Rice is the staple food
for two-thirds of the world's population. The simple grain has
been a popular life-sustaining food for thousands of years because
it is nutritious, versatile, economical, easy to prepare and
tastes good!
Rice is a complex
carbohydrate. Humans need complex carbohydrates in their diet
because they fuel the body. Complex carbohydrates are stored in
muscles and released as energy as needed.
Rice protein, when
compared to that of other grains, is considered one of the highest
quality proteins. It has all eight of the essential amino acids,
necessary building blocks for strong muscles. Rice is also a good
source of other essential nutrients -- thiamin, riboflavin,
niacin, phosphorus, iron and potassium. Rice contains no fat, no
cholesterol and no sodium. This along with being nonallergenic and
gluten free, makes rice especially well suited for persons with
special dietary needs.
Rice offers versatility
unsurpassed by an other food. It can be made part of any meal in
recipes for soups, salads, main dishes and desserts.
In Asia rice is
considered sacred. In Japan there are shrines to the god of rice.
Honda means "main rice
field." Toyota means " bountiful rice field."
Arkansas is the largest
rice producing state in the U. S.
Rice can be
indefinitely cropped in irrigated fields. Some rice fields are
believed to have been continously cropped for more than 2,000
years.
There are over 29,000
grains of rice in one pound (based on long grain white rice).
In Japan, rice grains
are affectionately called "little buddhas," to encourage children
to eat rice for the rest of their lives.
The Greek poet,
Sophocles, in 495 BC mentioned rice in the Tragedies.
Louis Armstrong signed
his autograph "Red Beans and Ricely Yours..."
In China, the typical
greeting is "Have you had your rice today?" The typical answer is
"Yes."
In India, it is said
the grains of rice should be like two brothers: close but not
stuck together.
In Thailand when you
call your family to a meal you say, "Eat Rice."
The Japan word for
cooked rice is the same as the word for meal.