brown rice

Brown rice

Brown rice (or "hulled rice") is unmilled or partly milled rice, a kind of whole, natural grain. It has a mild nutty flavor, is chewier and more nutritious than white rice, and becomes rancid much more quickly. Any rice, including long-grain, short-grain, or sticky rice, may be eaten as brown rice.

In much of Asia, brown rice (Chinese: 糙米; pinyin: cāomǐ; literally "rough rice"; Korean: 현미; hyeonmi Japanese: 玄米; genmai; Thai: ข้าวกล้อง; Vietnamese: gạo lứt) is associated with poverty and wartime shortages, and in the past was rarely eaten except by the sick, the elderly and as a cure for constipation. This traditionally denigrated kind of rice is now more expensive than common white rice, partly due to its relatively low supply and difficulty of storage and transport. Today brown rice is a staple for health conscious eaters.

White rice comparison

Brown rice and white rice have similar amounts of calories, carbohydrates, and protein. The main differences between the two forms of rice lie in processing and nutritional content.

When only the outermost layer of a grain of rice (the husk) is removed, brown rice is produced. To produce white rice, the next layers underneath the husk (the bran layer and the germ) are removed, leaving mostly the starchy endosperm.

Several vitamins and dietary minerals are lost in this removal and the subsequent polishing process. A part of these missing nutrients, such as Vitamin B1, Vitamin B3, and iron are sometimes added back into the white rice making it "enriched", as food suppliers in the US are required to do by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). ^[1]

One mineral not added back into white rice is magnesium; one cup (195 grams) of cooked long grain brown rice contains 84 mg of magnesium while one cup of white rice contains 19 mg.

When the bran layer is removed to make white rice, the oil in the bran is also removed. Rice bran oil may help lower LDL cholesterol.^[2]

Among other key sources of nutrition lost are small amounts of fatty acids and fiber.

In addition to having greater nutritional value, brown rice is also said to be less constipating than white rice.

Cooking and preparation

A nutritionally superior method of preparation using GABA rice or germinated brown rice (GBR), developed during the International Year of Rice, may be used.^[3] This involves soaking washed brown rice for 20 hours in warm water (38 °C or 100 °F) prior to cooking it. This process stimulates germination, which activates various enzymes in the rice. By this method, it is possible to obtain a more complete amino acid profile, including GABA.

Storage and preservation

Brown rice can remain in storage for 6 months^{[citation needed]} under normal conditions, but hermetic storage and freezing can significantly extend its lifetime. Freezing, even periodically, can also help control infestations of Indian meal moths.

See also

• Genmaicha, a Japanese green tea combined with roasted brown rice
• Hyeonmi cha, a Korean tisane made from roasted brown rice
• Parboiled rice

References

1. ^ http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2001/aprqtr/21cfr137.350.htm
2. ^ "Rice bran oil, not fiber, lowers cholesterol in humans". American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2005. http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/81/1/64. Retrieved 2008-02-11. 
3. ^ Ito, Shoichi and Ishikawa, Yukihiro (2004-02-12). "Marketing of Value-Add Rice Products in Japan: Germinated Brown Rice and Rice Bread". http://www.hatsuga.com/DOMER/english/en/GBRRB.html. Retrieved 2007-11-28. 

External links