According to Indian mythology, rice came to people directly from heaven. Once the god Pua Lamoa treated one brave young man to boiled grain - the guy liked the product so much that he decided to secretly take it with him. Only the heavenly guards did not allow this to be done. “Rice is the food of the gods, people cannot eat it,” they said. The young man returned to the ground, but continued to think about how to get grain. One day, while sitting in the lotus position, he noticed deep cracks in his legs. The decision ripened immediately - the guy went up to heaven again, walked through the seeds that were stuck in his heels, and returned to the ground with a valuable acquisition. So, according to legend, people got rice, and it happened about 7-8 millennia ago. True, for a long time only the peoples of Southeast Asia enjoyed it. In Europe, they tried to grow white grains, but this did not receive much development. But today you can buy rice from almost any corner of the world - Thailand, China, Japan, India, Italy, Spain, Australia, America and, of course, from Russia -.
How does rice grow?
Rice is planted in specially prepared seed nests. The seedlings are then transplanted into flat fields surrounded by dams called checks.
The fields are then flooded with water, which passes through special gates in the walls that surround each field. During the ripening of rice, the rice grower must maintain a water level of at least 13 centimeters. For these purposes, shoes were invented - geta - wooden sandals, on the soles of which there were 2 wooden coasters.
For weeding, the water is drained and the weeds are pulled out by hand. Then, before the leaves turn from green to yellow, the fields are drained again for harvesting.
The labor costs of growing rice are very high. Even now, in our century. Now, per unit area, they exceed labor costs for growing corn by 40 times.
Sources: blog-japan.ru, genon.ru, galina.forum2x2.ru
In ancient China, rice, in addition to eating, was used in much the same way as a lie detector is now used. To determine the guilt, the suspect was forced to take a handful of raw rice in his mouth and asked him about his involvement in the crime. Then they offered to spit out the rice. Dry, not sticky rice said that the defendant was guilty - his mouth went dry from excitement, and the rice remained dry. However, rice has many other, more valuable, of course from the point of view of our time, qualities.
1. Rice is 98% composed of complex carbohydrates, which can saturate the body with energy for a long time. By eating a cup of rice for breakfast, a person will feel less need for fatty and sugary foods during the day. The same property of cereals makes rice diet for weight loss one of the most easily portable.
2. Rice is rich in vitamins. It contains carotene, B and PP vitamins. In addition, rice contains calcium, iodine, iron, selenium. Rice contains eight amino acids that the body needs to create new cells. Rice goes well with other foods. Along with rice, you can eat meat, fish, vegetables, seafood.
3. Rice, unlike wheat, does not contain gluten, which often causes allergic reactions. Therefore, rice dishes are ideal for young children and allergy sufferers.
4. Scientists have proven that regular consumption of rice increases intellectual ability. So adherence to a rice diet for weight loss can have a positive effect not only on the figure, but also on mental abilities.
5. In case of indigestion, rice water helps to stop diarrhea - a tablespoon is poured with half a liter of water and boiled until tender. The resulting broth can be given even to infants.
6. For pilaf, it is better to choose long-grain rice - it does not stick together during cooking. Round grain rice is softer, it is very boiled, and it is better to cook porridge from it.
7. Currently, more than thirty varieties of rice are cultivated. It can be white, black, red, coffee. The color and benefits of rice differ not only due to the variety, but also due to the processing method. The healthiest rice is unpolished.
8. Black rice, also called wild, is the healthiest rice variety. It contains twice as much protein as white, and its antioxidant content puts it on par with blueberries, orange juice, red wine and grapes. The homeland of this rice is America, where it was eaten by the Indians for many centuries. By the way, "America" is translated from Japanese as "the birthplace of rice."
9. Parboiled rice has an amber color and is more expensive than usual. The thing is that this rice is exposed to steam before grinding, so that all the nutrients get into the kernel of the grain and are not destroyed during processing. This makes it more acceptable for a rice diet for weight loss than white. Such rice takes about ten minutes longer than usual. The beautiful white color returns after the heat treatment of the cereals.
10. Rice is very useful for people with problems of the gastrointestinal tract: gastritis, stomach ulcers and duodenal ulcers - starch envelops the mucous membrane and protects it from damage.
