What's the difference between rice at 2 yuan and 60 yuan per jin? Understand the main types in one article

Every time you go to the supermarket to buy rice, the varieties of rice are dazzling and diverse! The prices also vary greatly, with some at 2 yuan per jin and some at several dozen yuan per jin. Every time you choose, you're completely confused and don't know how to pick!

Recently, the Shenyang Consumers Association tested 25 rice samples and found that ordinary rice at 2.5 yuan per jin not only completely beat the “sky-high priced rice” at 59.8 yuan per jin in quality, but some nutritional indicators also came out on top.

So why do rice prices differ so much? And what are the differences between them? Today we'll find out for everyone!

Why do rice prices differ so much?

Looking back over the past fifty or sixty years,

the stars are still those stars,

the moon is still that moon,

but rice is no longer that simple rice,

people's growing demand for a better life has given rice more business opportunities.

Various “concept rices” have emerged,

from selenium-enriched rice and organic rice, to pearl rice and no-wash rice,

rice prices have soared all the way.

What's the difference between “concept rice” and ordinary rice?

Selenium-enriched rice

The element selenium is hailed as the “king of cancer prevention.” The human body needs it but cannot synthesize it, so we can only get it from food, and thus came selenium-enriched rice, selenium-enriched corn flour, selenium-enriched wheat and so on.

Ordinary rice has a selenium content of about 35μg/kg, while selenium-enriched rice has 40-300μg/kg. Selenium-enriched rice can indeed provide more selenium. According to surveys, our country's residents generally have insufficient selenium intake, so selenium-enriched rice is a good choice.

As for the online rumor of “selenium poisoning,” this basically won't happen with a normal diet, since the critical value for selenium poisoning is 800μg. But if you take extra selenium supplements in addition to a normal diet, you should pay attention to your intake.

Organic rice

The LV of the rice world, its price is often 5-10 times that of ordinary rice. As long as food carries the “organic” label, its value multiplies. Simply put, this is mainly because organic rice completely forbids the use of pesticides, making it a truly pollution-free food.

But the organic food market is a mixed bag, so when buying organic rice, you must recognize the organic certification mark, organic code, certification body name or logo, etc. on the packaging, to avoid wasting money.

No-wash rice

No-wash rice is rice that can be steamed directly without washing.

In fact, our country currently has no national standard for no-wash rice. True no-wash rice does not exist, and its nutritional content is similar to ordinary rice, so no-wash rice is no different from ordinary rice.

Pearl rice, crystal rice

Their nutritional value is no different from ordinary rice; they are actually just good-looking ordinary japonica rice.

Some unscrupulous merchants seize on the psychology of those who care about looks, passing off polished rice as superior quality. It's best not to buy rice that looks too bright white.

Bamboo nutrient rice, maifanshi rice

One adds a bit of bamboo extract to the rice, turning the rice green. The other uses maifanshi (medical stone) as fertilizer to grow rice, hoping to graft the functions of maifanshi onto the rice.

But the actual health effects are limited; most are commercial gimmicks with little scientific basis.

This is just the tip of the iceberg among the bizarre varieties of rice. There are also ecological rice, seafood rice, volcanic rock rice, pearl rice, baby rice…… These are actually just product names set for sales purposes. The national standard only specifies three types of rice.

What are the main types of rice?

In GB/T1354-2009 “National Standard for Rice,” there are only three types of rice: indica rice, japonica rice and glutinous rice.

Indica rice

The grains are long oval or slender, mostly white and translucent. Late indica rice is better in quality than early indica rice, with a relatively high cooked-rice yield, suitable for steamed rice as a staple food.

Japonica rice

The grains are oval, with a low cooked-rice yield and strong stickiness, suitable for making porridge, and for people with weak digestive function.

Glutinous rice

Long oval or slender, mostly white and opaque, with strong stickiness, suitable for making various pastries. But glutinous rice is hard to digest, so don't eat too much at one time.

How to choose rice?

First, look

For packaged rice, first check whether the packaging is marked with the QS mark, product name, net content, production date and shelf life, quality grade, product standard number and other information.

For bulk rice, check whether the color and size of the grains are uniform, and whether there are broken grains, yellow grains, etc.

Second, smell

High-quality rice has a natural grain aroma and no off odors.

Third, taste

New rice has a higher protein content, so it is harder than old rice.

When buying rice, don't be misled by various promotional gimmicks into thinking the more expensive the rice, the better. Concept rice is mostly a gimmick; no matter how expensive the rice, you can't eat rice for all three meals a day. Ensuring food diversity and an enriched nutritional structure is what matters most.