[Sca-cooks] Partly OP: Brown vs. white rice?

[Daniel Myers]

Ok, this is a bit of a crank theory of mine, so be patient with me.

My (non-expert) understanding of the whole brown vs. white rice thing 
is that polishing the bran off of the rice does two things: 1. it makes 
it easier to digest, and 2. it helps it keep from spoiling.  I've heard 
(on this list) that brown rice is looked down upon in asia as being bad 
for you and peasant food, and that they've been polishing rice in asia 
pretty much for all of recorded history.  If someone knows otherwise on 
any of this, please correct me.

So here's where the crackpot theory comes in:  the rice used in period  
was white rice.
(all references to period here refer to England and France between 1100 
and 1600 -
any other region or time and I'm liable to be way off base).

In support:
1.  Rice wasn't grown in northern Europe in period, and all of the rice 
they ate was imported from the far east.  Polished rice would have been 
sent to prevent it from spoiling on the trip.

2.  Many of the dishes made with rice in period cookbooks reference the 
color white.

3.  I have yet to see a period source refer to rice as being brown.

4.  Numerous examples can be found of instructions for removing hulls 
and such from just about every grain grown - except for rice.

5.  Exporting polished rice would have helped keep a sort of monopoly 
going since the rice then couldn't be planted (this may have been 
unintentional).


So ... <donning asbestos underwear> ... how's that?

- Doc (who should know better than to air such theories in public)


On Feb 15, 2004, at 5:39 PM, Tara Sersen Boroson wrote:

> Ok, health-foodie me has been wondering something for a while.  Today, 
> white rice is completely ubiquitous and brown rice is so far an 
> exception that some small grocery stores don't even carry it.  How 
> long this has been true?  When did folks start processing the bran off 
> of rice, and when/where did it become so common that brown rice became 
> the exception instead of the rule?  What would be an appropriate rice 
> to use for period applications - brown or white, long or short grain?  
> Also, in terms of modern usage, we hear plenty about how healthy Asian 
> cultures are because they eat so much whole grain.  Yet, every Indian, 
> Thai, Chinese and Japanese restaurant I know of serves white rice.  
> I've only ever found one restaurant that offered brown rice as an 
> alternative, despite health magazines assurances that it is available 
> for the asking.  Asian grocers also carry only or very predominantly 
> white rice.  So, what is the truth there?  Is it an Americanization to 
> serve so much white rice in these Asian restaurants, or are the people 
> touting the "whole grain" theory of Asian cooking attributing this 
> incorrectly?
>
> Thank you!
> -Magdalena