In Chinese, the words "breakfast", "lunch" and "dinner" literally mean "morning rice", "daytime rice", "evening rice".
Do you often eat rice? What dishes can you cook from it? Share your recipes!
People learned to grow rice nine thousand years ago. Now it is the most popular food in the world: every day it is on the table for half of the world's population.
... Up to 300,000 species of edible plants are known in the world. About 200 are used by humans. Rice accounts for about a quarter of the world's caloric intake. And although this cereal occupies only the third line in the ranking of food production, it is the undisputed leader in consumption.
Rice is the leader in terms of consumption in the world
... It is the staple food for more than half of the world's population. Sugarcane is not eaten directly. Sugar is made from it (its content in the plant is about 20%), and the waste goes to livestock feed. Biofuel, feed is produced from corn, and premises are also heated with it. And most of the grain of rice is eaten by humans.
... Average annual consumption of rice per person in the world - 57.5 kg
... In Russia, there are 5 kg of rice per person per year. This is more than in Europe (2-3 kg), but ten times less than in Asia. A resident of Myanmar eats rice 45.5 times more than the average Russian, Vietnam - almost 43 times, China - 24 times.
... TOP-10 countries - rice producers (2013)
... The volume of world trade in rice for the 2015-2016 season is projected at 42.1 million tons, which is almost the same as last year.
TOP-10 countries - rice producers
... 1 China
2 India
3 Indonesia
4 Bangladesh
5 Vietnam
6 Thailand
7 Myanmar
8 Philippines
9 Brazil
10 Japan
37 Russia
... Up to a third of the mass of rice harvested in the fields is lost during processing.
... The highest rice yield is not in the leading countries in production, but in countries such as Australia (102 centners per hectare), Egypt (95), USA (86), Turkey (81).
1% - This is the projected growth in global rice production in 2015 compared to 2014. Consumption will also grow by 1%.
An average of 1400 liters of water is spent on growing a kilogram of rice.
Chinese purchase 2.8 million tons of rice annually. The country produces this cereal more than anyone else in the world, but rice is still in short supply, because it is the main food of all segments of the population.
The largest rice consuming countries in the world are China, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam.
1/7 of the world's population is engaged in the production and processing of rice. This cereal is the largest employer in the world.
TOP-20 interesting facts about rice
Rice - round and long, white and brown, has firmly established itself in Russian kitchens, but only 300 years ago, few people in Russia heard about it. But do you know everything about this amazing plant? Below is a selection of interesting facts, you can check your erudition.
Fact number 1: unpretentious and whimsical at the same time
Rice is considered an unpretentious cereal, since it can grow in the same place for an infinitely long time, without requiring fertilization, but giving a fairly decent harvest, but it is very picky about moisture and quickly dies if the earth is allowed to dry out.
Fact # 2: linked to cracked heels
There is a legend that explains how rice got to the ground. Rice was considered the food of the gods, and only once did a person manage to taste this dish. However, the man was not allowed to take the grains of rice with him and was sent to earth without them. So no one else would have recognized the taste of the rice, but this man's heels were rough, with cracks - it was in them that a few white grains were stuck. With love and special care, man grew these grains and gradually rice became available to everyone.
Fact # 3: rice and wealth
In Japan and Asia, it is believed that whoever has more rice is richer. From here arose the tradition of sprinkling rice grains on newlyweds - wishing them wealth.
Fact # 4: from India to Russia
India is considered the birthplace of rice, since it is there that most of the wild forms of this plant grow. There were found ancient irrigation canals and the remains of rice in clay pots, dating back to the 7th millennium BC. It is proven that rice was grown in China in the 5th millennium BC. Rice came to Europe already in the 4th century AD - it was brought by the ships of Alexander the Great. Peter the Great brought rice to Russia under the name "Saracen millet". It was only at the end of the 19th century that this cereal became popular in Russia under the name "rice".
Fact # 5: Hang in Tons!
It is estimated that approximately 700 million tonnes of rice are eaten worldwide every year. To provide this amount, approximately 1 billion people are employed in the cultivation and processing stages of rice, that is, one in six people on the planet.
