Rice
Rices are wetland grasses in the genus Oryza. Many wild species are found in tropical and subtropical climates in around the world.
Rice was domesticated three separate times on different continents, but one species from Asia, Oryza sativa, has become a favorite grain for humans, after corn and wheat.
A different species from Africa, Oryza glaberrima, is still grown and eaten in West Africa. It even made its way to the US as the heirloom variety ‘Carolina Gold’, which was grown in South Carolina.
The species from South America was supplanted by Oryza sativa.
Varieties
Oryza sativa is divided into two major varietal groups, Indica and Japonica, both of which were grown in China at least 7,000 years ago. In very general terms, Indica varieties tend to be less sticky and have longer grains. ‘Jasmine’ rice from Thailand is the best-known variety.
Japonica rice tends to be stickier and shorter grained. According to studies, ‘Basmati’, long thought to be an Indica variety, is actually a Japonica rice. Japanese and Californian rice are nearly all Japonica varieties, as are European varieties. For the Pacific Northwest, the focus is on temperate Japonica rice.
Grain length
Rice grains are categorized as short-grain, medium-grain, or long-grain. The length of the grain depends on the rice variety.
Grain color
White rice is processed to remove the inedible husk as well as the bran and germ. It is then polished. Brown rice only has the husk removed and retains more nutrients as a result.
Brown rice only has the husk removed and retains its bran and germ. The same is true for red and black rice, which get their color from anthocyanin pigments in the bran. These rice varieties retain more of their nutritional value than white rice. There are Japonica varieties of each color.
Rice is classified according to its characteristics: shape, stickiness, and aroma, and according to how it was milled.
Glutinous rice
Glutinous (referring to stickiness, not gluten) or sweet rices are varieties which have been selected for their stickiness, resulting from a low amylose content and high amounts of amylopectin.
Aromatic rice
Aromatic rice has a pandan or bread-like aroma. ‘Jasmine’ and ‘Basmati’ are two popular aromatic varieties. Aromatic varieties are better grown in warmer regions than ours.
Upland rice
Upland rice doesn’t require a paddy; many parts of the world actually grow rice this way, especially those with difficult land characteristics. These varieties grow in drier conditions, but also do well in flooded clay paddies. Unfortunately, lower yields are to be expected from these varieties of rice, which is the main hurdle to its adoption. Examples of northern upland rice varieties include ‘Duborskian’ from Russia and ‘Loto’ from Italy.
Species and varieties
Rice
Cultivated rice (Oryza sativa)
Japonica varieties
‘Calrose’
‘Koshihikari’
‘Akitakomachi’
‘Calmochi’ (glutinous)
‘Arborio’
‘Hokkaido’
‘Loto’ (upland)
‘Duborskian’ (upland)
Japonica rice
In the Pacific Northwest
Sacramento Valley
In Northern California, there is a long established rice-growing industry in the Sacramento Valley. By the early 1900s, rice was being grown commercially in Butte and nearby counties.
California is a well-known rice producing region. All types of rice are produced in the state, but in the northern Sacramento Valley, production is limited to short- and medium-grain varieties. Cultivation in the valley takes advantage of abundant sunlight and poorly-draining soils that are unsuitable for other crops.
The leading variety in California is ‘Calrose’, with ‘Koshihikari’ and ‘Akitakomachi’ following behind. The first is a medium-grain variety, the latter two are short-grain. All three have their origins in Japan. There is limited production of a glutinous rice variety, ‘Calmochi’, and of ‘Arborio’, an Italian short-grain risotto rice, in Butte County.
In Northern California, rice is harvested in September.
Inland Northwest
The major difficulties for rice production in our region are a lack of summer heat and a shorter growing season than in the region rice is originally from. In the Northwest, this is often the issue for plants from subtropical and tropical regions (for example: peanuts, soy, sweet potatoes, etc.).
Due to the lack of heat in coastal parts of the Northwest, I haven’t been as optimistic about the Northwest Coast as a suitable area for growing rice, and felt that the Inland Northwest would likely be a better area, since it gets hotter and receives much more sun overall; both these characteristics favor rice production. I may have to rethink this, however, as I recently found out that there’s active rice production in Abbotsford, BC, Canada.
Notable northern rice-producing regions
This list includes some of the northernmost rice-producing regions in the world, generally at about 45°N or 46°N in latitude. For reference, Portland is located at 45°N. Since the Sacramento Valley region already produces high-quality rice in a warmer climate, I’m not going to cover northern areas which have similar hot summers. This includes Spain, France, Italy, and northeastern China.
British Columbia, Canada: rice is now being grown for sake production in the city of Abbotsford, BC. Located in the Fraser Valley, it may very well be the most northern rice produced in the world, at a latitude of 49° degrees. Although production is limited, this shows that rice can be grown successfully in the Pacific Northwest.
Kazakhstan: about 90% of the rice production in Kazakhstan is in the Kyzylorda region, which features a cold desert climate. Rice is produced in irrigated paddies. Considering its harsh, arid climate, Kazakhstan is of particular interest for the Inland Northwest. Rice cultivation began in the 1890s and was pioneered by Chinese Muslim immigrants to the area. In Kazakhstan and in other countries in Central Asia, rice is not the primary grain eaten or produced (wheat holds that title).
At lower latitudes, rice is also produced in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Xinjiang, in western China. These areas all feature either cold desert (BWk) or cold semi-arid (BSk) climates.
Ukraine: at 46°N, the southern parts of Ukraine, where rice has been grown in paddies since the early 1900s, is one of northernmost regions in the world where irrigated rice is grown. Ukrainian rice varieties should be of interest because they are from a cold, semi-arid climate, but it should be noted that the climate is relatively mild because of the area’s proximity to the Black Sea.
Japan: the island of Hokkaido is a well-respected rice-growing region in Japan, said to produce some of the best quality rice in the country. The climate is more humid than ours but very cool overall. California rice originates in Japan, so our region has more familiarity with and knowledge of Japanese rice than the others included here. Hokkaido grows both glutinous and non-glutinous rice.
Switzerland: ‘Loto’ rice is a short-grain upland rice variety currently grown in Ticino, Switzerland.
Cooking with Japonica rice
Products made from Japonica rice
Rice is commonly processed into a number of other products, from baked goods to wines.
One well-known product that isn’t included in this list is rice noodles. These are produced from rice starch extracted from Indica rice. Unfortunately, Japonica varieties are not as well suited to making noodles due to their lower levels of amylose.
Rice flour: rice flour is ground from both non-glutinous and glutinous (sweet) varieties.
Rice cakes: rice cakes are made with glutinous rice flour. Mochi are a well-known example of a rice cake product.
Rice vinegar: a mild vinegar produced from fermented rice.
Rice wine: produced by fermenting rice after converting its starches to sugar with a yeast. Sake, from Japan, is likely the best known rice wine in our region. There are some sake producers in the Pacific Northwest. The rice grown in Abbotsford, BC, is used by Osake to produce local Canadian sake. Momokawa sake, in Forest Grove, OR uses California rice.
Sake lees: a usable byproduct, sake lees, is obtained from sake production as well.
Rice bran oil: rice bran oil is pressed from the bran. It has a naturally high smoke point and mild flavor.
