows him and he’s age appropriate, please send him this link). Harold writes that there are over 100,000 distinct varieties throughout the world. Daunting! That said, we have to start somewhere and let’s not get overwhelmed and risk missing out on an important kitchen staple. This will probably take a few entries given the territory to cover (as in the whole world). We’ll begin with the history (so that you can fully appreciate what’s in front of you), launch into the different types and then dive into a simple method for cooking as our final. Once this ‘course’ is completed, you will be able to put on a pot of rice, start the rest of the meal and magically everything will be ready before you know it. Really! Ready? With Harold’s help, I’m going to do the research and give you the equivalent of CliffsNotes for your culinary edification. This is not cheating! You might even want to do some extra-credit research for yourself once we get started!

Rice in History

According to Harold, short grain rice was probably domesticated around 7000 BCE in the Yangtze River Valley of south-central China. Longer grain rice originated a little later (but still way before anyone even thought of Rice Crispies) in Southeast Asia. Yet another distinct rice, with red bran (the second part of the outer layer), has been grown in the west of Africa for at least 1500 years. Pretty historic stuff! Just another illustration of how cooking and civilization have been working hand in hand forever- just like rice and steamed vegetables!

Traveling from Asia to Europe, rice made a stop in Persia (Iran), where it was cultivated there by Arabs who also figured out how to prepare it. By the 8th Century in Spain, Moors were growing rice and it had also traveled to Sicily. Next (remember these are ‘CliffsNotes’) come the Spanish and Portuguese who introduced it to the Americas in the 16th and 17th centuries. The expertise of African slaves is considered responsible for commercial planting in South Carolina starting in 1685 (not to mention traditional rice and bean dishes). Most of the rice produced now in the United States comes from Arkansas, the lower Mississippi region, Texas and California. No containing a good thing!

Get this: rice is second only to maize (corn) in world production, but second to none in human consumption (critters prefer corn). According to Wiki, rice provides more than one fifth of the calories consumed worldwide by humans!

Crying ‘Uncle’ yet?! Let me just wrap up this entry (I hope you have been taking notes), by saying that if rice has been around this long, it’s high time we cooked a pot for ourselves. Time also to get acquainted with at least a few of those 100,000 possibilities. Stayed tuned for- Rice: Varieties Unleashed!