Rice is now the staple of about 70% of the world's population. Rice is a grass, originating from semi-aquatic grass in Asia. It was first cultivated throughout Asia about 2800 BC when a Chinese emperor instituted a rice planting ordinance. It was entombed with the Pharaohs in Egypt and has been traded with Europe since the time of Marco Polo.

Rice first came to America in 1694. There was a sailing vessel on the way from Madagascar to Europe that was blown off course and landed in the colony of Charleston, South Carolina. The people helped with the repairs of the ship and so the captain gave them a handful of rough rice. They planted this rice and eventually it produced enough rice not only for their colony, but the neighboring colonies and for export to Europe as well.

From that beginning, American now produces 1% of the world's rice. The American rice production is centered in the states of Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri and California. America produces some 20 billion pounds of rice each year. If you were to put it in trucks, they would stretch bumper to bumper from Los Angeles to some thousand miles beyond New York City into the Atlantic Ocean.

As for the cultivation of rice, laser technology is used in the leveling of the rice paddies to assure uniformity of water depth and optimum growing conditions. It is then planted, fertilized, and the chemicals applied by airplane. At the time of harvest, it is brought into the mill in truckload containers. The white rice which consumers are most familiar with is brought directly into the mill and run through a husker where the husk is taken off the rice. Brown rice is the product of the first milling process after the husk is removed. It is further milled by removing the bran, which results in white rice, which is widely used. At that time, an enriching process is used in order to replace the nutrients lost in the final milling process. The result is the enriched rice available through most food suppliers.

Rice, a complex carbohydrate food grain, is palatable, easy to digest and a very healthy food.

To view a complete list of rice grains and varieties click here.