Rice Research?

Question

i need help on my research about rice...here are some question that i need help answering.

When did rice first appear on Earth?

Which continent did it appear on?

What is the scientific name of rice?

Answer 1

http://www.worldpantry.com/cgi-bin/ncomm...

Answer 2

Rice has been cultivated in China since ancient times and was introduced to India before the time of the Greeks. Chinese records of rice cultivation go back 4,000 years. In classical Chinese the words for agriculture and for rice culture are synonymous, indicating that rice was already the staple crop at the time the language was taking form. In several Asian languages the words for rice and food are identical.

Scientific Name:  Oryza sativa

Common Name:   rice

Family: Poaceae

http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/sci/A08607...

http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/seedid/s...

Answer 3

Domesticated rice comprises two species of food crops in the Poaceae ("true grass") family, Oryza sativa and Oryza glaberrima. These plants are native to tropical and subtropical southern Asia and southeastern Africa.[1] (The term "wild rice" can refer to the wild species of Oryza, but conventionally refers to species of the related genus Zizania, both wild and domesticated.) Rice is grown as a monocarpic annual plant, although in tropical areas it can survive as a perennial and can produce a ratoon crop and survive for up to 20 years.[2] Rice can grow to 1–1.8 m tall, occasionally more depending on the variety and soil fertility. The grass has long, slender leaves 50–100 cm long and 2–2.5 cm broad. The small wind-pollinated flowers are produced in a branched arching to pendulous inflorescence 30–50 cm long. The edible seed is a grain (caryopsis) 5–12 mm long and 2–3 mm thick.

Rice is a staple for a large part of the world's human population, especially in the East, South and Southeast Asia, making it the second-most consumed cereal grain.[3] Rice provides more than one fifth of the calories consumed worldwide by humans.[4] In early 2008, some governments and retailers began rationing supplies of the grain due to fears of a global rice shortage.[5][6]

Rice cultivation is well-suited to countries and regions with low labour costs and high rainfall, as it is very labour-intensive to cultivate and requires plenty of water for cultivation. Rice can be grown practically anywhere, even on a steep hill or mountain. Although its species are native to South Asia and certain parts of Africa, centuries of trade and exportation have made it commonplace in many cultures.

The traditional method for cultivating rice is flooding the fields with or after setting the young seedlings. This simple method requires sound planning and servicing of the water damming and channeling, but reduces the growth of less robust weed and pest plants that have no submerged growth state, and deters vermin. Whilst with rice growing and cultivation the flooding is not mandatory, all other methods of irrigation require higher effort in weed and pest control during growth periods and a different approach for fertilizing the soil.

The seeds of the rice plant are first milled using a rice huller to remove the chaff (the outer husks of the grain). At this point in the process, the product is called brown rice. The milling may be continued, removing the 'bran' (i.e. the rest of the husk and the germ), thereby creating white rice. However the use of white rice, although more convenient for the food processing industries (white rice keeps longer), and in the eyes of some consumers more 'attractive', has in the past been associated with serious deficiency diseases amongst consumers (see Beriberi).

Brown rice contains all of the ingredients of a healthy meal, but is not standard for commercial offerings. The removal of bran was blamed for Beriberi disease; however, it is possible that aflatoxins and other mycotoxins contributed to the problem.

In the future, parboiling may be used to move some of the nutrients from the bran to the rice corn before stripping off the bran, thereby reducing the loss in nutrition. However, the energy requirements for parboiling are high compared to dry processing technologies.

White rice may be also buffed with glucose or talc powder (often called polished rice, though this term may also refer to white rice in general), parboiled, or processed into flour. White rice may also be enriched by adding nutrients, especially those lost during the milling process. While the cheapest method of enriching involves adding a powdered blend of nutrients that will easily wash off (in the United States, rice which has been so treated requires a label warning against rinsing), more sophisticated methods apply nutrients directly to the grain, coating the grain with a water insoluble substance which is resistant to washing.



Terraced rice paddy on a hill slopeDespite the hypothetical health risks of talc (such as stomach cancer),[7] talc-coated rice remains the norm in some countries due to its attractive shiny appearance, but it has been banned in some and is no longer widely used in others such as the United States. Even where talc is not used, glucose, starch, or other coatings may be used to improve the appearance of the grains; for this reason, many rice lovers still recommend washing all rice in order to create a better-tasting rice with a better consistency, despite the recommendation of suppliers. Much of the rice produced today is water polished.[citation needed]

Rice bran, called nuka in Japan, is a valuable commodity in Asia and is used for many daily needs. It is a moist, oily inner layer which is heated to produce an oil. It is also used as a pickling bed in making rice bran pickles and Takuan.

