"Thai fragrant rice" is actually mixed with essence! What's going on? 4 tips to help you choose the right rice!

Every year’s 315 Gala is always “shocking”, with many illegal vendors being exposed and everyone calling for “315, but even more so, 365”.

Rice is a staple food that we eat every day, especially fragrant rice is very popular. This year’s 315 topic “Thai fragrant rice” has become a hot search. What’s going on?

01

What happened to the rice exposed on March 15?

A reporter secretly visited a food company in Anhui Province. The company's "Thailand Jasmine Rice" has a good sales volume every year, selling more than 1,000 tons. However, although the name is "Thailand Fragrant Rice", it has nothing to do with Thailand. It is just the local Anhui rice with a few drops of flavoring added, which will emit a unique fragrance.

In other words, this company added flavorings to rice to pass it off as "Thai fragrant rice". However, my country's "Standards for the Use of Food Additives" stipulates that food additives should not be used to cover up quality defects in the food itself or in the processing process or for the purpose of adulteration, counterfeiting, or forgery. It also clearly states that flavorings are not allowed to be added to rice. Obviously, the company's operation is a violation of regulations, and the company has been closed down.

Source: "Standards for the Use of Food Additives"

02

Why is Thai fragrant rice fragrant?

The good sales of Thai fragrant rice are inseparable from its "fragrance". It is native to Thailand and belongs to the long-grain fragrant rice, which contains the unique pandanus aroma. For rice, 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (2-AP) is the main contributor to the aroma of rice, with a popcorn aroma.

Thai fragrant rice is also rich in compounds such as n-hexanol, 1-octen-3-ol, phenol, 4-methylphenol, and n-hexanol, which are the compounds that give it a rich aroma. Among them, 1-octen-3-ol is a volatile alcohol and an effective aromatic compound with a strong mushroom aroma, and n-hexanol has an apple aroma [1, 2].

The flavor of rice is also closely related to the growing environment. For example, light conditions, soil type, geographical environment, and cultivation methods all affect the flavor of rice. Thailand has very cool and sunny weather. When the rice is filling, the temperature of the soil slowly drops, and the temperature difference between day and night is large, which is conducive to the formation of rice flavor. Therefore, the 2-AP content is higher [1]. The higher the 2-AP content, the stronger the flavor.

However, Thai fragrant rice and my country's Wuchang fragrant rice contain many similar compounds that can contribute to aroma, so the aroma components are somewhat consistent, which is why my country's Wuchang fragrant rice is also very fragrant [1].

03

How to choose rice?

① Look at the implementation standards on the packaging: The implementation standards are clearly marked on the rice packaging, and the implementation standards of different varieties of rice are different. For example, GB/T19266, GB/T18824, GB/T20040, GB/T22438 correspond to Wuchang rice, Panjin rice, Fangzheng rice and Yuanyang rice. If you want to buy which kind of rice, you should look at the name of the rice and also the corresponding implementation standards. If you want to eat rice with fragrance, it is recommended to choose Wuchang Daohua rice.

② Look at the appearance: Check whether the rice grains are intact, not broken or yellow, and whether they are shiny. Normal rice has a low luster. If it is too shiny, it may be polished rice. In addition, if there are one or many horizontal cracks on the rice grains, it means that it is cracked rice. Cracking is caused by the rapid heating of the rice during the drying process, which causes the rice grains to lose balance inside and outside. When eaten, cracked rice is rotten on the outside and raw on the inside, has a poor taste, and has reduced nutritional value [3].

③Smell: It has the normal rice fragrance, no peculiar smell, and the fragrance is not strong.

④ Touch it: Normal rice does not feel greasy. If oil floats when placed in water, it may be rice mixed with industrial oil[4].

Don't buy rice at a low price. It's better to go to a regular supermarket and choose a big brand, which is safer. If you don't cook at home often, it is recommended to buy small bags of vacuum-packed rice instead of large bags to avoid moisture and mold after being left for too long.

04

Pay attention to these 3 points when eating rice healthily

① Wash rice 1 to 2 times only: Many people think that rice is dirty, so they wash it many times before cooking.

From the perspective of nutrient retention, it is not recommended to wash rice too many times, because the more times you wash rice, the more nutrients it loses. Not only will B vitamins be lost, but calcium, iron, zinc, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, etc. will also be lost with the increase in the number of times you wash. The more times you wash rice, the greater the loss. After three washes, the loss of trace elements is about 5% to 65%[5].

It is recommended to wash rice 1 to 2 times daily. No need to scrub or use hot water.

