Relying on rice

Don't waste your money on par-cooked or boil-in-the-bag rice: it's easy to cook rice once you know which variety and strain will suit your need. Here, Darina Allen discusses the origins and delights of rice I adore rice for a myriad of reasons. Apart from being a basic store cupboard staple, this little grain comes in many varieties, shapes, flavours and textures, which lend themselves to an endless selection of both sweet and savoury
dishes.
The creamy rice pudding of my childhood, with its bubbly, golden skin, was my first introduction to rice – it is still a favourite of mine, but was only the beginning.  
I can't quite remember when I first tasted rice served as an accompaniment to a savoury dish. It was certainly in my teens, and may well have been when I ventured to college in Dublin; meals at home would always have included the much-loved potato.  
Rice is grown not just in Asia but also in the US, Brazil, Peru and Ecuador, Guyana, Surinam, Spain, Italy, Iran, Madagascar, Egypt, several of the African countries and Australia.
There are thousands of varieties of rice, but, as with many other plants, the number in commercial cultivation is quite small. That said, farmers in many countries still continue to grow (sometimes illegally) local, low-yielding varieties for their flavour and texture. Seed banks around the world are also doing their utmost to save endangered varieties for posterity. They may well be needed in the future if the main crops become diseased. Monoculture is always a risky business, as was clearly demonstrated by the Irish Potato Famine.  
Rice grows in flooded fields called “paddies”. I remember seeing rice workers in Vietnam wearing conical hats in the rice paddies on the way into Saigon some years ago. Water buffalo wallowed in a pond, ducks swam and fed, children chased frogs and collected tadpoles.
All the water acted as a kind of thermal blanket that insulated the crop against excessive heat or cold, the interpreter said; others noted that it was mainly to drown the weeds. The fields are never flooded for more than a few weeks at a time, otherwise the water would become stagnant. Fish, shellfish and other creatures live and pass through the paddies, providing the farmers' families with extra protein.
When the rice is ready to harvest, the crop is cut and threshed, dried and milled. The old-fashioned, non-mechanical way to thresh rice – and indeed most other grains – is to raise a handful aloft and bring it down forcefully on a hard surface. In Vietnam and many other countries in Asia, the women then shake the rice through in a slatted bamboo sieve. The straw is trapped in the sieve or simply blows away, and is used for animal feed.
Rice is an integral part of the culture in all these countries; part of the folklore, literature and architecture. The are beautiful rice barns, often intricately carved and decorated, where the rice spirit lives, as well as many customs and superstitions attached to rice.
On a more practical level, it is important to know the different types of rice by physical appearance, and to understand which is best for different dishes.
Rice can be long-, medium- or short-grain; patna, rose pearl, red or black.
Broadly speaking, long- and medium-grain rices are used in, or eaten with, savoury and main course dishes. Short-grain rice like Carolina is used in Western countries for rice puddings. Japanese short-grain rice, which is sticky in texture, is used for sushi. Some European rices are short-grain and are used in savoury dishes, for example Calasparra which is used for paella.
Arboria, Carnaroli or Vilano nano are the varieties to seek out when you are making risotto.
Red rice is in fact a brownish colour, and is considered by many to be inferior in quality. But in the Camargue in France, a red variety is a regional speciality and is now much sought after by chefs and gourmets. Red rice needs extra cooking time.
Black rice, which is actually a deep blackberry purple, is also highly regarded.
Brown rice still includes the bran layer and is therefore more nutritious than white rice. It has a wonderfully nutty flavour, but takes considerably longer to cook.
Rice in all its forms – rice flour, rice puffs, rice noodles – is suitable for coeliacs. Nature's Way in Paul Street in Cork make a range of breads from the ancient variety of Spelt wheat that can be enjoyed by those with wheat allergies. Their coeliac bread is light and delicious.   
How much rice do I need to cook, you may ask? One cup of rice is adequate for two people.
Leftover rice should be kept refrigerated and eaten within two days. This is to prevent infection from Bacillus cereus, an organism that dies below 4º/39ºF and above 60ºC/140ºF. In between these temperatures, it multiplies rapidly and can result in a nasty tummy upset.