Types of Rice: White, Parboiled, Precooked, Brown, and Wild

A variety of different rices are available, and each requires different cooking times. Here are the processes and features of the various forms.

Regular-Milled White Rice

Regular-milled white rice, often referred to as "white" or "polished" rice, is the most common and inexpensive type. Processors remove the outer husk and mill away the layers of bran until the grain is white. White rice is often enriched with iron, niacin and thiamine.

Parboiled Rice

Parboiled rice is treated with a special steam-pressure process before milling. The grain is soaked, steamed, dried, and then milled to remove the outer hull. This process does not cook the rice but merely hardens it so there is less grain breakage during milling.

Parboiling spreads water-soluble vitamins and mineral salts throughout the grain, resulting in a fluffy, more nutritious product.

Precooked Rice

Precooked rice is milled, completely cooked, and dried. In its dried form, precooked rice has a more porous surface, and boiling water can rehydrate the grain quickly. Most precooked rice is enriched with iron, niacin, and thiamine.

Brown Rice

Brown rice is the least processed form of rice, and only has the outer hull removed. It still retains the white, starchy interior (the endosperm), as well as the nutritious outer layers (the bran) and the embryo (the germ).

The bran layers, which are rich in minerals and B-complex vitamins, give brown rice its tan color and nut-like flavor. Because of the higher fiber and oil content of these bran layers, brown rice takes longer to cook than white rice.

Wild Rice

Wild rice is not actually rice at all, but the grain of a wild, aquatic grass found in North America.

Length of Rice Grain

Rice is available in long, medium, and short grain. As a rule, the shorter the grain, the more tender it is, and the more it clings together.

Medium-grain rice is more moist and tender than long-grain rice, and is good for making dishes that have a creamier characteristic such as molds, croquettes, meat loaves, rice rings, and desserts.

Short-grain rice is not as readily available, but it can be found in markets specializing in Asian or Caribbean foods. Short-grain rice clings together and is an excellent choice for sushi.

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