Fact number 6: vitamins and minerals
Rice is a very healthy grain. It contains a lot of vitamins, including B, E, PP and carotene. There are many trace elements in rice, even such as selenium, iodine, calcium and iron - necessary for maintaining immunity and brain function. Rice is a source of essential amino acids, which means that it allows the human body to build proteins without using animal food, which means saturated animal fats, that is, rice gives the body energy without the risk of atherosclerotic plaques. Rice does not contain gluten, which means it does not cause allergies.
Fact # 7: not one or two
There are more than seven thousand varieties of rice in the world, and this despite the fact that wild rice does not belong to rice itself, but is only its "distant relative".
Fact # 8: white or black?
Europeans are used to white rice. However, black is considered more useful, as it contains twice as much plant protein and a lot of plant fiber, which normalizes intestinal function. And there are more antioxidants in black rice than in oranges and grape seeds.
Fact number 9: there is rice - there is rice
In China, the words "breakfast", "lunch" and "dinner" literally translate as "rice in the morning", "rice at noon", "rice in the evening." In Japan, the verb "is" and the noun "rice" are denoted by the same hieroglyph.
Fact # 10: rice is a staple food
Europeans eat rice less often, but in Asia, rice accounts for 70% of the calories that people get from food. Every second person in the world has rice as a product of everyday use. The average Asian eats 150 kg of rice a year, while the average European consumes just two.
Fact number 11: for those on a diet
100 grams of rice contains only 82 calories, so rice can be consumed by those who want to reduce their weight, with almost no restrictions.
Fact # 12: national symbol
Rice is the national grain of Japan, which is eaten three times a day and has been cooked using rice for over 500,000 dishes.
Fact # 13: sanded or steamed?
In stores, you can equally often find polished rice and parboiled rice. It is better to choose steamed, since up to 75% of nutrients remain in it. Polished rice loses more than 60% of its beneficial vitamins and minerals during processing.
Fact number 14: the geography of rice production
Thailand is the leader in rice production. Next, in order of importance, follow: Vietnam, India, Pakistan, Italy, Spain, America, Japan, China and Russia.
Fact # 15: Strictly by the calendar
Rice is still grown according to old technologies, according to which rice fields are flooded with water at a certain period of time and are drained only for weeding and harvesting. Those who cultivate rice fields wear special sandals to avoid getting their feet dirty and harming the crops.
Fact # 16: You Can't Grow Rice Without Labor
The labor costs of growing rice are very high. They are 40 times more than for growing corn and 50 times more than wheat.
Fact # 17: Cook Right
Cooking rice is very easy. Rinse it in cold water, pour it into a saucepan, lightly salt it. Then add the water so that it covers two centimeters of the rice. Cover with a lid. After the rice has boiled, cook for exactly 10 minutes. Then let stand 10 more. You are guaranteed crumbly rice that retains the maximum of nutrients.
Fact number 18: for all diseases
Rice is very fond of gastroenterologists. The fact is that rice water has a mild enveloping effect and helps to heal well and quickly any damage to the gastric mucosa, including ulcers.
Fact # 19: classification of rice
Rice varies in length by:
- extra-long-grain - more than 7.5 mm;
- long-grain - more than 6.16 mm;
- medium grain - 5.16-6.15 mm;
- short-grain - no more than 5.15 mm.
Fact # 20: rice as a piece of jewelry
For the first time, they began to write on grains of rice in Turkey and India. In Istanbul, in the Topkapi Palace museum, you can see through a strong magnifying glass a whole letter written with a hair on a grain of rice. Now you can order a souvenir - a rice decoration with the name of the person to whom it is given, written on one grain of grain. Unfortunately, you cannot wear such a piece of jewelry, you can only admire it.
Interesting facts about rice
- It is believed that rice has been cultivated for 7-8 thousand years, it was one of the first crops to be cultivated.
- The oldest traces of rice cultivation are found in Thailand, they date back to the middle of the 5th millennium BC. NS.
- Rice (lat. Oryza) is a genus of annual and perennial herbaceous plants of the Cereals family; cereal culture.
- Rice stems reach up to one and a half meters in height, its leaves are quite wide, dark green and rough along the edge. At the top of the stem is a panicle of spikelets. The caryopsis is densely covered with scales.
- A mature rice plant can grow up to 1-6 meters in height.
- India is considered the birthplace of rice, since it is there that most of the wild forms of this plant grow. There were found ancient irrigation canals and the remains of rice in clay pots, dating back to the 7th millennium BC.
