Benefits of Rice

Rice is the staple food for more than half the world’s population with billions of people relying on it as their main source of energy. It’s a complex carbohydrate, providing high energy value and slow energy release, as well as containing fibre, protein, vitamin B, iron, and manganese. It’s also hugely versatile due to the thousands of varieties produced around the world. These are categorised by degree of milling, kernel size, starch content, and flavour.

Types of Rice

In general, there are three types of rice: short grain, medium grain and long grain. Short grain varieties have a higher starch content and absorb more liquid when cooking making it sticky, such as Spanish Bomba rice (commonly used in paella) and sushi rice. Medium grain rice has a lower starch content than short grain and typically results in a creamier rather than sticky texture in dishes, such as arborio rice used in Italian risotto. Long grain varieties have the lowest starch content resulting in dry grains that don’t cling to each other when cooked, such as basmati rice.

This year at Place, we have been working on 2 new rice SKUs in the factory: yellow rice and sushi rice.

Yellow Rice

Our yellow long grain rice is produced using only turmeric to colour the rice so is completely natural but carries no flavour meaning it is still really versatile. Yellow rice is great for using as part of globally inspired concepts or to add a visual dimension to dishes. There may even be health benefits to yellow rice as turmeric is a natural anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant, meaning it can help protect cells against stress and damage. Our yellow rice can be sold in bulk IQF as well as individually portioned into perforated film bags that can be cooked in the microwave. Yellow rice is a great base to add flavour to also, and at Place we’ve been working on a range of added value concepts from classic golden vegetable rice to pilau style rice and pilaf with sour cherries and caramelised onions.

Sushi Rice

We have recently trialled sushi rice in our factory with great results. Notoriously time consuming to prepare and cook at home, sushi rice requires more preparation than other types of rice due to the higher starch content compared to other varieties. This is what gives it the sticky texture once cooked. Sushi rice generally refers to the seasoned cold rice that forms the foundation for all sushi. Our rice is cooked and frozen plain with no added flavours or seasoning. It’s a great blank canvas to add flavourings to in order to make great homemade sushi, poke bowls or onigiri (Japanese rice balls). To use our sushi rice, simply heat the desired amount in the microwave and add a blend of rice vinegar, salt and sugar. Once cooled, it’s ready to use.

What are the benefits for using IQF Rice?

• Convenience – a frozen format where the rice is already cooked and can be ready to eat. Just add it to your recipe and you are good to go or simply defrost and use.
• Time Saving – removing the need for soaking and cooking during your process which in turns reduce the time needed for your production, it is already done!
• Cost Effective – minimising the stages in your process helps mitigate the unnecessary costs
• Reducing Food Waste – free flowing rice is perfect for portion control during your process, diminishing food waste.