In China, where rice is considered one of the sacred grains, specimens date to 2,000 years before Christ. The father of Buddha was named Suddhodana, meaning pure rice. The mythical goddess-ancestor of the Japanese emperor was the first to sow rice in the Fields of Heaven, according to legend. And in parts of Indonesia, rice is considered the offspring of a goddess and no young girl is said to be eligible for marriage until she can cook a perfect bowl of rice. The Long and the Short of It Rice comes in long, medium and short grains this refers to the relationship between length and width.
Long grain is three times as long as it is wide, for instance.
Different rice plants are suitable for tropical, temperate and subtropical climates. Milling removes the husk from rough rice and also removes the brown bran layer around the inner grain. The best rice is creamy white with a glassy look, in an unbroken grain. Perfect grains of this can be called head rice. The rice most Louisianians seem to prefer is long grain, non-waxy and white.