Rå ris?

[Sabeine]

Is brown rice the same as rå ris in Sweden?

Also what is wild rice is that vild ris? Also, can someone explain the actual difference between these two? Is wild rice not processed? I'm trying to buy a healthier alternative to white rice. We bought rå ris and liked it, but I wondered if it was the same as brown rice, since it didn't seem to look the same.

[Carolyn]

Wild rice is native to North America and has a lovely nutty flavor. Brown rice is what white rice looks like before it's been polished and had all the nutrients stripped out of it. It will be stickier when you cook it, but it's not wild rice. It's basically Uncle Ben's with all the goodness left on. I'm not sure what rå ris is, but I would assume unprocessed rice.

[Aussie]

Sabeine,

Yes, rå ris is what I would call brown rice. To outline the differences:

White Rice

White rice has had the husk, bran and germ removed. Regular white rice is sometimes referred to as polished rice .

Brown Rice

Brown rice is the entire grain with only the inedible outer husk removed. The nutritious, high-fiber bran coating gives it a light tan color, nutlike flavor and chewy texture. The presence of the bran means that brown rice is subject to rancidity, which limits its shelf life to only about 6 months. It also takes slightly longer to cook (about 30 minutes total) than regular white long-grain rice.

Wild Rice

Wild rice isn't really rice at all. Instead, it's a long-grain marsh grass native to the northern Great Lakes area, where it's harvested by the local Indians. There's also now commercial wild rice production in California, as well as several Midwest states.

It's important to clean wild rice thoroughly before cooking it. The best method is to place the rice in a medium bowl and fill it with cold water. Give it a couple of stirs and set aside for a few minutes. Any debris will float to the surface and the water can then be poured off.

Depending on the method used, wild rice can take up to an hour to cook; overcooking will produce starchy results.

It is expensive, but you usually combine it with other rice or bulghur wheat.