Brown rice

For the album, see Brown Rice (album).

Brown rice
Chinese name
Chinese	糙米
Literal meaning	rough rice
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin cāomǐ Wade–Giles ts'ao1-mi3 IPA [tsʰáʊmì] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization chou3 mai5 Jyutping cou3 mai5
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet	gạo lứt
Thai name
Thai	ข้าวกล้อง
Korean name
Hangul	현미
Hanja	玄米
Transcriptions Revised Romanization hyeonmi
Japanese name
Kanji	玄米
Transcriptions Romanization genmai
Filipino name
Tagalog	pináwa

Brown rice is whole grain rice, with the inedible outer hull removed; white rice is the same grain with the hull, bran layer and cereal germ removed. Red rice, gold rice, black rice and purple rice are all whole rices, but with a differently-pigmented outer layer.

African rice in its inedible husk (seed rice, will sprout)

The same rice, dehusked (whole brown rice) (colour varies by variety)

The same rice, with almost all bran and germ removed to make white rice

Any type of rice, , may be eaten whole. Whole rice has a mild, nutty flavor, and is chewier and more nutritious than white rice. A thiamine-deficient diet including only white rice can cause beriberi; the disease can be prevented, and treated, by eating whole rice instead.

Rice plants accumulate arsenic, and there have been concerns over excessive arsenic levels in rice. There is more arsenic in the bran, so brown rice contains more arsenic. The European Union has introduced regulations on arsenic in rice, but the United States has not.

Rice, brown, long-grain, raw

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	1,548 kJ (370 kcal)
Carbohydrates	77.24 g
Sugars	0.85 g
Dietary fiber	3.52 g
Fat	2.92 g
Protein	7.85 g
Vitamins and minerals Vitamins Quantity %DV† Thiamine (B1) 33% 0.401 mg Riboflavin (B2) 7% 0.093 mg Niacin (B3) 32% 5.091 mg Pantothenic acid (B5) 30% 1.493 mg Vitamin B6 30% 0.509 mg Folate (B9) 5% 20 μg Minerals Quantity %DV† Calcium 2% 23 mg Iron 8% 1.47 mg Magnesium 34% 143 mg Manganese 163% 3.743 mg Phosphorus 27% 333 mg Potassium 7% 223 mg Selenium 43% 23.4 μg Sodium 0% 7 mg Zinc 18% 2.02 mg
Other constituents	Quantity
Water	10.37 g
†Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults, except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies.

Nutritional content

Brown rice and white rice have similar amounts of calories and carbohydrates. White rice, unlike brown rice, has the bran and germ removed; and has different nutritional content. Brown rice is a whole grain and a good source of magnesium, phosphorus, selenium, thiamine, niacin, vitamin B6, an excellent source of manganese and high in fiber.

When only the outermost layer of a grain of rice (the husk) is removed, brown rice is produced. To produce white rice, the next layers underneath the husk (the bran layer and the germ) are removed, leaving mostly the starchy endosperm.

Several vitamins and dietary minerals are lost in this removal and the subsequent polishing process. A part of these missing nutrients, such as vitamins B₁ and B₃, and iron are sometimes added back into the white rice. In the US the result is called "enriched rice", and must comply with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations for this name to be used.

One mineral not added back into white rice is magnesium; one cup (195 g) of cooked long grain brown rice contains 84 mg of magnesium, while one cup of white rice contains 19 mg.

When the bran layer is removed to make white rice, the oil in the bran is also removed.

Among other nutrients lost are dietary fiber and small amounts of fatty acids.

It has been found that germinated grains in general have nutritional advantages. Germinated brown rice (GBR), developed during the International Year of Rice, is brown rice that has been soaked for 4–20 hours in warm 40 °C (104 °F) water before cooking. This stimulates germination, which activates various enzymes in the rice, giving rise to a more complete amino acid profile, including GABA. Cooked brown rice tends to be chewy; cooked GBR is softer, and preferred particularly by children.

Cooking time

Brown rice generally needs longer cooking times than white rice, unless it is broken or flourblasted (which perforates the bran without removing it).

Modifications

Parboiled brown rice

Parboiled rice is a modified process that forces into the kernel some of the vitamins found in the hull before the hull is removed. The process provides more nutrition than white rice while shortening the time necessary for final meal preparation.

Some white rices are also fortified.

Storage

Brown rice has a shelf life of approximately 6 months, but hermetic storage, refrigeration or freezing can significantly extend its lifetime. Freezing, even periodically, can also help control infestations of Indian meal moths.

Arsenic

Rice accumulates arsenic. Natural arsenic levels in groundwater and soils vary. Rice grown in some regions contains less arsenic than others. Arsenic from pesticides and poultry fertilizer may be taken up by rice.

A 2012 report from the USA publication Consumer Reports found measurable levels of arsenic in nearly all of the sixty varieties of rice and rice products it tested in the USA. Consumer Reports states that brown rice has 80 percent more inorganic arsenic on average than white rice of the same type, because the arsenic tends to accumulate in the outer layers of the grain. Its 2013 analysis found that rice cereal and pasta can possess significantly more inorganic arsenic than the 2012 data showed. Consumer Reports said just one serving of rice cereal or pasta could place children over the maximum amount of rice it recommended for their weekly allotment, due to arsenic content. One study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) journal found study found a median level of arsenic that was 56% higher in the urine of women who had eaten rice.

See also

• Genmaicha, a Japanese green tea combined with roasted brown rice
• Hyeonmi cha, a Korean tisane made from roasted brown rice