- Rice was brought to America from the Old World by Columbus, who set off in 1493 on a second trip to the shores of America. In America, wild rice was found, which was consumed by the Indians.
- Rice was brought to Russia under Peter the Great.
- The inhabitants of many islands of the Malay archipelago consider rice to be the food of the gods, they have legends about the abduction of rice to the ground.
- The Japanese have a patroness of rice - the goddess Inari ("ina" means "rice on the vine", "nari" - "birth"). According to one of the legends, she brought this wonderful plant to Japan from distant wanderings, hiding some grains in a reed staff. Inari is most often represented as a fox with a red kerchief around his neck. It is believed that Inari descended from the sky on a white fox. Many temples are dedicated to this goddess.
- In Bali, the goddess of rice is Devi Sri. She is also the goddess of fertility, wealth, and good fortune.
- In ancient times, it was believed that rice has a soul, like a person, and disrespectful attitude towards it was punished by the gods. In one of the oldest monuments of Japanese writing "Fudoki" tells about peasants who got rich, having reaped a good harvest, became lazy, began to drink sake and have fun, and once, during an archery competition, they made a mochi ... a target out of a rice cake. The insulted soul of rice could not stand such sacrilege, it turned into a white bird and flew away. Then the rice fields fell into desolation, and people died ...
- In China, almost 3000 BC. there was a rite according to which the emperor of China had to sow rice with his own hand. After that, the four princes of the imperial family were assigned the role of sowing the seeds of other crops.
- According to Chinese legends, rice was used to test the veracity: a person took a handful of rice grains into his mouth and held it for a certain time, and then spat it out. If the rice remained dry, the suspect was found guilty of lying. If the rice was wet, the person's words were considered sincere. It turns out that the foundations of the polygraph were laid by the ancient Chinese ...
- It is estimated that approximately 700 million tonnes of rice are eaten worldwide every year.
- 50% of the world's rice is eaten within a 12 km radius of the cultivation area.
- Rice is the staple food of over 50% of the world's population. In Asia alone, 2 billion people get 70% of their calories from this food.
- Rice is the national grain of Japan, where it is eaten three times a day and they manage to cook more than 500,000 dishes using rice.
- Japanese scientists have found that brown rice is not only beneficial for health, but also increases memory and intelligence.
- Rice does not contain gluten, which means it does not cause allergies.
- Compared to other cereals, rice contains more potassium and phosphorus and complex carbohydrates, while most of the vitamins and minerals are contained in the bran shell, which remains only on brown rice grains.
- The record holder for the amount and content of protein in rice is black rice, it contains almost 2 times more protein than white rice. And in terms of antioxidant content, black rice rivals blueberries, grapes, orange juice and red wine.
- In ancient China, red rice was called "Forbidden Rice" - it was available only to the emperor and his family. Red rice was legendary. During the wars of China's unification, red rice received the best warriors from the elite units in order to become stronger and faster.
- Traditional rice cakes are used in Japan throughout the calendar year. However, an increased demand for them invariably arises on New Year's Eve. Mochi flatbreads are popular not only in Japan, but also in China, Cambodia, as well as Thailand, Korea, and the Hawaiian Islands.
- Rice is a staple of the Mediterranean Diet (Dieta Mediterranea).
- In addition to traditional food consumption, rice is also used to make flour, starch and even vodka - the famous Asian alcoholic drink sake. Rice is used as a raw material for making Japanese beer - bakushu. Vinegar, sauces and pasta are also prepared from it. The buds are used to make rice oil.
- Rice flour is used in cosmetics; it is processed into powder in cosmetic factories.
- Rice processing wastes are also widely used: the stems are used to make hats, shoes and bags; from the husk, bran is prepared, on the basis of which grain mixtures, biscuits, crisps and rice oil are produced, for livestock feed, and an excellent fertilizer is obtained from the burnt roots.
- In 1995, the Japanese ate more meat than rice for the first time in history.
- The main rice areas are concentrated in Thailand, India, Vietnam, Burma and other countries of Southeast Asia. They produce about ninety percent of the world's rice reserves, taking two or three crops a year.
- Rice grows well at different latitudes - on the peaks of the Himalayas and in the tropical swamps of Liberia, in equatorial countries and in Europe.
