Rice

[wosnes]

I'm a big fan of Martha Rose Shulman's "Recipes for Health" column on The New York Times web site. This week her focus is on rice, and I learned something I didn't know:

Rice is a thoroughly sustaining food. According to Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid in "Seductions of Rice," a beautiful, well researched survey of rice traditions around the world , “Rice has the highest protein digestibility and energy digestibility among all the staple foods.†In most rice-consuming cultures, rice is supplemented with vegetables and legumes, small amounts of meat and fish, and oil.

I don’t share the current national aversion to white rice. True, nutritionists prefer brown rice because the high fiber content slows down the carbohydrate absorption rate. But you can get the same benefit by combining rice with high-fiber vegetables and legumes.

Mr. Alford and Ms. Duguid make another interesting point about the nutritional quality of brown rice:

“It is true that brown rice has more calcium and iron as well as higher protein levels and significantly more of the B vitamins [and] more fiber than white rice. But brown rice is less digestible than white . . . rice. The aleurone layer and embryo, still present in brown rice, contain phytate phosphorus, which seems to interfere with the absorption of calcium, zinc, and iron.â€

Bottom line: if you prefer white rice, just make sure you’re also eating lots of vegetables or beans with it.

I've long suspected that the reason Asians can eat so much white rice is because they eat a lot of vegetables with it. Something most American's don't do.

Live and learn! I wonder if the same might be true for other whole grains.

Edit: Oops! Forgot the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/27/healt ... =nutrition

[Jammin' Jan]

I love rice and eat it often. White rice is quicker to cook, but I like brown because it has more texture. Most often we eat it with beans and vegetables and that makes a good meal.

[guadopt1997]

Wosnes, thanks so much for posting this. I love white rice but seldom eat it because of what turns out to be a (partly weight-watchers induced) misconception that your post has cleared up for me!

[vmsurbat]

Rice is a thoroughly sustaining food. According to Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid in "Seductions of Rice," a beautiful, well researched survey of rice traditions around the world , “Rice has the highest protein digestibility and energy digestibility among all the staple foods.†In most rice-consuming cultures, rice is supplemented with vegetables and legumes, small amounts of meat and fish, and oil.

I've read with interest the lo/hi carb thread. Note that in the above quote, "small amounts" applies to meat and fish, not oil. It has been my experience with meeting people from India and China, and enjoying their cooking, that hi-carb eating is combined with vegetables AND a fair amount (especially so to Westerners drilled with "lowfat" thinking) of oil. The oil provides a satiety level and needed caloric level that would require much greater amounts of carb-only foods. In fact, I read in a book about a small, primitive tribe in Papua New Guinea who fed primarily on a yam-type veggie; these people had to eat so much food daily to meet their energy needs, they looked, male and female, perpetually 8 months pregnant.

We live in a country (Eastern Europe) whose national diet would be considered "high carb:" lots of fresh-baked white bread (day-old bread is considered fit for pigs only), potatoes, corn, pasta (all high glycemic foods) and fairly high in fat in the form of *lots* of full-fat dairy products. Meat is eaten in moderation, veggies are made into fresh/cooked salads and extras are pickled for wintertime salads.

Because (most) everything is natural and fresh, the diet is considered very healthy. The villagers who don't smoke often live into active 70's and 80's. People living in the city who walk are thin. Over the 13+ years we've been here, I've noticed a strong correlation between the increase in cars and the increase in girth.

The other major health factor for most of us is the amount of daily, purposeful movement we incorporate into our day. Thus, the Amish maintain a healthy weight despite a rich diet that embraces plenty of white carbs, sugar, and fat.

I think it is good to look at our diets, and NoS provides the perfect spotlight 3x a day for us to look at what we are eating. But we CAN'T ignore the other side of the health equation: exercise, or what I prefer, purposeful movement.... The sum is greater than the parts....

Good discussions!

[la_loser]

I am so glad to read something that doesn't blast white rice!

Ah, the absolutely best rice I have EVER eaten (or smelled cooking!) is .
Texmati White Rice. I'm guessing that a lot of you don't have access to it but it seems to be growing in popularity. Texmati®, is the first Basmati Rice to be successfully grown in America-it's produced by RiceSelect, (see www.riceselect.com ) and grown along the Texas Gulf Coast. It has a wonderful nutty aroma, too.

