Risotto Rice

Arborio Rice
© Denzil Green

Rice -- Arborio

There isn't really any such thing as Risotto Rice. Risotto is actually the style of cooking; Risotto Rice tends to be used as a term to describe a rice that can be used for risotto such as Arborio (common in North American and UK supermarkets), Carnaroli or Vialone Nano. All Risotto Rices are a short or medium grain rice that is quite fat and very starchy, so that the grains can absorb lots of moisture and make the mixture quite creamy. The kernels, despite absorbing all that liquid, still manage to maintain a bit of firmness.

You may find it labelled just "Risotto Rice" in supermarkets, and really, any Risotto Rice will do fine (gasp!.) You'd guess correctly, though, that being the people who gave us 10,000 different kinds of pasta, the Italians would have many different kinds of Risotto Rice. If you are familiar with any specific kind of Risotto Rice, chances are it's Arborio. But there is also Vialone Nono, Baldo, Padano, Carnaroli and Roma. And each of them is graded, in ascending order, as commune, semi-fino, fino and superfino. Risotto Rices are mainly grown in Northern Italy's Po valley.

Arborio Rice

Arborio is an opaque white, with "whiter" dots in the middle (called "the pearls".)

Carnaroli Rice

Carnaroli is more expensive than Arborio; it has a lot of starch, making a very creamy risotto. The type of starch in this rice is more resistant to overcooking than that in Arborio Rice is, making it easier to cook this rice to the perfect "tender to the bite" consistency that is desirable in Risotto dishes.

Vialone Nano Rice

Vialone Nano is popular in Venice. Though it is really short, it can absorb twice its weight in liquid. Vialone Nano is most often used for seafood risottos. It is even more resistant to being overcooked than Carnaroli Rice is.

Cooking Tips
Don't rinse Risotto Rice to get any starch off, as you do sometimes with other types of rice. With risotto, starch is the whole idea!

When you are making risotto, always start with stock with has been brought to the boil. Add the stock a ladleful at a time, allowing the rice to absorb the stock it has before giving it more. The cooked Risotto Rice should still be tender to the bite.

Nutrition
Risotto Rices are put through a whitening process 4 times -- little remains of what health foodies look for!

Equivalents
1 cup Arborio rice = 7 1/2 oz / 225 g

History
Arborio has been cultivated for centuries in the Piedmont region of Italy, perhaps even longer: some scholars believe that rice found in Herculaneum came from Northern Italy, too.

Also called:

Rundkornreis (German)

Other entries for: Rice

Brown Rice, Converted Rice, Cream of Rice, Instant Rice, Long-Grain Rice, Medium-Grain Rice, Paella Rice, Rice Milk, Rice, Risotto Rice, Short-Grain Rice, White Rice, Wild Rice

Other entries for:

Grains
Amaranth, Barley, Buckwheat, Cereals, Corn, Flax, Kamut, Millet, Oats, Quinoa, Red River Cereal, Rye, Semolina, Sorghum, Spelt, Teff, Triticale, Wheat

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