Rice, Rice Baby

Rice seems such a simple dish, yet it has a very, very long and illustrious history around the world. There are roughly 40,000 different varieties of rice found all over the world, but three main types or categories – short grain rice, like sticky rice used for sushi; medium grain rice, such as Arborio; and long grain rice, namely traditional white or brown rice, Jasmine and Basmati. There is also black rice and wild rice too.

Rice has been cultivated for 10’s of 1000’s of years. Different rice varieties are found all over the world, and are eaten by everyone. That being said, however, rice is one of Asia’s most important food crops. Roughly 800 million tons of rice are produced every year around the world, with 90-95% being produced in Asian countries, principally in China, India, Indonesia, and Bangladesh. It feeds over 3.5 billion people, almost half the world’s population, on a daily basis too.

The Folklores of Rice

Not only is rice a dietary staple for billions of people around the world, but it also has a lot of cultural significance and uses as well. For example, in Japanese culture, rice is used in offerings to the gods and in traditional dishes served at special occasions. But rice is an integral part of many cultures folklore, not just in Japan.

In Myanmar, the Kachins were sent forth from the center of the Earth with rice seeds and were directed to a country where life would be perfect and rice would grow well. In Bali, Lord Vishnu caused the Earth to give birth to rice and the God Indra taught people how to raise it. And in China rice is the gift of animals. Legend says after a disastrous flooding all plants had been destroyed and no food was available. One day a dog ran through the fields to the people with rice seeds hanging from his tail. The people planted the seeds, rice grew and hunger disappeared. All of these stories and many others have rice as their foundation and for generations people have believed these lores of rice. 

There are many origin myths and much folklore about rice, it is believed that a goddesses gave rice to humans and taught them how to grow it. Religious use of rice takes place in India, China, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Bali. In Asia, the rice spirit is female and often a mother figure.

According to their beliefs, the spirit of the paddy plant is said to be part of the Kinoingan – also known as the Bambaazon, who is revered as the creator, a source of life and existence. The rice spirit Bambaazon is therefore revered in the rice plant, the rice grain and the cooked rice.

The staple food for Asian nations is rice as it symbolises fertility and a good harvest. An empty rice jar is something that indicates barren and starving days. Hence, rice jars are always filled to the brim before the New Year commences.

Growing The Rice

With the exception of the type called upland rice, the plant is grown on submerged land in the coastal plains, tidal deltas, and river basins of tropical, semitropical, and temperate regions. The seeds are sown in prepared beds, and when the seedlings are 25 to 50 days old, they are transplanted to a field, or paddy, that has been enclosed by levees and submerged under 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4 inches) of water, remaining submerged during the growing season. In hilly areas rice farms are commonly terraced to keep the paddies flooded at various elevations. Successful rice production depends on adequate irrigation, including construction of dams and waterwheels, and on the quality of the soil. Long periods of sunshine are essential. Rice yields vary considerably, ranging from 700 to 4,000 kilograms per hectare (600 to 3,500 pounds per acre). Adequate irrigation, which means inundation of the fields to a depth of several inches during the greater part of the growing season, is a basic requirement for productive land use.

In Asia the paddy is cultivated in three main types of soil, including clays with a firm bottom within a few inches of the surface; silts and soft clays with soft bottoms becoming hard on drying; and peats and “mucks” containing peat, provided the depth of the peat is not excessive. Fields must be drained and dried before harvesting. When combine harvesters or binder threshers are employed, the grain must be dried to about 14 percent moisture so that no deterioration takes place in storage. When reaper binders are used, the crop is “shocked” in certain ways so that the grain is protected from rain.

Processing The Rice

The harvested rice kernel, known as paddy, or rough, rice, is enclosed by the hull, or husk. Milling usually removes both the hull and bran layers of the kernel, and a coating of glucose and talc is sometimes applied to give the kernel a glossy finish. Rice that is processed to remove only the husks, called brown rice, contains about 8 percent protein and small amounts of fats and is a source of thiamine, niacin, riboflavin, iron, and calcium. Rice that is milled to remove the bran as well is called white rice and is greatly diminished in nutrients. When white rice forms a major portion of the diet, there is a risk of beriberi, a disease resulting from a deficiency of thiamine and minerals. Parboiled white rice is specially processed before milling to retain most of the nutrients, and enriched rice has iron and B vitamins added to it.

The milling methods used in most of Asia remain fairly primitive, but large mills operate in Japan and some other areas. Hulling of the paddy is usually accomplished by pestle and mortar worked by hand, foot, or water power. Improvements are slowly taking place. The yield of milled rice is dependent on the size and shape of the grain, the degree of ripeness, and the extent of exposure to the sun. Some large mills, handling 500 to 1,000 tons of paddy daily, have specialized hulling plants with consequent smaller losses from broken grain. They generally employ modern milling techniques and rely on controlled drying plants instead of on sun drying.

Rice is also used to make different kinds of alcohol too. The Japanese sake is a prime example of rice alcohol. Other examples include soju, baiju and other distilled spirits, like rice wine or rice whisky. Its neutral taste and clear color make it an ideal base for these drinks. Additionally, rice alcohol can be utilized in the production of rice vinegar and even as a base for vodka.

As you can see, rice isn’t just a simple dish as we once thought. It is far more complicated and has many uses. Rice plays a very important role in many cultures too. There is much more to rice than just adding it to a dish as a side dish.

I hope you learned a little bit of food history and culture and enjoyed our little food lesson today. I know I did. Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.