THE VERSATALITY OF RICE

September is National Rice Month, so it is a good time to focus on this versatile grain. Rice is suitable for breakfast, lunch, or dinner as the entree, side dish, or as a desert. Rice is a staple in the diet of two-thirds of the world's population, and is the basis for many of the cultural foods that are popular in the U.S. Rice has relatively high quality protein when compared with other grains, and has no gluten, so it is non-allergenic. It is economical, nutritious, and can be prepared in many ways.

Rice can be prepared on the stove, in the conventional oven, in a rice cooker, or in the microwave oven. The following guidelines for cooking rice are provided by the USA Rice Federation:

Cooking Times

With white rice, the hulls and the bran portion have been milled away. When the bran portion is removed there is a loss of fiber, vitamin E, phosphorus, and calcium. The longer the grain of the white rice, the fluffier the cooked product. Short grains will cling together after cooking. Most of the white rice sold in the U.S. is enriched with iron and B vitamins. The enriched rice should not be rinsed before it is cooked, because the powdery substance on the rice is the nutrients that have been sprayed on, and will cook into the rice kernels when the cooking water is absorbed.

The brown rice has the hulls, but not the bran portion of the rice removed. The bran gives the rice a slightly chewy texture and nutty flavor, and contains fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

Parboiled rice has been through a steam pressure process that makes the grains firmer and more fluffy and separate.

Rice is naturally fat, cholesterol, and sodium free. It is a good source of complex carbohydrates, and has approximately 100 calories per _ cup cooked rice. You can get a versatile, nutritious food for a few calories, if an excess of sugar or fat is not added.

For food or nutrition questions, please contact me at 321 N. Main, Suite 1, Perryville, Mo. 63775, (573) 547-4504, or e-mail luedersj@missouri.edu.

Judy Lueders is a University Extension nutrition expert for Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Iron, Madison, Perry and Wayne counties.