Arborio

A large, plump, beautiful grain that abounds in amylopectin, the starch that dissolves in cooking, while it is less rich in amylose, the firm, inner starch. It is the rice of preference to achieve the denser consistency that is popular with cooks in the regions of Lombardy, Piedmont, and Emilia-Romagna where they make risotto with saffron, or with Parmesan and white truffles, with meat sauce, or with game. This can be a fine all-purpose variety yielding a luscious risotto, but because of all the soft starch that envelops it, it must be followed with great care in the cooking. When inattentive cooks use arborio they are rewarded with gummy risottos.