Grains & starch · Ri

Rice

Amylose 20–25% · grains stay separate

Per 100 g

365 kcal Energy

7.1 g Protein

80 g Carbs

0.7 g Fat

1.3 g Fibre

Gluten-free GI 62

Let’s cook with it → Invent something with it

What it is for

They build structure. Starch granules swell in hot water, burst, and weave a net that traps the liquid — most of what you call body comes from here. Wheat does one extra job on top: gluten.

Where it catches you out

Starch does nothing before 62 °C, and acid cuts the chains during a long boil. Think about your thickener after the heat and before the acid.

The knack

Rinsing takes off the loose surface starch; unwashed rice glues itself together.

Storage and health

How to keep it, and who it suits.

Keeping it

Airtight in a cool dry place for 1-2 years; cool cooked rice within two hours and keep it refrigerated for no more than a day.

Gluten-free

Plain rice is naturally gluten-free.

Glycaemic index

62 — glucose is taken as 100. Below 55 is low, 56–69 medium, 70 and above high. The number says nothing about portion: at the same index, twice the amount is twice the load.

Row in the table: Rice long grain, mean of six foods

Atkinson et al., Am J Clin Nutr 2021

What it works with

Pairings, and the reason for each

"They go well together" is not an explanation. Every pairing below has a chemical or structural mechanism under it.

Butter →

Lipids form amylose-lipid inclusion complexes at the grain surface that restrict swelling and leaching. That is the actual mechanism behind a separate, non-gluey pilaf.

Saffron →

Crocin is a carotenoid esterified to two gentiobiose sugars, making it uniquely water-soluble among carotenoids, so it dyes the rice from the cooking water rather than from fat.

Also works with

Water

Salt

Chicken

Milk

Almond

Cinnamon

What it fights with

Lemon

Acid early in cooking slows gelatinisation and hardens the grain surface — sabotage if you want a creamy result.

What goes on top

Sizzled butter, toasted almond or pine nuts, currants, cinnamon

Key compounds

Amiloz: High-amylose long grain stays separate; low-amylose short grain turns creamy.
2-asetil-1-pirolin: The popcorn-basmati aroma; lost with vigorous boiling.

Nutritionally

Chilled and reheated white rice gives a lower glycaemic response than freshly cooked, thanks to retrograded resistant starch.

Where it turns up

What is made with it

2 dishes in the database use it.

Soups 1

Highland yoghurt soup

The default Turkish yoghurt soup and the textbook terbiyeli çorba. Rice simmers in water, yoghurt, flour and egg yolk are beaten separately, tempered with hot broth, returned to the pot and thickened without ever boiling. Finished with dried mint bloomed in butter.

Mains 1

Yuvalama

Tiny balls of rice flour and minced lamb, rolled by hand, cooked with lamb shank and chickpeas, with a yoghurt and butter sauce stirred in at service. The consistency is close to a soup, but in Gaziantep it counts as a main.

Gaziantep

Quick ideas