What is the difference between white and brown rice?
Brown rice is a whole grain that keeps its bran and germ layers, while white rice has these layers removed. Brown rice has more fiber, vitamins and minerals, but white rice cooks faster and keeps longer.
After harvest, rice grains have an inedible outer husk, which is removed to make brown rice. Brown rice still has the bran, a fiber-rich outer layer, and the germ, the nutrient-rich part that could sprout. To make white rice, the grain is polished to remove both, leaving the starchy endosperm.
Brown rice has a nuttier flavor and chewier texture and takes about 40 to 50 minutes to cook, compared with about 15 to 20 minutes for white rice. It contains more fiber, magnesium and B vitamins. Because the bran contains oils, brown rice can go rancid sooner, so it has a shorter shelf life.
Enriched rice
In many countries, white rice is enriched with some of the vitamins and iron lost in milling. Both types can be part of a healthy diet. Eating more whole grains, like brown rice, is linked to better heart health and blood sugar control.
Did You Know?
In the late 1800s, a disease called beriberi spread in parts of Asia as people switched to polished white rice, which lacked vitamin B1 found in the bran.