Short, Medium, and Long Grain Rice Vary in Use and Starch Profile

Chemistry, Food
Rice is, technically, grass seed! It is the most widely consumed food staple in the world. Rice is a dietary starch, as are maize and potatoes. There are nearly innumerable commercially available rice varieties—more than 40,000. One means of classifying rice varieties is by grain length. Rice of varying grain lengths vary also in starch profiles. Perhaps the most popular rice in the Western World is long grain rice. Starch Profile versus Grain Length L.G. rice features grains about four to five times as long as they are wide. It is sometimes sold as brown rice. However, frequently it is milled or polished to remove the bran. It is then sold as white rice. What is the starch profile of this form of rice? The two most important starches are…
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Potato Varieties: Nutritional Differences

Food
[caption id="attachment_3153" align="alignright" width="440"] Photo by Scott Bauer - USDA Agricultural Research Service[/caption] Potato varieties just may be the spice of life. The humble potato is a tuberous vegetable. Some give it a bad reputation. Many consider it to be a massive source of calories and little nutritional value. This is wrong. Most potato shortcomings result, not from the potato, but from the way in which it is prepared. As an example, consider the potato chip: thin potato wedges fried in oil and practically dipped in salt. Or what about the baking potato? Is it served with great gobs of sour cream or, perhaps butter or cheese? Even potato salad is hard to rationalize as salad. Chunks of potato goodness set in a veritable sea of high-fat dressing? Bad for…
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