The Benefits of Eating Parboiled Rice

Most of us know that rice is one of the most consumed foods on this planet and more than 50% of its human population relies on rice as its staple food item. Of the many, amazing varieties of rice used globally, one is parboiled rice. This moniker might fool you into believing that it is a pre-cooked/boiled variety, but that is just not the case.

Most of us know that rice is one of the most consumed foods on this planet and more than 50% of its human population relies on rice as its staple food item. Of the many, amazing varieties of rice used globally, one is parboiled rice. This moniker might fool you into believing that it is a pre-cooked/boiled variety, but that is just not the case. It is just processed differently from other rice varieties and the resultant rice is cooked and served just like other varieties of rice.

As opposed to the most consumed rice variety, i.e. the white rice, which is processed by removing the hull, the parboiled variety retains the hull, and is hydrated and steamed during its processing. This lets the grains retain the nutrition provided by the bran layer. This steaming process causes the vitamins and mineral to migrate from the bran to the rice kernel.

This practice of parboiling rice was widespread in southern India along with a few Southeast Asian countries before it caught favour with the western nations. Let’s now discuss how healthy this parboiled variety of rice is:

Carbohydrates

Parboiled rice has almost double the fiber content than the most consumed white rice. A single cup of parboiled rice is a source of 41 grams of total carbohydrates, which is about a third of our daily carbohydrate requirement. This same amount of parboiled rice satiates 4-6% of our daily fiber need. Moreover, the carbohydrates in this variety do not cause a surge in the blood sugar level due to their low glycemic score of 38, which is more than twice as low as that of white rice.

B Vitamins

The parboiled variety is a rich source of B vitamins, niacin and thiamine. When combined, these vitamins digest the sugar and help convert the carbohydrate into energy. B vitamins in parboiled rice also help you create neurotransmitters and hormones.

Minerals

A cup of parboiled rice provides around 3% of our daily requirement of calcium, magnesium, iron and potassium. Your body also gets about 5-7% of your daily zinc requirement. These help your body in forming the protein structure and regulate DNA. It also saves your immune system from getting impaired.

Folate

Folate or Vitamin B9 helps our body metabolize amino acids and nucleic acid. These are used to make protein and DNA respectively. Parboiled rice serves as an amazing source of folate. Eating parboiled rice ensures that our homocysteine levels stay normal, thereby reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases. A cup of parboiled rice provides us with more than 200 micrograms of folate, which is slightly more than 50% of our daily requirement.

Parboiled rice is very similar to brown rice. All those familiar with brown rice know that it’s slightly more difficult to digest, as compared to white rice. This is mainly due to the starch not getting broken down so easily. This is, however, not the case with parboiled rice. The starch in this variety is more gelatinized, due to the hydration and steaming process.

To know more about the various such rice varieties and their health implications, make sure you keep following Nextech Agri Solution.

 

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The Process Of Making Parboiled Rice

Everyone in the country knows what white rice or a brown rice is. However the awareness about parboiled rice is very limited. So it often happens that you are asked about what is parboiled rice when you tell someone that you consume this third of the many breeds of Rice.

Everyone in the country knows what white rice or a brown rice is. However the awareness about parboiled rice is very limited. So it often happens that you are asked about what is parboiled rice when you tell someone that you consume this third of the many breeds of Rice. In simple terms, Parboiled Rice means the type of rice which is partially boiled. But boiled where? The grain is simmered in the husk.

Since the process of parboiling involves three major steps which are soaking, steaming, and drying, the other name of the grain is ‘soaking rice’. As mentioned, the first and foremost process involves drenching of the grain. The act is carried out by transferring the rice into the soaking tank, setting the machine temperature at 20-30 degree Celsius and leaving the grain for 36-48 hours as per the need of the situation. Once the drenching part is done, the rice is then shifted for steaming process which requires heating up the grain for making the grain harder. The procedure isn’t much time consuming as it depends on the manufacturer what kind of grain color he or she wants to attain considering the higher the heating temperature, the lesser the processing time. Although, steaming at high temperature increases the chances of grain getting darker in color.

The final act involves drying the grain. It must be noted that withering the grain in huge quantity isn’t easy. Especially in the case when the rice are parboiled. So, the grains are sun-baked with the help of a large number of workers who have to work actively and are required to timely turn and mix the rice. Approximately 20-40% of moisture gets reduced in the initial stage of drying while the remaining percentage later.

‘Nextech Solutions’ is the leading grain processing unit proffering top-notch consultancy services as well as high-end milling equipments.

 

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