Broken rice

Left, broken or Mali rice; right, long-grain rice. The former is popular in Senegal, where it is used interchangeably with couscous

Broken rice is fragments of rice grains, broken in the field, during drying, during transport, or by milling.^[1] Mechanical separators are used to separate the broken grains from the whole grains and sort them by size.^[2]

Broken rice is fragmented, not defective; there is nothing wrong with it.^[3] It is as nutritious as the equivalent unbroken rice (i.e. if all the germ and bran remains, it is as nutritious as brown rice; if none remains, it is only as nutritious as white rice).

Broken rice has a long history; Ibn Baṭṭūṭa mentions rice couscous in the area of Mali in 1350, presumably made of African rice.

Milling

Broken rice from a rice huller will be brown whole grain; broken rice from a gristmill may be white.

On milling, Oryza sativa, commonly known as Asian rice or paddy rice, produces around 50% whole rice then approximately 16% broken rice, 20% husk, 14% bran and meal.^[4][5] African rice, Oryza glaberrima, has more brittle grains, and breakage is higher.

Human consumption

An upma dish of broken rice cooked with onions, chilli and ginger, and served with coconut chutney, from India

Cơm tấm (literally "broken rice") with a lemongrass pork chop, from Vietnam.

A thieboudienne from Mauritania, with tomato broken rice, fish, and vegetables.

Due to the different size and shape of the grains, broken rice has a different, softer texture from "unbroken" rice,^[6][7] and absorbs flavours more easily. It cooks faster, using less fuel, and can be used to make rice porridges and congees, which need long cooking times.

The broken varieties are often less expensive,^{[8][9][10][11][12]} and so are preferred by poorer consumers, but they are also eaten by choice, with some cookbooks describing how to break unbroken rice to produce the desired texture or speed cooking.

Broken rice is consumed as part of local cuisine in West Africa (where the traditional African rice is easier to break), Thailand and elsewhere in South East Asia. In Vietnam Cơm tấm (literally "broken rice") is a popular rice dish with pork. Thieboudienne is a popular dish in west Africa often made with broken rice. Broken rice is called rice grits or middlins in South Carolina.

Industrial uses

Very small broken rice is called brewers' rice, as brewers traditionally use it,^{[1][3][13][14]} although it is also sold to other users. Broken rice is also used to make starch which is used as laundry starch and in foods, cosmetics and textile manufacture.^[15]

References

Varieties of rice
Ambemohar Arborio Aromatic rice Basmati Bhutanese red rice Black rice Bora saul Brown rice Calrose rice Camargue red rice Carnaroli Champa Dubraj Flattened rice Glutinous rice Golden rice Germinated brown rice Hybrid rice Japanese rice Jasmati Jasmine Joha rice Koshihikari Maratelli Matta rice Molakolukulu Nàng Thơm Chợ Đào Navara New Rice for Africa Nishiki rice Parboiled rice Patna rice Paw hsan hmwe Perennial rice Pokkali Ponni rice Pusa 1121 rice Red rice Red Cargo Riceberry Samba Sasanishiki Semi-dwarf IR36 Sona Masuri Tulaipanji Vialone Nano Weedy rice Wehani White rice Yamada Nishiki