Rice

Rice is the grain of Oryza sativa. The main categories are long-, medium- and short-grain. Short-grain (and sometimes medium-grain) rice may also be called round-grain. Within these categories are many specific names which indicate strains and often show where they were originally produced (Patna, Carolina and so on). In Britain the rice most commonly sold, apart from the short-grain rice which we normally use for puddings, is long-grain Patna rice from the United States. (Much of it, e.g. Uncle Ben’s and Sainsbury’s Easy Cook, is parboiled before the brown cuticle is milled away from the white grain; the process transfers some of the goodness from the cuticle to the grain, tingeing it a pale brown and making it less apt to stick when cooked.) This American Patna rice is good for many purposes, but other kinds of rice are available and it is worth while seeking out the right kind for a particular dish when you can.