Types of rice

Rice is a staple in every kitchen. Is, probably, one of the most ancient crop, and nowadays it is grown in almost the whole world. Adaptable for a lot of dishes, healthy and nutritious, this cereal is essential in the feed of a lot of people. There are hundreds upon hundreds rice types but, as we can’t cover and explain every type, we’ll show you seven of the most important types of rice.

Basic groups

Even there are more than 40.000 varieties of rice, we can divided types of rice into three basic groups, focusing on the grain.

• Long grain: its length is, at least, three times longer than their width. When cooked, it is separated and light.
• Medium grain: compared with long grain, this type of rice is shorter and wider. Due to the grain is tender and creamy, has the tendency to sticky together.
• Short grain: the most short and wide grain of the list. Absorbs large quantity of liquid and mantain the ingredients flavour. Nevertheless, it has sticky texture when cooked.

Types of rice

• Arborio Rice

The Arborio Rice is originally from Italy. but currently it is cultivated around over the world. It could be medium or short grain, and their main characteristic is a white dot in the center of the grain. It develops a creamy texture when cooked, so it’s the perfect option to cook risotto, soup or rice pudding. Absorbs more flavour when slowly cooked.

• Basmati Rice

This rice kind is grown in India and Pakistan. Basmati rice has a distinctive flavour and aroma. Long and thin grain, separate and fluffy when cooked. Often used in Indian cuisine, they use spices to focus on the rice flavour to wake their aromatic properties. We can distinguish between brown or white Basmati, being the first one more flavourful.

• Brown Rice

Brown rice could be short or long grain, it has some varieties. Due to it preserves the bran layer, this type of rice contains more vitamin, mineral and fibre than others rice kinds. When cooked, Brown Rice has a chewy texture and nutty flavour. Only one more thing, you need much more time to cook it.

• Wild Rice

Usually grown in the surroundings of lakes and rivers, at wet environments. The Wild Rice is actually a grass, and when its cooked, the grain skin opened to reveal a white interior. Their flavour is similar to black tea and, in fact, its used to cook pilaf or mixing with dried fruits to boost their flavour.

• Jasmine Rice

Grown in Thailand, Jasmine Rice is an aromatic long grain rice which develops a pleasant aroma while it is cooking. Unlike other long grain rice, Jasmine Rice has a soft and hardly sticky texture when cooked.

• Bomba Rice

Bomba rice is characterized by short and round grain. It has the capacity to absorb three times their volume in water or broth. When we cook this type of rice, grains grow until reach three times the length of raw grain. Bomba rice is a good option to cook paella, for example. Even if the cook overtakes the cooking time, grains aren’t sticky. So, if it’s your first-time cooking paella, don’t think more, Bomba rice is your best choice.

• Sènia Rice

As Bomba rice, it has the same length grain and absorbs more liquid than others. When cooked, it becomes a bit creamy, so if the cook does not control the cooking time, it could become sticky. However, paella experts say this is the best rice to cook the valencian dish. What's more, it’s a local variety grown in Alicante. There is something better than cook a valencian traditional dish with valencian local ingredients?