Even though I am no longer living in the great state of Texas (you know how proud we natives are!), we still buy the biggest containers of it we can find every time we go back there. I've also bought in from them directly online and on Amazon. There are other varieties available too, but the classic white is my favorite. I can find it in our local supermarkets in the midwest, but in smaller containers and much more expensive.

And simple to prepare--I put one cup of the rice, two cups of water and a pinch of salt in a two quart covered pyrex dish and microwave it for 5 minutes on high then 15 minutes on 50% power, then let it stand a few minutes before fluffing with a fork and serving. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Try it--you'll love it!

[Thalia]

That is extremely interesting! You know, I wonder if the same is true for white pasta -- since we always eat it with oil and veggie-based sauces, it's functionally not that different from eating whole wheat? I do make the whole wheat sometimes, and I like the flavor but the texture really isn't as good.

I thought the germ in things like brown rice was tremendously nutritious -- but it sounds like it actually blocks absorbtion?

[~reneew]

Hmmm... very interesting! You know, the food "experts" tell us things are good, then bad, then good etc. It seems like every food there is has gone through a good/bad/good cycle. The industries and diet "experts" seem to be easily influenced either way. That's why No S works so well. Eat what you want because your body craves variety anyway.

By the way... with all this talk, I think I'll go make some for lunch.

[Thalia]

I just spent a week heroically trying to finish off a huge batch of rice and cucumber salad with yogurt-herb dressing, so now I feel retroactively well-nourished.

[Jishin]

I strike a balance between white rice and brown rice by eating haiga rice. I find short-grained brown rice to be heavy and hard to digest, and short-grained white rice is boring and flat. But haiga is cool!
http://www.tamakimai.com/products.html

They remove the hull (OK, less fiber), but they retain the rice germ (yay, most of the nutrients are still there). And it is absolutely DELICIOUS. Yum yum yum.

For applications other than Japanese food, I usually stick with brown basmati (or Texmati, or jasmine -- whatever the store has). For some reason, the long-grain brown rices are easier on my system than the short-grained ones.

[Thalia]

I agree that brown basmati is the best of the brown rices. I guess that makes sense, since I also think white basmati is the best of the white rices!

[wosnes]

Here's today's recipe:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/healt ... =nutrition

[midtownfg]

Ah, the absolutely best rice I have EVER eaten (or smelled cooking!) is .
Texmati White Rice. I'm guessing that a lot of you don't have access to it but it seems to be growing in popularity. Texmati®, is the first Basmati Rice to be successfully grown in America-it's produced by RiceSelect, (see www.riceselect.com ) and grown along the Texas Gulf Coast. It has a wonderful nutty aroma, too.

Ditto! I love Texmati white rice and it is the only brand that I can make well . It is always perfect. Yum. I think I also read somewhere that basmati has a lower glycemic level(?) than other white rices.

[reinhard]

I've always found it strange that the simple starch staples of thin cultures (white rice in Asia, white bread in France, white pasta in the "Mediterranean," to name a few) are demonized while the eating cultures as a whole are held up as models. It's as if people are saying "Except for the source of the majority of their calories, these cultures are great..."

So yeah, amen to white rice (though I like brown, too).

Reinhard

[wosnes]

I've always found it strange that the simple starch staples of thin cultures (white rice in Asia, white bread in France, white pasta in the "Mediterranean," to name a few) are demonized while the eating cultures as a whole are held up as models. It's as if people are saying "Except for the source of the majority of their calories, these cultures are great..."

So yeah, amen to white rice (though I like brown, too).

Reinhard

Me, too!

[Mavilu]

That Seductions of Rice book looked too good to pass and so I bought it last night on Amazon.
I'm a big fan of vegetarian rice dishes and my husband is a big fan of rice, period and while he genuinely likes brown rice as well as white rice, I rather have just white rice, especially since traditional recipes such as the gazillion different risottos and pilaus call for white rice and would simple be too odd with brown rice.


Thanks for the (unintended?) book recommendation, Wosnes!.

[wosnes]

That Seductions of Rice book looked too good to pass and so I bought it last night on Amazon.
I'm a big fan of vegetarian rice dishes and my husband is a big fan of rice, period and while he genuinely likes brown rice as well as white rice, I rather have just white rice, especially since traditional recipes such as the gazillion different risottos and pilaus call for white rice and would simple be too odd with brown rice.


