Rice: The World’s Most Versatile Grain
Rice is the world’s most versatile grain, with over 80,000 varieties, and is a staple food that provides more calories to people than any other food source. It can be used in various dishes, has multiple uses, and is consumed globally, with the US being a significant consumer. Rice comes in different forms, including brown, white, and black, each with unique characteristics.
History and Cultivation of Rice
Rice is a staple dish in Thailand and a crucial grain worldwide, first cultivated 10,000 years ago in China. Today, it’s the most important grain globally, with 90% of the world’s rice being in Asia. While the US consumes about 25 pounds per person per year, many Asians consume 200 pounds per year. Rice is cultivated on every continent except Antarctica, using techniques ranging from centuries-old methods to highly mechanized farming.
Rice Production Process
Uncle Ben’s, the most popular rice brand in America, produces a million pounds of packaged rice every 24 hours at their facility in Greenville, Mississippi. The process starts with fresh rice from the field, which is stored in silos until needed. The rice is then parboiled in a steamer, which forces B vitamins and minerals into the starchy center, and later the husk and bran layer are removed, resulting in a milled white rice grain with similar nutritional value to whole grain brown rice.
Quality Control and Packaging
After milling, rice grains are scanned to ensure uniformity and quality, with a machine detecting discolored grains and removing them. The scanned rice is then evaluated by a quality control specialist, who checks for any imperfections and adjusts the scan machine’s sensitivity if necessary. The rice is then sifted to remove debris and broken grains before being moved to a finished rice bin, where it awaits packaging on one of six packaging lines.
Rice in International Cuisine
Rice is a staple ingredient in many international dishes, including sushi, which originated with rice preserving raw fish. Today, sushi is popular in America, with most sushi rice grown in California. The rice is typically harvested after the fields are drained, using a unique piece of equipment called a Daisy to cut through the dirt levies and allow the water to drain, leaving the field ready for harvesting.
Rice Harvesting and Processing
The harvesting process is challenging due to the variety of rice, which needs to be cut close to the ground, and the farmers are anxious to get the rice cut and stored before bad weather hits to make the process profitable. Plants are collected by a conveyor and carried into a harvester, where they are shaken to loosen rice grains from the stalks. The grains fall through sieves into a collecting tank, and an auger spirals them up into a holding tank.
Rice in Various Products
Rice is not only a staple food, but also used in various products like Rice Krispies and Quaker oats. The unique sound of Rice Krispies is due to the structure of the crispy sugar and rice powder, which creates a glass-like substance with air pockets that shatter when milk is added. Quaker oats, another popular brand, uses a Quaker man as its logo, but has no actual connection to the Quaker community, and produces puffed rice cakes using whole grain brown rice.
Rice Puff Production
Rice puff production involves adding steam and water to 100,000 pounds of rice to achieve the right moisture, then popping the rice in a trade secret process. The popping process is different from popcorn, requiring a precise quantity of raw wet rice in cake-shaped molds, which are heated to turn the water inside the grain into steam, causing it to expand and puff out in about 10-15 seconds.
Rice in Beer and Sake Production
Rice is used in about 10% of US beer, particularly in American-style brewing, and is often associated with large breweries due to its affordability and ability to add alcohol content while keeping the beer light. However, some craft breweries also use rice in their recipes, combining it with traditional ingredients like barley, hops, and yeast, as well as additional ingredients like Thai basil, to create distinctive beers with higher alcohol content.
Sake Production
Sake has been brewed in Japan for over 1800 years, with a simple process of breaking down steamed rice into glucose using enzymes, then fermenting it with yeast. Historically, sake production was tied to religion and ritual, and was initially made by rice farmers before being taken over by Shinto monks. In the US, Sake One is the only American-operated sake brewery, located in Oregon, where it was established due to the high-quality water flowing from the mountains, which is critical for making premium sake with low iron and manganese levels.
Rice and Sustainability
Rice production is vulnerable to seasonal floods, which can devastate rice fields if the rice is underwater for more than three days. However, scientists have discovered a “waterproof” gene and used it to create a new variety of rice that can survive underwater for up to 17 days, making it resistant to flooding. This new submergence tolerance rice variety has the potential to feed 30 million more people, particularly in flood-prone areas like India and Indonesia.