② Don’t cook porridge too soft: Many people have the habit of drinking porridge, which warms the stomach and makes them feel comfortable. Generally, rice porridge is a medium GI food[6], but the GI of porridge increases as the cooking time increases. The softer the porridge is, the greater the impact on postprandial blood sugar. Porridge that is cooked for a long time is likely to become a high GI food, causing postprandial blood sugar to soar. Therefore, if you want to stabilize blood sugar, don’t cook porridge too soft, and eat it with vegetables and protein foods.

③ Don’t just eat white rice: White rice has a single nutritional value. It is best to replace 1/3 to 1/2 of white rice with whole grains at each meal, which can not only increase the intake of dietary fiber, B vitamins, and minerals, but also enhance satiety and stabilize blood sugar after meals. For example, brown rice, oatmeal, buckwheat, red beans, mung beans, black beans, chickpeas, sweet potatoes, etc.
Studies have shown that increasing whole grain intake can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and colorectal cancer, and is also beneficial for controlling weight and delaying weight gain[7].

05

Tips for storing rice to prevent insects

The rice we buy is likely to carry some insect eggs, which will further develop into small insects visible to the naked eye under suitable conditions, also known as rice weevils. Adult rice weevils will use their mouthparts to peck holes in the rice, affecting the quality of the rice, and will also lay eggs in the rice, reducing its edible value.

How can we prevent these little bugs from spreading? There are also some tricks.

A study conducted an experiment to test the inhibitory effects of six spices, namely Sichuan pepper, garlic, star anise, old ginger, willow leaf and hot pepper, on common stored grain pests. The results showed that these spices had a good control effect on corn weevils, grain borers, red flour beetles and rusty red flour beetles in wheat. Among them, the mortality rate of garlic against corn weevils was 82%, the mortality rate of star anise against grain borers was 79%, and the inhibitory rate of old ginger against the F1 generation of rusty red flour beetles was as high as nearly 99% [8].

The reason why these spices can repel insects is that they all contain some volatile ingredients, such as allicin in garlic, citronellal, 1,8-cineole, and α-pinene in aniseed and Sichuan pepper, which have a good fumigating and inhibitory effect on rice weevils and grain borers [9].

These small insects often appear in rice. Although putting these spices in rice can kill and prevent insects, be careful not to put them in large quantities to avoid affecting the normal flavor of the rice. It is recommended to wrap the spices with gauze and stuff them in the top, middle and bottom positions of the rice bag, and change them every three months.

In addition, if the rice in your home is already infested with insects, it doesn’t matter. As long as it is not serious, you can put the rice in the refrigerator for 24 hours to freeze the eggs and adult insects to death. When you wash the rice, the corpses of the insects will float up and can be easily picked out.

Summarize:

Rice is an important staple food for Chinese residents. We hope that producers will not ignore the health of others for their own selfish interests, and we also hope that the country can be more stringent in its supervision of food safety. As consumers, we should also keep our eyes open when purchasing goods and choose regular and reliable big brands.

References:

[1] Liu Yao. Study on quality analysis and characteristic flavor components of Thai fragrant rice and Wuchang rice[D]. Shenyang Agricultural University, 2018.

[2] Han Lixin, Ren Hongbo, Meng Li. Formation and changes of flavor substances in rice[J]. Chinese Agricultural Science Bulletin, 2022, 38(30): 126-134.

[3]https://ipraction.samr.gov.cn/zskt/sjbj/yjsp/art/2022/art_158b787acab84a11b34becdf18efede4.html

[4]https://ipraction.samr.gov.cn/zskt/sjbj/yjsp/art/2022/art_e75b7806a1f0445e91d4ea7dec40be0c.html

[5] Xie Tao, Luo Yan, Li Jian, Ban Yanhua, Chen Guiluan. Study on the loss of seven mineral elements during rice washing[J]. Journal of Anhui Agricultural Sciences, 2013, 41(28): 11499-11500. DOI: 10.13989/j.cnki.0517-6611.2013.28.026.

[6] Yang Yuexin. Chinese Food Composition Table 6th Edition Volume 1[M]. Peking University Medical Press, 2018

[7] Chinese Nutrition Society. Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents[M]. People's Medical Publishing House. 2022

[8] XIAO Xuebin, CHEN Ge, HE Yang, et al. Exploration of the control effect of six different spices including Sichuan pepper on common stored grain pests[J]. Grain and Oil Storage Science and Technology Newsletter, 2019, 35(5): 32-34.

[9] Zhong Jianfeng, Lu Yujie, Li Xingkui, et al. Study on the fumigation effect of allicin on stored grain pests[J]. Journal of Henan Agricultural University, 2007, 41(4): 442-446. DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1000-2340.2007.04.019.

Author: Xue Qingxin, member of Chinese Nutrition Society, registered nutrition technician, health manager, public nutritionist

Review | Wu Ping Director of Clinical Nutrition Department, Tongji Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University