Product knowledge: Rice – from brown to white and on to parboiled

Become an expert in rice qualities, cultivation and processing

Rice cultivation in the Po valley of Italy.

Rice fields in a valley in the Chiang Rai province of Thailand

Rice originated in South East Asia, where it has likely been cultivated and grown for the last 7,000 years.

Rice is the main staple of more than half of the world’s population. Rice consists of 75 percent starch. It is low in fat and contains important minerals and trace elements like phosphorus, iron and magnesium, as well as all B vitamins.

Origin, cultivation and production

There are more than one thousand varieties of rice worldwide. Since rice cultivation requires a humid climate, the biggest rice growing areas are, as you would expect, in Asia, particularly in China. But also in Southern Europe, for instance in the French Camargue region, the Po valley in Italy, and in parts of Spain, as well as in the USA, a tradition of rice growing has developed in recent decades.

Rice is a member of the sweet grass family (Poaceae). These grasses develop long panicles and wide leaves and grow to heights of up to 160 cm. There are more than one thousand varieties of rice worldwide. Cultivated rice develops up to 30 stems. Each panicle contains around 80-100 grains. This means that each seed can develop up to 3000 grains of rice. The cereal traded as wild rice is botanically speaking an aquatic grass (Zizania Aquatica) and is not part of the rice species.

Checking the rice's maturity

The different varieties found in the Rapunzel rice range include natural brown rice, white rice and parboiled rice.

Brown rice is rice in which only the husks have been removed. Unlike white rice, brown rice grains are still enclosed by the so-called silver skin and aleurone layer, while the valuable seedling is still present. These layers contain many important elements, such as vitamins, minerals, unsaturated fatty acids and dietary fibre. The nutrient content of brown rice is therefore considerably higher than that of white rice.

Due to the dietary fibre in brown rice, it satisfies hunger for longer than white rice. However, it also takes longer to cook. To produce white rice, the silver skin and the seedling are ground away from the germ of the brown rice grain. The grinding dust that this creates is removed by polishing. What is left is the starchy, fast-cooking, edible grain.

There are more than 1,000 varieties of rice; this one is red rice from Thailand.

The so-called parboiled process was developed to preserve the important vitamins and minerals in white rice despite the removal of the silver skin and aleurone layer. The nutrients in brown rice are pressed from the outer layers of the grains into the inner layers by a combination of steam and pressure, and ‘enclosed’ within the grains. Up to 80 percent of the nutrients also remains in the white grains following polishing. Parboiled rice thus combines the benefits of a high nutrient content with a short cooking time of just under 20 minutes.

Paddy rice at the warehouse, awaiting processing

Rapunzel obtains some of its rice varieties from Asia and others from Europe. Asian varieties such as basmati or jasmine premium quality rice come from India and Thailand. European specialities, like risotto rice varieties are grown in Italy, while red Camargue premium quality rice comes from France.

Rapunzel always purchases its rice through direct import. This means that the rice varieties involved come directly from the country of origin and not through any intermediaries. This has led to intensive, years-long relationships developing with the suppliers.

When selecting its suppliers, Rapunzel pays great attention to ensuring that they continue to work with the same farmers in the long term and that they have long-term cultivation and purchasing agreements with them. Visits to suppliers and farms are undertaken regularly by the purchasing and quality assurance departments. This leads to intensive and direct exchanges on such matters as cultivation, raw product quality, and crop volumes.

Rice qualities and declarations

Rice varieties are precisely declared in accordance with the Rice Guidelines of the German Federation of Food Law and Food Science (BLL). Rice is subdivided into three classes according to the size and shape of the grains: Round grain, medium grain and long grain rice. Rice grains that are longer than 6 mm are categorised as long grain rice. Round grain rice is up to 5.2 mm in length and the ratio of its length to its width is less than 2 (i.e. the grain is no longer than twice the thickness).

The qualities are also subdivided into four categories:

Premium rice, which contains a maximum of 5% broken grains
Standard rice, which contains a maximum of 15% breakage
Domestic rice, which has a maximum breakage content of 25%
Domestic quality with a higher breakage content of up to 40% is designated as broken rice

Rapunzel only uses rice of the highest quality level, i.e. premium rice.