Creative Reuse of Rice Byproducts
Rice straw can be used to build houses, and a 3,000 square foot home was built using over 200 straw bales for insulation, stacked like Legos, with three layers of stucco applied on top, making it a strong and practical building material that is becoming more mainstream, used in various structures such as police headquarters and schools.
Conclusion
Rice is a crucial crop for feeding the world, and increasing efficiency in farming is necessary to produce more. With its versatility, nutritional value, and multiple uses, rice will continue to play a vital role in global food production and sustainability.
Key Vocabulary
| Term | Definition | Example Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Parboiling | A process of partially boiling rice to preserve nutrients and make it easier to mill. | Uncle Ben’s uses parboiling to force B vitamins and minerals into the starchy center of the rice grain. |
| Milling | The process of removing the husk and bran layer from rice to produce white rice. | After parboiling, the rice is milled to remove the husk and bran layer, resulting in a milled white rice grain. |
| Sushi rice | A type of short-grain rice used to make sushi, typically grown in California. | Most sushi rice is grown in California and is harvested after the fields are drained using a unique piece of equipment called a Daisy. |
| Rice puff production | A process of adding steam and water to rice to achieve the right moisture, then popping the rice to create puffed rice cakes. | Rice puff production involves adding steam and water to 100,000 pounds of rice, then popping the rice in a trade secret process to create puffed rice cakes. |
| Sake production | A process of breaking down steamed rice into glucose using enzymes, then fermenting it with yeast to produce sake. | Sake has been brewed in Japan for over 1800 years, with a simple process of breaking down steamed rice into glucose using enzymes, then fermenting it with yeast. |
| Submergence tolerance | The ability of rice to survive underwater for an extended period, typically up to 17 days. | Scientists have discovered a “waterproof” gene and used it to create a new variety of rice that can survive underwater for up to 17 days, making it resistant to flooding. |
| Rice straw | The byproduct of rice harvesting, which can be used as a building material for houses and other structures. | Rice straw can be used to build houses, and a 3,000 square foot home was built using over 200 straw bales for insulation, stacked like Legos. |
| Quaker oats | A brand of oats that uses whole grain brown rice to produce puffed rice cakes. | Quaker oats uses whole grain brown rice to produce puffed rice cakes, which are a popular breakfast food. |
| Rice Krispies | A brand of breakfast cereal made from rice, known for its unique sound when milk is added. | The unique sound of Rice Krispies is due to the structure of the crispy sugar and rice powder, which creates a glass-like substance with air pockets that shatter when milk is added. |
Watch The Video
Vocabulary Quiz
1. Which word means ‘a person who checks the quality of something’?
A) Farmer
B) Specialist
C) Consumer
D) Producer
2. What is the term for ‘the process of making something resistant to flooding’?
A) Submergence intolerance
B) Waterproofing
C) Flood resistance
D) Submergence tolerance
3. Which word means ‘a type of farm work that uses machines’?
A) Mechanized farming
B) Organic farming
C) Centuries-old methods
D) Manual farming
4. What is the term for ‘the process of removing the outer layer of rice’?
A) Milling
B) Parboiling
C) Harvesting
D) Processing
5. Which word means ‘a type of food that is made from rice and is popular in Japan’?
A) Sushi
B) Rice Krispies
C) Quaker oats
D) Beer
Answer Key:
1. B
2. D
3. A
4. A
5. A
Grammar Focus
Grammar Focus: Passive Voice
Grammar Quiz:
1. The rice ____________________ in a steamer to force B vitamins and minerals into the starchy center.
- A) is parboiling
- B) parboils
- C) is parboiled
- D) parboiled
2. The new variety of rice ____________________ to survive underwater for up to 17 days.
- A) has been created
- B) is created
- C) was created
- D) create
3. Rice ____________________ in various dishes, including sushi and curries.
- A) uses
- B) is used
- C) use
- D) using
4. The rice grains ____________________ to ensure uniformity and quality.
- A) are scanning
- B) scan
- C) are scanned
- D) scanned
5. The “waterproof” gene ____________________ to create a new variety of rice that can survive underwater for up to 17 days.
- A) has discovered
- B) discover
- C) was used
- D) is used
Answer Key:
1. C) is parboiled
2. A) has been created
3. B) is used
4. C) are scanned
5. C) was used