Red rice, purple rice, black rice, white rice… which rice is more nutritious?

Rice with red, purple, and black colors often contains higher levels of minerals and antioxidants than regular white rice.
Currently, specialty rice products with pink, red, purple and black colors attract many consumers’ choices. When cooked, the rice still retains its characteristic color, the rice grains are flexible and spongy, similar to ordinary rice.

For example, recently, the research team of Dr. Dao Minh So, Head of Plant Breeding Department, Southern Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology, has just announced the successful breeding of a new rice variety SR20 with pinkish red color with many similar characteristics to the famous dragon blood rice variety. which has been lost. Share with PLO Dr. Dao Minh So said that in the process of breeding improved rice varieties, suitable for new farming conditions, the research team happened to create some colored rice varieties (pink, red, purple, black). . “Compared to ordinary white rice, this colored rice has a higher nutritional content thanks to these distinct colors,” said Dr. So. Red rice is being sold in the market. Photo: Quang Huy Talking more about this, Dr. So said, in terms of nutrition, colored rice is better than regular white rice based on two factors, namely seed characteristics and processing. “In terms of seed characteristics, compared to white rice, the nutrients contained in red, black and purple pigmented rice varieties will contain many biological micro-minerals such as iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium, B vitamins and minerals. The antioxidant content of anthocyanine is higher… Especially in red rice like SR20, the iron content will be higher than that of ordinary rice,” said Dr. So. Regarding the processing process, he said: “During the research on the color rice line, I realized that in order to retain many nutrients, antioxidants and sweetness of rice, rice should only be processed into a milled form. and the bran part, also known as milling, our goal is to turn this rice line into a daily consumer product like normal white rice, so when we bring this rice to the market, we still recommend it. Enterprises need to follow the processing method, so that when rice is served, it still has to achieve the highest nutritional value. Colored rice usually contains more nutrients than regular rice. Photo: Nguyen Ha According to him, currently on the market there are many types of colored rice, but these types of rice are often processed into brown form, ie whole grain rice. “These types of rice contain a lot of nutrients, but the rice grains will often be hard, not porous like white rice, so when using it, consumers often have to soak, rub and then cook, to create softness, so they are also picky.” . However, he also noted that, with all kinds of milled rice still intact, it is often damaged and moldy, so consumers should only eat where it is and buy it there. At the same time, with the processing of rice with the bran intact, it is necessary to have a safe farming process, otherwise pesticide residues or fertilizers will remain in the bran layer, causing harm to people. used when in use.