Why Brown Rice?
On almost every list of good carbs you see a recommendation that brown rice should be used in place of white rice and just in case you might be wondering why you should quit using good old Uncle Ben’s or whatever equivalent you use I thought that I would answer that little question.
Brown rice is the exact same rice that is used for white rice, but the protective coating called bran is removed. The reason behind removing the coating and leaving behind the white rice has to do with providing a product that gives us quicker cooking times and also making a product that is visually fluffier and more delicate in texture once cooked. The cost associated with making it quicker to cook and better to look at is that we end up with a much less nutritious product because many valuable nutrients are lost once the bran is stripped away.
Brown rice is significantly higher in fiber than white rice and getting enough fiber is something that is both helpful and something that is missing from most North American diets.
Brown rice also contains higher levels of vitamins, minerals and many other “good things” such as vitamins B and E, calcium, protein, phosphorus, riboflavin and iron.
It used to be that brown rice was only available in health food stores but with the growing awareness of the nutrient value among other things brown rice is fast becoming more mainstream and is available in almost every grocery store. Brown rice now even comes in long grain, medium grain, short grain and basmati forms, which can fit in perfectly with whatever type of cooking you like to do and what types of white rice you wish to replace.
The downside to brown rice and something that you should be very aware of is that with the bran coating still intact it can go bad or rancid much more quickly than white rice. In that case I would caution you to buy only what you feel you would use within a month or at the most two months, and to be safe I would suggest storing it in a tightly sealed container and keep the container in a cool, dark place or as some people do, store it in the fridge.
April 10, 2008 at 2:51 pm
My mom was just telling me the cost of white rice just rapidly increase from 13 dollars to 18 dollars, I mentioned to her that it doesn’t effect us, because I eat brown rice…few asian eat brown rice
cost benefit is nothing to add to your list
April 10, 2008 at 2:51 pm
You know, I never knew that it was bran that coated the grains. Good to know! Very much agree that it spoils faster, too. I’ve found the "Boil-In-Bag" brown rice to be great for a day’s worth of portions. Cooks in 10 minutes and clean up is easy.
April 10, 2008 at 3:01 pm
I never knew that. Thanks for posting this.
April 10, 2008 at 3:55 pm
I’ve tried the brown rice but I didn’t like the taste. Thanks for the info.
April 14, 2008 at 9:39 am
I didn’t know that uncooked rice could go bad. Thanks for the info.
April 18, 2008 at 7:23 am
We have a lot of wild rice available here in Minnesota. It is brown and very fibrous. I’ve found that I can’t eat much of it without getting stomach cramps. But I can eat it just fine if I mix in 1/3 wild brown rice with 2/3 white rice. Maybe over time I’ll be able to move toward more of the healthy brown stuff. Need to make my digestive system stronger a little at a time.