Rice: Overview: Later Developments

Rice is a staple food of Hispanic Americans, Creoles, Hawaiians, Asian Americans, and many other ethnic and national groups. Many varieties of rice are available in American supermarkets, each slightly different in texture and flavor. In addition to regular white and brown rice, converted rice, and quick-cooking rice, many stores carry fragrant types, such as Indian basmati rice (both brown and white) and Thai jasmine rice; American-grown fragrant rice varieties, called Calmati and Texmati, are less expensive alternatives to the imported products. Chinese and Japanese rice varieties, imported or grown domestically, are also available. Americans’ consumption of rice doubled during the last two decades of the twentieth century, and it will quite likely continue to grow in the twenty-first century.