Terraced rice fields in Thailand

Preparation and use

Rice variety	Country of origin	Cooking time, white	Cooking time brown (whole-grain)	Use
Long-grain rice	Italy	20 - 25 mins.	40 - 45 mins.	As side dish
Short grain rice	Italy		40 - 45 mins.	For risotto, rice pudding, paella, desserts, sweet casseroles
Parboiled rice	Italy	20 - 25 mins.	25 - 30 mins.	For rapid cooking, ideal for rice salads
Pudding rice	Italy	20 - 25 mins.		For rice pudding, creamy sweet dishes, and desserts
Risotto short grain rice 'Ribe'	Italy	15 - 20 mins.	50 - 60 mins.	For risotto, paella, creamy soups, fillings
Carnaroli Risotto rice	Italy	ca. 20 mins.		For risotto
Jasmine long-grain rice	Thailand		40 - 45 mins.	As a side dish to curry dishes
Himalayan basmati rice	India		25 - 35 mins.	For oriental and Asian dishes
Red Camargue rice	France		40 - 50 mins.	As a side dish, ideal for rice salads and casseroles
Rice combination with wild rice	Long-grain: Italy Camargue: France Wild rice: USA		45 - 50 mins.	As a side dish with vegetable dishes, for soups, casseroles and salads
Wild rice	USA		45 - 50 mins.	As a side dish, for salads and fillings

Creative cooking: Rice and pulses make an ideal pairing

Reis und Hülsenfrüchte – ein ideales Paar in der Küche

There are many countries in the world where rice and pulses are considered traditional staple foods. Here too, pulses are becoming increasingly popular. This is a good thing, because from a nutritional point of view, they complement each other perfectly. In combination, they offer the human organism just the right proportion of vital amino acids for building full-value proteins.

For example, 100 g of beans can cover an adult’s daily intake of important vitamins and also contain iron, minerals and dietary fibre. Eaten together with brown rice, the beans are supplemented by polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, and further minerals and fibre. The biological value of the protein contained in beans is enhanced when consumed together with rice. Biological value is a measure of how efficiently protein in food can be transformed into body protein.

Brown wholemeal rice

Long grain rice brown wholemeal

Short grain rice brown wholemeal

Risotto short grain rice 'Ribe' brown wholemeal

Red Camargue rice I.G.P. wholemeal

Himalaya Basmati rice brown wholemeal

Jasmine rice brown wholemeal

Rice combination with wild rice, wholemeal

Wild rice wholemeal

White rice

Long grain rice white

Pudding rice white

Risotto short grain rice 'Ribe' white

Carnaroli Risotto rice white

Himalaya Basmati rice white

Jasmine rice white

Parboiled

Parboiled rice white

Parboiled rice brown wholemeal

Risotto

Risotto with porcini

Risotto with tomatoes and basil

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FAQ

FAQ about Rice

What are the arsenic levels in Rapunzel rice?

Heavy metals such as arsenic occur naturally in our environment (air, soil, water, rocks, etc.). The rice plant absorbs arsenic through the soil and accumulates it in the grains much more than other plants. The arsenic content varies depending on the growing region. The majority of our rice varieties come from northern Italy. There, the arsenic contamination of the soils is significantly lower than in southern Italy, for example. The arsenic levels in all our rice varieties are below the legal limits: These are 0.2 mg/kg for polished or white rice, 0.25 mg/kg for parboiled and husked rice and 0.1 mg/kg for rice used for infant formula. There is no limit for wholemeal rice. Our Basmati rice from India shows the lowest values of all Rapunzel rice varieties. Often, no arsenic is detectable here at all. Arsenic in rice is mainly deposited in the silverskin, which is why arsenic levels are lower in white, husked rice than in whole grain rice. The following applies to all Rapunzel rice varieties, whether whole grain or hulled, and also to our rice noodles: the heavy metal content is so low that, according to European eating habits, you could consume any of our rice varieties on a daily basis.

Background information on rice

Should rice be washed before cooking?

We generally recommend washing all cereals before preparation, as they are only cleaned mechanically and dust can still adhere to the cereal. With white rice, this happens when the rice grains are milled. Washing removes the dust.

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Why does a grey rim sometimes form in the pot when cooking?

The grey, sticky edge after cooking occurs with many natural cereals and brown rice. The foam that appears during cooking comes from the rice's own starch and from small particles from the shell. These particles detach from the rice grain during cooking and may then stick to the rim of the pot. This is an indication that the product is natural.

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What is meant by the parboiling process?

To produce white rice, the silverskin is ground off the germ of the brown rice grain. What remains is the starchy seedling, as up to 80% of the minerals and vitamins are contained in the silverskin. To avoid the loss of these minerals and still be able to peel the rice, the parboiling process is used. Using steam and pressure, the nutrients are pressed into the inside of the still unhulled grain. After hardening the surface by treating it again with hot steam, the grains are polished and the nutrients remain in the grain.

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