Light, digestible, gluten-free, rice is a perfect food, the world’s staple for a reason...
More than wheat, more than meat, rice is the staple food for the majority of the global population, by far the cereal most consumed by people around the world.
It is characterized by its digestibility, superior to other cereals due to the small size of its starch granules. These are up to 20 times smaller than those of wheat. Rice’s proteins have a high biological value and its fat content is very low, on average no greater than 0.5%.
Rice is subdivided into two broad categories, indica and japonica. Introduced to Europe by the Arabs, until recently only japonica was widespread here.
Within the two categories there is a vast range of different cultivars, with around 200 recorded in Italy: Carnaroli, Baldo, Balilla, Arborio, Roma, Vialone Nano, Sant’Andrea, etc. These are all japonica cultivars. The best-known indica variety is basmati.
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