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TYPES OF RICE
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Without going into endless technical details there are basically
three types of rice as far as cooks are concerned.
Long grain
rice (to the left in the picture) which is ideal for curries, short and medium grain rice
(to the right in the picture)
which are the ones to choose when cooking paella. |
WHY USE PAELLA RICE
As with almost all national dishes the key ingredients originate
from that country. It makes sense to use local ingredients and in
times gone by there was no choice. The most commonly grown rice
in Spain is medium grain paella type rice and that's why it's
used in paellas.
When cooked, paella rice is relatively firm in the middle and
softer on the outside. This distinguishes it from an Italian
risotto where all of the rice grain is soft and creamy. Paella
rice therefore has a soft outside but the firmer central part of
the rice allows each grain of rice to be separate. That's the
ideal.
WHICH TYPE OF PAELLA RICE IS BEST
There are many varieties of paella rice and not all are grown in
Spain. But let's be clear, if you choose a medium grain paella
rice then it will be well suited to making paella. Choosing
between the various varieties of paella rice is complicated by
lots of traditions and not an huge amount of fact. Personal
preferences also play a large part in determining which rice is
best.
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If you select your paella rice from your local supermarket it
will probably be Bahia paella rice from Spain and a very good
rice it is. If you are looking for a paella rice which is the
king of kings then Bomba paella rice is the choice of chefs
where expense is no object. Grown in Valencia this rice is
cultivated in cooler conditions compared to other paella rice,
it also takes longer to mature. |
Because of the the way Bomba rice is grown (i.e. cool), when
cooked it absorbs more liquid compared to other paella rice.
Whereas most paella rice absorbs twice their volume of water,
Bomba rice will absorb three times its volume of water, a fact
you need to remember when adding liquid to your paella.
This ability to absorb more liquid than other paella rice
distinguishes Bomba rice. The liquid in a cooking paella
contains all the flavour and the more flavour in the rice the
better the paella.
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