Snippets from the Italian Scene Tips on Buying Rice
Moving in a very
different direction, if you visit other sites on About, you will see that the
company is now looking into E-Commerce, and that Guides are being asked to do
product reviews and suggestions. With this in mind, some thoughts on rice. To
the uninitiated it may appear simple, but there are dozens of strains, some
long-grained and others short, some starchy and others not, and each has its
uses.
Here are five of the
most common rices one will find in Italian markets:
Originario
Short, round
grains that do a fine job of absorbing sauces.
It's an excellent
choice for dishes that have you boil your rice and then season it with a sauce,
preparations in which you season your rice with vegetables and cheese and then
brown everyhing in the oven, and for soups; it's also an excellent choice for
desserts such as budino di riso and snacks such
as arancini or supplì.
Cooking time: 15
minutes.
Alternatives:
other short, round--grained rices such as Balilla or Padano
Integrale
This is a
whole-grain rice that has had just the outermost part of the husk removed; with
respect to more polished rices it's considerably richer in proteins, fibers,
salts, and minerals. Because it's unprocessed and you are eating some of the
husk, you should make sure that what you buy was organically grown.
It works very
nicely with greens and legumes (add it to them already cooked), and can also be
nice in sformati. Cook it in 3 times its
volume of water
Cooking time:
about an hour.
Carnaroli
One of the finest
Italian rices; it's short grained with round grains (the grains are larger than
those of Originario), and has a delightful texture.
It's perfect for
risotti, timballi, and other baked rice
dishes.
Cooking time:
18-20 minutes
Alternatives:
Arborio, and Vialone Nano, the great rice
of the Veneto region, whose grains are slightly smaller.
Parboiled
Yes, it's
available in Italy too. It's a rice (usually Ribe or Baldo if it's Italian)
that's steam treated to make the grains firmer; parboiled rice generally cooks
very quickly but does not become mush if it is overcooked. One of the side
effects of the treatment is that the grains don't stick to each other, and this
means that parboiled rice is not suited to risotti. It is, on the other hand,
ideal for things like insalata di riso a rice
salad that's very refreshing when it's hot, and perfect for picnics.
Cooking time: 5-15
minutes
Long grained rice
These are oriental
rices with long, slender grains; the best known is Basmati, which is
extraordinarily perfumed. It's not suited for risotti because the grains remain
separate, but adds a delightful touch to other rice-based dishes, and raises
the classic rice with a little butter and freshly grated cheese to great
heights. The bast way to cook it is the pilaf method, putting it in a pot with
twice its volume of water and cooking it until the water is completely
absorbed.
Cooking time:
10-12 minutes
A few
thoughts on storage:
Rice keeps well,
but it is better fresh than old, so don't buy so much at once that you have it
sitting around for months or even years. In all cases, keep it dry.
Unrefined rice is
more perishable, and shouldn't be exposed to sunlight, because the oils in the
husk can become rancid.
Once you have
opened a package of rice, transfer it into a clean glass jar and keep it in a
cool dark place.
To shorten the
cooking time, soak the rice in the water you'll be cooking it in for 2 hours
(measure out the water precisely).
Cooked rice,
especially whole grain or parboiled, will keep for several days in the
refrigerator, and is good reheated in a pan with other ingredients, or as a
stuffing, or in fritters.
A presto, Kyle
Phillips Webweaver, About Italian Cuisine
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