- In Russia, rice is cultivated under artificial irrigation. Rice crops are concentrated in the North Caucasus (the lower reaches of the Kuban, Don, Terek, Sulak rivers), the Lower Volga region (Volga-Akhtubinskaya floodplain of the Astrakhan region) and in the Far East in the Khanka lowland (Lake Khanka region). Rice cultivation in Russia began in the days of Khrushchev, Russian rice is called "the northernmost rice in the world."
- In North America, airplanes are used to plant rice, and in parts of Asia every grain is still planted by hand.
- Labor costs for growing rice are very high, as per unit area they exceed labor costs for growing corn by 40 times.
- From 50 kilograms of rice seeds, 2000 kilograms of raw lynx grows, and in turn, from 400 million tons of raw rice, 260 tons of ready-to-eat rice are obtained. Rice is the only major cereal that grows in water.
- There are more than 7,000 varieties of rice in the world.
- Growing one kilogram of rice requires 5000 liters of water.
- Rice production and processing employs about 1 billion people, which is one sixth of the world's population.
- Bali's unique Subak irrigation system was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The creation of this system dates back to the 9th century and consists of rice terraces on the western part of the island. The designation of the rice terraces as a UNESCO World Heritage Site was made in recognition of their role in preserving Balinese culture as part of an ancient culture that continues to this day.
- In some oriental languages, the expression "bon appetit!" literally means "eat rice", and the expression meal - "rice meal".
- In Japan, both the noun "rice" and the verb "is" are denoted by one hieroglyph.
- In China, the words "breakfast", "lunch" and "dinner" literally translate as "rice in the morning", "rice at noon", "rice in the evening."
- In China, the greeting is "Have you eaten rice today?"
- The word "Iron Rice Bowl" in Mandarin refers to a stable job with a steady income and privileges.
- In China, the expression “to break a bowl of rice” means to quit your job.
- In Russia, the word "rice" appeared at the end of the 19th century from the English "rice", before that rice was called "Saracen grain", "Saracen wheat", then transformed into "Saracen millet", "Sorochin millet".
- In today's Japan, the Ministry of Finance is referred to as "akurasho" which can be translated as "rice storage".
- Rice has its own holiday - Rice Day. It was established by a decision of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 1950 and is celebrated on September 20.
- 1966 was declared the International Year of Rice by the United Nations Commission.
- At weddings of newlyweds, it is customary to sprinkle rice to wish them a fruitful marriage. In Japan and Asia, sprinkling grains of rice on newlyweds is to wish them wealth, since it is believed that whoever has more rice is richer.
- Japanese farmers in the small town of Inakadate in Aomori Prefecture have invented a new art form - giant paintings of rice sprouts in the fields. Various varieties of green, purple and yellow rice are used as "paint".
- Wild rice is not rice or even a grain, it is a water herb belonging to the genus Tsitsania and called "water rice".
- Indian sea rice is not rice either - it is a zoogley fungus, which resembles ordinary rice in shape. The medicinal properties of sea mushroom infusion were already known in ancient China and India.
- The name of the Japanese car Toyota means "fertile rice field".
- In Istanbul, in the Topkapi Palace museum, through a strong magnifying glass, you can see a whole letter written with a hair on a grain of rice. For the first time, they began to write on grains of rice in Turkey and India.
- Now, gifts in the form of a grain of rice decoration with the name of the donee are popular, although such an ornament cannot be worn, you can only admire it. You can make an inscription on the rice and with us. There are sites that specialize in this.
- The ancient problem of grains on a chessboard is known, this is a mathematical problem in which it is calculated how many grains there will be on a chessboard if you put on each next cell of the board twice as many grains as on the previous one, starting with one.
More about rice
About 700 million tons of rice are eaten around the world every year. It is one of the most popular foods on our planet, rice is the main food for almost half of the world's population. Moreover, rice is one of the first crops that mankind has learned to grow. What else do we know about rice?
Where and how rice is grown
Rice belongs to plants of the cereal family. The homeland of rice is India, on whose territory people began to cultivate rice as early as seven to eight thousand years BC. The evidence of this is the ancient pottery with the remains of rice, which is found by archaeologists. Subsequently, the culture of growing rice spread throughout Asia, and after the campaigns of Alexander the Great, rice began to conquer the European continent. In Russia, rice was tested only under Peter I. Today, rice is consumed all over the world, and its main producers are Thailand, India, Vietnam, Burma, China, Pakistan, and the USA.
