Basmati Rice

[haghverdi]

Is Basmati Rice considered to be White Rice? Is it McDougall approved??

Thanks,

[greentea]

I have been wondering this myself too, along with sushi & jasmine rice. I've never heard of brown rice being used in east indian or asian cooking, but I've also never been to those areas.

[JeffN]

Is Basmati Rice considered to be White Rice? Is it McDougall approved??

Thanks,

Basmati rice is a great tasting variety of rice. You can buy in both the unrefined "brown" form and the refined "white" form. It is originally from India and now also being grown in the USA.

Look for imported brown basmati rice for the best tasting one.

In Health
Jeff

[haghverdi]

Jeff,

Thanks, so is the white Basmati version approved by McDougall?

[auntemmy]

I have had a hard time "liking" brown rice, however I just found brown basmati and it is fabulous! I love jasmine and basmati rice (white) and I'm thrilled that this is so tasty with great texture!

[Quiet Heather]

Brown basmati is the only kind we buy. It's wonderful.

[JeffN]

The brown basmati rice is my favorite and incredibly good tasting. When you cook it, it smells like someone is making popcorn in your house. This is why it has also been nicknamed, popcorn rice.

Also, there are many other types of rice (literally 100s), so regardless of which type you enjoy, just make sure you buy the whole grain "brown" version, which is the preferred choice

In Health
Jeff

[Jaggu]

Jeff,

How would one go about finding whether a particular rice or wheat flour or other grains and flour is unrefined? Besides color, like in this case brown Vs White, can you look at the nutrition label and tell whether that particular grain is a simple sugar or complex carbohydrate/starch?

Will the level of dietary fiber tell us something?

One thing I noticed that when the rice bran is not removed(as in brown rice) and when you cook brown rice, it turns out to be sticky/pasty just like you take oatmeal and hit it up, the meal becomes quite gluey.

So I'm using higher fiber content = sticky/gluey meal and using that as a verification whether rice is starch or simple sugar, not sure of my hypothesis.

[JeffN]

Jeff,

How would one go about finding whether a particular rice or wheat flour or other grains and flour is unrefined? Besides color, like in this case brown Vs White, can you look at the nutrition label and tell whether that particular grain is a simple sugar or complex carbohydrate/starch?

Will the level of dietary fiber tell us something?

One thing I noticed that when the rice bran is not removed(as in brown rice) and when you cook brown rice, it turns out to be sticky/pasty just like you take oatmeal and hit it up, the meal becomes quite gluey.

So I'm using higher fiber content = sticky/gluey meal and using that as a verification whether rice is starch or simple sugar, not sure of my hypothesis.

In general, when you choose grains, choose whole grains. In a supermarket, this is an easy distinction as they are always labeled and/or identified as such. They are always listed as "brown" rice, or "whole wheat" flour, etc.

When it comes to packages, there is no 100% sure way other than following my label guidelines.

Read the ingredients and make sure any grains are listed as "whole" grains. Other words you may see on occasion, that are also acceptable, are Rolled, Stone Ground, and Cracked.

Color is not always a good indicator as companies often add food coloring to refined grain products to make them look whole grain.

Fiber may be an indicator but not always as companies can make refined grain products look better by adding supplemental fiber to them. Fiber does not always equate to the sitck/gluey'ness either.

Short grain rices tend to be more "stickier" and long grains rices tend to ne more "fluffier". This is due to some minor differences in the relative percentages of the type of complex carbohydrates in them and as long as they are whole grain, they are all good choices.

In Health
Jeff

[momof4]

One thing I noticed that when the rice bran is not removed(as in brown rice) and when you cook brown rice, it turns out to be sticky/pasty just like you take oatmeal and hit it up, the meal becomes quite gluey.

I think part of that is due to the way it's cooked. I cook my rice in a pressure cooker (1 cup rice to 1 1/2 cups water) at low pressure for 20 minutes. If I leave it in the pot to cool, it becomes sticky. I don't like that, so I dump it into a large bowl and fluff it up every now and then until it cools. It's not as much work as it sounds, and since I cook up large batches I don't do this often. My favorite kinds are the brown jasmine and brown basmati, as well as the short grain brown rice from the supermarket.

Last night I had brown rice that someone else cooked in a regular pot, and it was very soft, almost like oatmeal. It didn't even look like brown rice to me!

[slugmom]

I have had a hard time "liking" brown rice, however I just found brown basmati and it is fabulous! I love jasmine and basmati rice (white) and I'm thrilled that this is so tasty with great texture!

Another very tasty & aromatic brown rice is Lundberg Farms Wehani rice. It has a heavenly aroma while it's cooking. Some Wehani is also found in their Jubilee mix and their Wild Rice mix. It is my favorite brown rice.

[Jaggu]

Jeff,

Fiber may be an indicator but not always as companies can make refined grain products look better by adding supplemental fiber to them. Fiber does not always equate to the sitck/gluey'ness either.

In Health
Jeff

I understand that manufacturer could add fiber to make fiber content look good. One of the ingredient in that case will be listed as fiber.

Ok, Is added fiber any different than the fiber that is integral part of the food such as in whole grains?

Let's assume that there was no added fiber, doesn't white rice has less fiber compare to brown rice calorie for calorie? I don't know whether we can use X grams of fiber per Y calories as an indicator that food indeed is a complex carb.

[auntemmy]

My brown rice can get gluey if I cook too much at once. Try making a smaller batch and adding slightly less water.

The brand I found is Lundberg Brown Basmati. I will definitely look for Lundberg Wehani rice.

[dwyermd]

basmati rice is low on the glycemic index, as far as i know white is good and brown basmati rice is better
check wwwglycemicindex.com
md

[JeffN]

basmati rice is low on the glycemic index, as far as i know white is good and brown basmati rice is better
check wwwglycemicindex.com
md

With all due respect, the Glycemic index is not of value or helpful in choosing healthy foods.

You can read 2 newsletters I wrote about it at my website.

http://www.jeffnovick.com/content/category/23/97/349/

It is hard enough to stay focused on what is important, so adding in things that are not helpful, only make this harder.

In Health
Jeff