Rice, an aquatic cereal grass, has become one of the most versatile and popular culinary delights on the globe today. Used as either a side dish or entree, it can be prepared with a diverse combination of foods, from beans to vegetables or meats to fish.
Rice and beans, rice pudding and even rice ice cream prove the versatility of this special food. Throughout history, rice has been a symbol of wealth, status and even a substitute for money. In fact, in medieval Japan Samurai warriors were paid with rice.
Did you know? - The custom of throwing rice at weddings (which has been replaced by birdseed today) began because the tiny white food is a symbol of being fruitful and multiplying.
A couple of superstitions have grown up around rice: - It was once believed that if you knocked over someone's bowl of rice, ill fortune would follow.
- Children in China (in the past and many still today) were warned to eat all their rice or every grain left in the bowl would be a future pockmark on their bride or groom.
Growing Rice
It was by accident that rice ever migrated from China to the western hemisphere. A storm-weathered ship lost its course and landed near Charleston, South Carolina, where the locals gave aid to the captain and his crew. In exchange, the captain offered some rice. Luckily, South Carolina has the perfect conditions to grow rice -- warm, moist weather and flat, fertile soil.
Asia still produces about 90 percent of the world's rice crop, but the U.S. is fast becoming a major player in states like California, Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas. And more important, you can grow rice in your own backyard. Rice farming has become such a precise science that most home gardeners figure it's best left to the experts. In recent years, however, a number of rice varieties have been developed that work beautifully in smaller, backyard-type settings.
The keys to growing rice include the following: - Heavy clay soil to hold in the moisture
- Deep, thorough soakings in growing season
- Controlling weeds with proper amount of water and ample sun
- Harvesting rice when crop turns from green to gold. Use a sickle to cut the stalks down to the ground, stack them in bundles and leave out in the hot sun for about two weeks. At that point you'll have what is called rough rice (this means the rice still has its hull, which has to be removed before you can eat the kernels inside). The easiest way to prepare the rough rice at home is to roast it in an oven at 180 degrees for about an hour, and then remove the hulls by hand.
Note: What you have grown is actually brown rice. White rice is produced when the outer "bran" layer is stripped off and polished.
Tip: Add a few grains of rice to a salt shaker so it won't clog. Likewise, place a few whole peppercorns in the pepper container to prevent clogging.
Rice
Nutritional Information
Based on 1/4 cup rice
Calories 160
Fat 0 grams
Carbohydrates 35 grams
Dietary fiber 0 grams
Protein 3 grams
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