Dumb Question about Brown Rice

[foxxyroxie]

I have what seems like a dumb question.

I have never before made brown rice or eaten it for that matter. Since I am out of white rice, I decided to buy some brown rice instead last night. I cooked some when I got home. I like cold cooked white rice with milk, brown sugar and cinnamon on it for breakfast so I thought, yeah, why not brown rice. I followed the directions to the letter. The rice tasted good but it was a bit 'chewy' for lack of better word. Is brown rice chewy, or didn't I cook it long enough? As I said, it tasted good so I ate it anyway.

Give me your 2 cents, please! I know you ladies won't laugh too loudly at me... LOL... if this is the craziest, dumbest question you've heard.

[Darlene]

Your question isn't silly, you are trying a new thing that's a bit different and wonder about it. That's a good thing. It is chewier, better for you & I so love brown rice.

"White rice actually starts out as brown rice, but the husk, bran and germ are removed and only the starchy core is left. Brown rice has had just the outer husk removed, which is inedible, but the bran and germ remain. In short, the main difference between the two is that milling has removed the outer husk layer of brown rice turning it white."
Here's more info. http://web.tri-isys.com/greenhearts/orgbrown.htm

[AmyMCGS]

Good answer, Darlene.

I was just going to add that you have to remember the different texture if you use it in casseroles... twice I've subbed brown rice for white in a casserole and both times it went mushy on me.

[emily_hope]

I hardly ever use white rice anymore. I do on occasion because my DDs prefer it, but I mainly use the brown rice. It is a bit chewier, but it is so much better for you than the white rice.

[acidcookie]

Brown rice is definitely a different texture, but I love it. The only thing that white rice is better on is sushi.

[suzysaver]

My hubby doesn't like the brown rice, because it's chewy. I like it and know it's much better for you. Nothing Dumb about that, not even a giggle here.
I think it even tastes a bit different, more nutty.

[Missy]

I like it too, i like the nuttiness of it and the texture. Took me a few times when i first started using it to figure out that it had a diffeernt texture (kept trying to get a white rice texture).

[Libby]

How does brown rice fair in fried rice? LOL My house only gets the white variety Does that mean we're rice prejudiced in my house?! LOL oh geez hahahaa - sorry bad joke!

[foxxyroxie]

Thanks ladies for not laughing. When I posted this I just thought I was the only one on here that had never tried brown rice, since I see a lot of you guys serving it on a regular basis. I'm not sure whether I'll totally give up my white rice, but I'm sure after a few times eating it, I will learn to enjoy the brown rice too

And, Darlene, what an informative bit of info you gave me. I'm going to print it off and post on my refrigerator. Since part of my 'rent' with my roommates includes that I buy a good deal of the food, sometimes I feel I need to validate the food I buy (i.e. lentils, dried beans, skim or 1/2% milk, whole wheat bread, now the brown rice). All of us can benefit from eating healthier. I guess I just need to stand firm with my motto that if you want to eat free, you eat what I buy. I had to start standing firm when one of the roomies would get mad because I refused blow the food budget on potato chips and Mountain Dew. With all of her medical problems with her stomach and colon, she should be first in line eating the high fiber beans and whole grains I buying more often. But she won't listen to me or the doctor. Oh, well, that's another story altogether.

[IntlMom]

Brown rice is definitely a different texture, but I love it. The only thing that white rice is better on is sushi.

MMMMMMMMMMM sushi! No one here in northwestern Iowa would even know what Sushi is......cept me! I miss sushi!!! (I am from Washington State - where fish is yummy and fresh!)

[kaykwilts]

I will eat whole wheat bread and the whole wheat pasta. I just can't seem to get used to eating brown rice.

[annymoll]

I think brown rice has a chewier texture than white and I love it. I seldom, if ever, serve white rice. The brown rice is so much better for you.

[acidcookie]

MMMMMMMMMMM sushi! No one here in northwestern Iowa would even know what Sushi is......cept me! I miss sushi!!! (I am from Washington State - where fish is yummy and fresh!)

Understandable. I am from Oregon where the fish is also yummy and fresh!

[dcompton]

Fried rice: I often do a rice cooker of long grain parboiled white rice and one of brown, and mix them together. Sometimes I add some wheat kernels when I cook the brown -- they stay really chewy, which I like. I use this half and half mixture for fried rice all the time. I like the flavor boost the brown rice gives it, and the brown is definitely healthier.

I once wrote a unit on rice for elementary children, and seem to remember that the parboiled rice was marginally healthier than plain white. The steam processing did something to help preserve some of the nutrients or something. But then, they're added back in in enriched rice, so it probably doesn't matter that much among types of white rice. I also like the texture of the parboiled white rice better than regular. (Parboiled isn't instant, like some think. It's a different way the raw rice is processed.)

[jettsmom]

With all of her medical problems with her stomach and colon, she should be first in line eating the high fiber beans and whole grains I buying more often. But she won't listen to me or the doctor. Oh, well, that's another story altogether.

I too have trouble with my colon. I cannot do high fiber. I know it is recommended, but it doesn't work for me. It has terrible effects on me. My doctor knows about this and does understand that high fiber is not always good.

She should at least give it a try, but it can cause more problems. It's best to find out for sure, like I did.