Rice

Rice is one of the most important crops on earth: it is the staple food for more than half of the world's population. The rice plant belongs to the grass family. Its origins probably lie in the deltas of the Ganges, Yangtze, Euphrates and Tigris rivers. However, the actual wild form of this useful plant has been lost.

About 8000 rice varieties exist today and have been adapted by breeding to a wide range of climates and conditions. The rice plant grows up to 1.80 meters high. It is annual and therefore has to be planted and harvested anew every year. The edible seeds ripen on hanging panicles at the top of the stalk.

Rice plants usually need the warmth and humidity of the subtropical climate to thrive. Most varieties grow in swampy soil. However, there are also rice varieties that manage with relatively small amounts of water (so-called dry rice). From Africa comes Oryza glaberrima, also known as African rice. The so-called "wild rice" is also popular as a foodstuff, but it does not belong to the well-known Oryza varieties, but to the group of sweet grasses.

90% of the world's rice production concerns Asia. The seedlings grown in seedbeds are planted after 30 to 50 days in fields that have been flooded by rain or river water. The fields are drained again only shortly before harvesting. After harvesting and threshing, the brown rice is dried and cleaned. To produce white rice, the so-called "silver skin" is separated from the grain. Then the rice grains are polished with glucose and talcum. This procedure gives them their shiny white appearance.

Sensitizations against rice seem to be very rare. However, they can lead to threatening circulatory reactions (see below rice allergy).