Raw rice may be ground into flour for many uses, including making many kinds of beverages such as amazake, horchata, rice milk, and sake. Rice flour is generally safe for people on a gluten-free diet. Rice may also be made into various types of noodles. Raw wild or brown rice may also be consumed by raw foodist or fruitarians if soaked and sprouted (usually 1 week to 30 days).

Processed rice seeds are usually boiled or steamed to make them edible, after which they may be fried in oil or butter, or beaten in a tub to make mochi.

Although rice is a good source of protein and a staple food in many parts of the world, it is not a complete protein. That is, it does not contain all of the essential amino acids in sufficient amounts for good health, and should be combined with other sources of protein, such as nuts, seeds, soybeans or meat.[8]

Rice, like other cereal grains, can be puffed (or popped). This process takes advantage of the grains' water content and typically involves heating grain pellets in a special chamber. Further puffing is sometimes accomplished by processing pre-puffed pellets in a low-pressure chamber. The ideal gas law means that either lowering the local pressure or raising the water temperature results in an increase in volume prior to water evaporation, resulting in a puffy texture. Bulk raw rice density is about 0.9 g/cm³. It decreases more than tenfold when puffed.

[edit] Cooking

See Wikibooks' Rice Recipes for information on food preparation using rice.



Uncooked pre-steamed long riceRice is cooked by boiling or steaming. It can be cooked in just enough water to cook it through (the absorption method), or it can be cooked in a large quantity of water which is drained before serving (the rapid-boil method). Electric rice cookers, which are popular in Asia and Latin America, simplify the process of cooking rice.

In Arab cuisine rice is the ingredient of many soups and dishes with fish, poultry and meat. It is also used to stuff vegetables or is wrapped in grape leaves. When combined with milk, sugar and honey, it is used to make desserts. In some regions, such as Tabaristan, bread is made using rice flour. Medieval Islamic texts spoke of medical uses for the plant.[9]

Also extremely popular are combination cooking methods; for example fried rice is boiled (or steamed) rice that has afterwards been stir-fried in oil.

Rice may also be made into rice porridge (also called congee or rice gruel) by adding more water than usual, so that the cooked rice is saturated with water to the point that it becomes very soft, expanded, and fluffy. Rice porridge is commonly eaten as a breakfast food, and is also a traditional food for the sick.

Rice may be soaked prior to cooking, which decreases cooking time. For some varieties, soaking improves the texture of the cooked rice by increasing expansion of the grains.

In some culinary traditions, especially those of Latin America, Italy, and Turkey, dry rice grains are fried in oil before cooking in water.

In some countries, rice is commonly consumed as parboiled rice, also known as Minute rice or easy-cook rice. Parboiled rice is subjected to a steaming or parboiling process while still a brown rice. This causes nutrients from the outer husk to move into the grain itself. The parboil process causes a gelatisisation of the starch in the grains. The grains become less brittle, and the colour of the milled grain changes from white to yellow. The rice is then dried, and can then be milled as usual or consumed as brown rice. Milled parboil rice is nutritionally superior to standard milled rice. Parboiled rice has an additional benefit in that it does not stick to the pan during cooking as happens when cooking regular white rice.

A nutritionally superior method of preparing brown rice known as GABA Rice or GBR (Germinated Brown Rice)[10] may be used. This involves soaking washed brown rice for 20 hours in warm water (38 °C or 100 °F) prior to cooking it. This process stimulates germination, which activates various enzymes in the rice. By this method, a result of research carried out for the United Nations Year of Rice, it is possible to obtain a more complete amino acid profile, including GABA.

Cooked rice can contain Bacillus cereus spores which produce an emetic toxin when left between 4-60 degrees Celsius [8]. When storing cooked rice for use the next day, rapid cooling is advised to reduce the risk of contamination.

[edit] Production history

[edit] Etymology

According to the Microsoft Encarta Dictionary (2004) and the Chambers Dictionary of Etymology (1988), the word rice has an Indo-Iranian origin. It came to English from Greek óryza, via Latin oriza, Italian riso and finally Old French ris (the same as present day French riz).

It has been speculated that the Indo-Iranian vrihi itself is borrowed from a Dravidian vari (< PDr. *warinci)[11] or even a Munda language term for rice or the Tamil name ar-risi from which the Arabic ar-ruzz, from which