Rice, like wheat, rye, spelt, etc., also belongs to the cereals and is one of the most important staple foods on earth. Originally, rice comes from China, but today it is mainly grown not only there, but also in India and other countries in the Southeast Asian region. Rice is also often a staple food in these countries, where 90 to 150 kilos of rice are eaten per person each year. In comparison, per capita consumption in Austria in 2015/16 was not even 5 kilos. Furthermore, there is also African rice, but it yields much less than the rice grown in Asia.
Compared to chips, pasta or bread, rice is a very low calorie side dish. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the calorie values may vary depending on the type of rice. Thus, among the several thousands of rice varieties, a distinction is made between 19 types of rice. Roughly, however, it is divided into long-grain, round-grain and medium-grain rice.
For example, the natural rice is threshed, dried and dehusked after harvesting. However, this rice remains unhusked and thus retains the so-called silverskin that coats the rice grain and in which most of the important minerals and vitamins are found. Also under the terms brown rice or whole grain rice means the natural rice.
On the other hand, if you grind the white rice, it will lose the silverskin and the germ. In contrast to brown rice, white rice is thus lower in vital substances but has a longer shelf life.
The so-called parboiled rice is white, peeled and polished. In this process, raw rice, which is merely threshed and dried after harvesting, is processed into parboiled rice by a cooking process. Water-soluble ingredients enter the interior of the endosperm during this cooking process. In this case, the silver skin is removed from the parboiled rice, but certain vital substances are still retained. So, parboiled rice can be healthier than white rice, but it is not as rich in important substances as brown rice.
In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the rice also has a healing effect. Thus, the rice grains help to lower blood pressure and stimulate digestion, and also have a dehydrating effect.
And of course you can also make flour from rice and this is very easy with one of our Salzburg grain mills. With the MAX Specialwhich grinds both large and small, hard grains, it is very easy to grind very fine, fresh rice flour. For example, for people who have celiac disease, this mill is particularly suitable.
Here you can take a look at the MAX Special.
And if you’re interested in what celiac disease is or want to learn more about it, click here: Celiac Disease.
Sources
https://www.getreide.org/reis.html
https://www.zentrum-der-gesundheit.de/reis.html
https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/287774/umfrage/pro-kopf-konsum-von-reis-in-oesterreich/
