What are the differences between white, parboiled and brown rice?

Who can resist rice fresh from the stove, well seasoned and smoking? As common as rice is a simple everyday dish, it is still difficult not to put a few spoonfuls of this food on the plate.

Rice is practically sacred on the tables of Brazilian families, and a meal in which it is not present seems incomplete. As you can imagine, white rice is the most common variety, but it’s not the only one.

By the way, you may have heard that white rice doesn’t offer as many health benefits as other types of this grain, and that’s not a lie.

If you can’t resist having a good rice on your plate, it’s important to know the differences between the main types to make the best decision according to what you’re looking for in your food. Let’s check.

White rice

White, tasty, soft and quick to cook, white rice is the real king among the varieties of this grain, which still has a longer shelf life than other types.

Also known as polished rice, this variety undergoes an extensive processing process in which the outer layers of the whole grain, known as the pericarp, tegument, aleurone layer and embryo, are removed.

The purpose of this polishing is precisely to improve the flavor, appearance and texture of the grain, making it more delicate and more pleasant to the taste of Brazilians, in order to meet market demand.

The problem is that white rice, although delicious, is very high in carbohydrates and low in nutrients such as vitamins and minerals, as they are lost during the polishing process. As a result, it offers many calories and few nutritional properties.

To give you an idea, 100 grams of cooked white rice provides 130 calories, but provides only 1.2 mg of iron (8% of daily needs) and few vitamins, although it provides 1.5 mg of vitamin B3 (9.2%) , 0.2 mg of vitamin B1 (14.8%) and less than 0.1 mg of vitamin B11 (14.5%).

Two highlights of white rice go to selenium and manganese: 100 grams provides 0.1 mg of selenium (25% of daily requirements) and 0.5 mg of manganese (23.6%).

parboiled rice

Parboiled rice is pre-cooked rice – even the word “parboiled” comes from the English expression “partial boiled”, which means “partially boiled”. This means that, before polishing, the beans are boiled so that part of the nutrients from the husk (which would be lost) is transferred to the inner layer.

In this way, parboiled rice grains have a more yellowish color, and they are considered a healthier alternative to white rice, which ends up losing all these nutrients.

During parboiling, the beans go through three stages. The first is soaking, when the grain, still with the husk, is immersed in hot water for a few hours. This step allows a part of the vitamins and minerals in the husk to be absorbed by the inner part of the grain.

The second step is gelatinization, when the still moist rice is placed in an environment with high pressure and steam. In this process, vitamins and minerals are fixed in the grains. Afterwards, the rice goes through a drying step so that it is later husked and polished, in the same way as white rice.

For you to compare, 100 grams of this type of rice offers 123 calories, which is not very different from white rice. However, in nutritional terms, parboiled rice is much more interesting, as it offers 0.2 mg of vitamin B1 (19.3% of daily needs) and 0.1 mg of vitamin B11 (20.3%) – rice White provides some of these vitamins as well, but the amounts represent less than 15% of the daily requirement.

Regarding vitamin B3, parboiled rice offers 2.3 mg, corresponding to 14.4% of daily needs, while white provides only 1.5 mg (9.2%). It is also worth mentioning the vitamin B6 content of 0.2 mg, which corresponds to 11.1% of the needs.

The iron content, in turn, is 1.8 mg, equivalent to 12.1% of the daily needs. The amount of selenium provided by parboiled rice is even higher than in white rice (31% of needs), but manganese suffers a small drop: 100 grams provides 0.4 mg of this mineral (17.7%).

Parboiled rice is an intermediate type between white rice and brown rice and can be a good option for those who are not used to brown rice at all. Its cooking requires a little more water, but it takes less oil and takes a few minutes less.

brown rice

Because it is the most nutrient-rich variety of rice and offers the most benefits to the body, brown rice is the darling of nutrition professionals. It does not go through the polishing process and thus manages to retain all its vitamins and minerals.

Brown rice consists of the grain in its natural form, going through only one step of husking. Therefore, it is a good source of B vitamins, proteins and minerals such as phosphorus, iron and potassium.

Also, like other whole grains, this type of rice is rich in fiber, so it helps regulate bowel function and control cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

Also, because it contains complex carbohydrates that take longer to be digested, brown rice is more efficient when it comes to giving a feeling of satiety and does not form a glycemic peak, the main responsible for that absurd form shortly after meals and also for the accumulation of fat. in the abdominal region.

Brown rice is slightly less caloric than white and parboiled, offering 112 calories per 100 grams. This same amount also provides 45.3% of daily manganese requirements (0.9 mg) and 32.7% of selenium requirements (less than 0.1 mg). Copper (10% of daily needs), magnesium (14.3%), phosphorus (12%) and zinc (9%) also stand out in brown rice.

Tips for preparing brown rice

One of the disadvantages of brown rice that ends up keeping many people away from this food is that it is a little more complex when preparing, but just follow a few tips to make the process easier.

The first step is to use more water than you would to cook white rice: add 2½ cups of water for each cup of whole grains. The second tip is to be prepared to wait longer for cooking, which goes from 30 to 40 minutes.

If you are not used to consuming brown rice, it may be a good idea to switch to parboiled rice first, which is more like white rice, and only then move on to brown rice. You can also mix the varieties at first, as long as you cook them separately so that all the beans are just right.

If you just can’t eat brown rice, at least try swapping white rice for parboiled rice, which sits in the middle and offers more health benefits.

The information contained on this page is for informational purposes only. They do not replace the advice and follow-up of doctors, nutritionists, psychologists, physical education professionals and other specialists.