In principle, rice is a fairly unpretentious crop that does not require any fertilization. It can grow both in mountainous areas and in the tropics. However, growing rice is a rather difficult job, labor costs for growing this crop are forty times higher than, for example, labor costs for growing corn and fifty times for growing wheat. All rice needs to grow properly is water. Moreover, in order to grow one kilogram of rice, you need about five thousand liters of water. It is noteworthy that rice is the only major crop that grows in water.
Despite the fact that mankind has been cultivating rice for many thousands of years, the technology itself has practically not changed since ancient times. First, young seedlings are prepared from rice seeds. Then it is planted in the fields, which are surrounded by special dams. These fields are flooded with water in such a way that the water level is maintained at just under thirteen centimeters. If weeding is necessary, the water is drained, all weeds are removed by hand.
At that moment, when the rice leaves very little time to turn from green to yellow, the fields are drained and the harvest is carried out. Currently, the cultivation and processing of rice employs about one billion people, that is, 1/6 of the world's population. Those who work in the rice fields wear special wooden sandals to avoid damaging the crops or getting their feet dirty. In the countries of Southeast Asia, two or three crops of rice are harvested per year, which, in particular, allows feeding the huge population of China or India.
Useful properties of rice
Rice is a unique product that, in comparison with other cereals, contains more potassium and phosphorus. In addition, it is low in fat and cholesterol. At the same time, rice provides the human body with a lot of energy. Rice contains vitamins of group B, E, PP, carotene and useful microelements, including iodine and iron. Importantly, during the cooking and steaming process, a significant part of these nutrients remains in the grains. Rice is a source of amino acids essential for humans, it helps to maintain immunity and stimulates the brain. Numerous scientific studies have proven that regular consumption of unpeeled rice improves memory in humans.
Unlike wheat, it does not contain gluten, therefore, rice does not cause allergies. Rice is recommended for people who suffer from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, since the starch contained in this product gently envelops the stomach lining. Of course, rice is an indispensable product for those who try to lead a healthy lifestyle and keep an eye on their figure. There are only 82 calories in 100 grams of rice, so rice dishes are ideal for those who maintain a healthy figure. However, diet food fans are better off using black or brown rice rather than white. The fact is that white peeled rice is characterized by a high glycemic index, which adversely affects the figure.
Rice varieties
There are more than seven thousand types of rice in the world. Moreover, the wild rice known to many is not the closest relative of rice, but is only water grass. By the way, some varieties of rice can grow on dry soil. Rice comes in black, red, brown, white and other colors. Russians, like Europeans, prefer white rice. However, black rice, which is popular in Asian countries, is much healthier. After all, it contains more vegetable protein and fiber, which contributes to the normal functioning of the intestines and stomach. In addition, black rice is rich in antioxidants, more of them than oranges or grapes.
However, brown rice is considered the most useful. During its processing, the shell, which contains a significant part of useful microelements, is practically not removed. In turn, red rice differs in that it is well absorbed by the human body. In ancient times, it was available only to the Chinese emperor and his entourage. They were fed the best warriors of the imperial army to keep them strong and healthy.
You can buy parboiled or polished rice in Russian stores. The latter is a processed product, more than sixty percent of vitamins and minerals are lost in it.
Usually, the rice is washed in cold water, poured into a saucepan and water is added so that it slightly covers the rice. After boiling, the rice is left to cook for about ten minutes. Then let the rice stand for another five to ten minutes. After boiling, each grain of rice increases in size by about three times. The result is a delicious, crumbly rice that can be a great side dish in a variety of dishes. Rice is used to make cereals, cereal mixes, butter, and even the popular sake drink.
Rice is extremely popular in Asian countries. In Japan, it is considered a national product that is consumed three times a day and several hundred thousand dishes are prepared from it. Moreover, in Japanese culture, the patroness of rice is even known - the goddess Inari, who, according to legend, brought this amazing plant to the country. In ancient Japan, it was believed that rice has a soul of its own, so disrespectful attitude to rice would be punished by the gods. In general, in Asian countries, each resident consumes 150 kilograms of rice annually, while a European eats an average of only two kilograms every year.