Thanks for the (unintended?) book recommendation, Wosnes!.

You might want to check Rice and Spice by Robin Robertson, too.

[flightisleavin]

Interesting article. I agree about the Texmati or Basmati when it is cooking it is heavenly. Smells like popcorn. I eat the white rice 3 times a week, eat white French bread almost every day and white pasta in recipes. All the things my low carbs friends can't or won't eat for because it is like eating "pure sugar" they say. Oh well - we succeed in weight loss in our own ways I guess.

[bonnieUK]

Interesting! I have often thought white rice isn't so bad. I don't like the coarse, chewy texture of some brown rices, apart from Uncle Ben's easy cook brown rice or brown basmati rice. I sometimes buy white rice mixed with wild rice, goes well with lots of veggies and beans.

[wosnes]

Interesting! I have often thought white rice isn't so bad. I don't like the coarse, chewy texture of some brown rices, apart from Uncle Ben's easy cook brown rice or brown basmati rice. I sometimes buy white rice mixed with wild rice, goes well with lots of veggies and beans.

Somewhere I have a cartoon that has four frames. It shows an Asian person with a big bowl of rice and the caption is "Healthy with rice." It shows a French person with a baguette with the caption "Healthy with bread," and an Italian with a big bowl of pasta and the caption says, "Healthy with pasta." The rice, bread and pasta look white -- there's no shading to suggest whole grain products. The fourth frame is an American in a recliner with a remote in his hands saying "I'm so fat, it must be the carbs!"

NOT!!

I've often thought that the only people seeking out brown rice are health conscious Westerners -- and not because we like it so much, but because we've been taught it's better than white. I have had a Chinese cookbook in which the author talked about their use of white rice. She said that people knew that brown had more fiber and vitamins, but that they preferred white and thought that they got enough nourishment from what they ate along with it. Seems she was right!

[Bushranger]

Nothing wrong with good old white rice. As usual the diet "experts" have overlooked the really important issue, the overall structure and portions of the diet, and instead targeted individual items to be marked with the evil sticker. Frankly it's a cop out and I suspect they do it because it much easier for them than telling people they over eat, heaven forbid anyone be expected to take responsibility for their choices!!!

Ok, so it turned into a bit of a rant. Sorry.

[Mavilu]

That Seductions of Rice book looked too good to pass and so I bought it last night on Amazon.
I'm a big fan of vegetarian rice dishes and my husband is a big fan of rice, period and while he genuinely likes brown rice as well as white rice, I rather have just white rice, especially since traditional recipes such as the gazillion different risottos and pilaus call for white rice and would simple be too odd with brown rice.


Thanks for the (unintended?) book recommendation, Wosnes!.

You might want to check Rice and Spice by Robin Robertson, too.

I got the book two days ago and I inmediately went to the store to buy Basmati Rice, unfortunately, my husband had a tooth extraction yesterday so I have to wait to cook rice in any form, but I'm dying to start trying recipes off the book.
It is a handsome book and I already learned a couple of things that I didn't know; I'm very pleased.
So, as soon as I can, I'll get Rice and Spice as well.

[wosnes]

The white/brown rice reminds me of something I read a few years ago. There was an article in Saveur magazine about hummus. The article is informative, funny and has great recipes for hummus and pita.

One of the pieces of advice was:

"Don't serve it with whole wheat pita because it overpowers the hummus"

Just like the people who eat white rice with their vegetables, legumes and small amounts of meat, white flour products have their place. Especially if one is eating the vegetables, fruits and legumes and not surviving on a diet consisting of white flour products.

[guadopt1997]

I sent a friend the article about rice. He told me that he'd had a similar revelation about spinach. Yes, raw spinach has more nutrients, but many are inaccessible to the body. Cooked spinach breaks down the plant's cell walls and allows the nutrients to be digested.

[Bushranger]

Another interesting food revelation I was told some years ago is that cooked tomato is much better for you then raw. Cooked tomato showed a marked increase in a number of important antioxidants and has been linked with a substantial decrease in the risk of prostate cancer.

Actually now I start to think about it some more, there are quite a lot of vegetables and fruits that increase in health benefits when cooked (sensibly).