The Wonderful World Of Rice

Beginning the year with the first column of this website "Dalila's Gourmet" before we wish to family, friends and our readers a happy new year 2009. The reason I started writing about Rice is motivated in the presentation of the website "Dalila's Gourmet" whose initial launch message is Rice and Something Else!, The preparation of rice is one of our specialties. Rice is a cereal that is grown all over the world, there are over 40,000 varieties of rice and more than half of the world's population eats rice as a staple. Along with wheat flour, rice is one of the world's most important food. It is a cereal almost miraculous, for it provides the opportunity to prepare many dishes. Rice is consumed cooked, hot or cold, sweet or savory preparations. It is also tasty, yielder, easy to prepare and economic contains lots of nutrients, good source of carbohydrates and helps us to have good digestion. What's more, low in fat and contains no cholesterol. Rice plant obtained the flour and starch pastes, rice, pasta and noodles so popular in Asian cuisine and even sake rice liquor made in Japan.

The United States exports this grain to more than 100 countries and is the second largest exporter of the product. It is classified into three categories: elongated rice known as long grain rice, which gastronomically speaking, is used for paella, rice and salads, rice round grain rice known as round, used to make Italian risotto as well as all kinds of desserts like rice pudding and rice rather long short grain called rice from Asia, which is used to make the famous Chinese dim sum, Japanese sushi and some desserts. This classification is derived from a variety of rice: long grain rice, parboiled rice, instant rice, rice, tree, brown rice, rice bismati, wild rice.

Specialties are rice worldwide. In India and in the Middle East, rice pilaf is cooked rice browning in hot oil or butter before cooking in broth, for the grains separate. The Japanese use rice with higher levels of starch to make sushi in china breakfast served in the dish called congee. In Thailand prepares steamed rice so sticky you can eat with your hands. In Spain and Latin America (from Mexico to Patagonia) prepares the "rich flavored chicken rice with tomatoes, peppers, onions, peas and sweet or hot pepper (chilli) and is painted yellow with annatto, yellow or oil annatto. Special mention for the world famous Spanish paella, a dish that contains a mixture of chicken, seafood, sausage, pork and vegetables, which brings saffron yellow. Finally, here in the United States prepare a version of Jambalaya paella, which is prepared in New Orleans, based on ham and prawns, saffron substituting cayenne pepper. Also New Orleans dirty rice named after its preparation to take chicken liver.

Because of its absorbency, the rice is soaking liquid easily or fat. Normally comes to triple in volume when cooked. The objective is to obtain a large firm that does not stick together and absorb the flavor. The exception is rice pudding, which should be creamy. The basic forms of cooking are steamed (about 25 to 30 minutes), boiled or a fat. We ended this week with the recipe of the week the Persian Rice Pilaf with a fat prepared. Until next week. Write to juliopena@dalilasgourmet.com or contact us via our website: www.dalilasgourmet.com

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