Know a little more about the different Italian rice varieties

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For most people, Italian cuisine usually evokes a copious dish of pasta or a mouthwatering pizza. But Italian gastronomy not only relies on these two dishes. It includes a wide range of regional ingredients for making typical Italian food, with rice on the top of the list.

Italy has an ancient tradition of using rice as its main staple food. Nowadays, that country is the major rice producer in Europe with the most important crops located in Lombardy and Piedmont regions, near the French border.

Rice tradition goes back to the middle of the 15th century. There are two main theories of how rice reached Italy. One indicates this grain arrived by the Crusaders or by the Arabs. Some others believed rice came from the Middle East and the Far East through merchants.

Wherever its origins, Italians have improved rice cultivation by creating an ingenious irrigation system, which allows settling rice as a popular and affordable crop. That is the reason why rice has become one of the main staples of Italian gastronomy.

Italian rice

There are more than 160 varieties of Italian rice with unique characteristics and uses in countless rice preparations. This wide range of quality Italian rice allows Italy to represent 5% of total world rice production.

Most known varieties include Arborio, Sant’Andrea, Roma, Carnaroli, Baldo, Balilla, and Vialone Nano. Surprisingly, lots of people cannot yet recognize the different types of Italian rice and keep wondering what is Arborio rice or which one is Carnaroli.

Here you have the answer; let's learn all about them and how to cook with the right type for properly making delightful rice dishes.

Arborio: It is super fino rice with a short oval shape. It is preferred for cooking risotto and salads.

Sant’Andrea: A bit larger grain with high starch content. It has a good absorption characteristic which makes it ideal for risotto, soups, arancini, and puddings.

Roma: This rice type is long, round, and compact. After cooking, grains remain well separated. It is used for cooking risotto, arancini, Paniscia, and soups.

Carnaroli: Known as “The King of Italian Rice” because of its outstanding characteristics for making risotto. It is a smaller grain with a pearl core; it releases low starch content when cooking which results in al dente risotto.

Baldo: This is a crystalline grain with low starch content. It remains separated and consistent after cooking. It is perfect for preparing salads and risotto due to its good cooking resistance.

Balilla: It is known as common rice. This grain is fat and round. When cooking, it results in sticky rice, and it is used for soups and minestrones.

Vialone Nano: It is a semifino rice. Its grains are small with a plump shape. Its high starch content and excellent absorption properties make it also perfect for risotto.

Using the right rice variety in your Italian dishes

Italian cuisine is very simple and its extraordinary flavors depend on the quality of the ingredients used. The most common are tomatoes, potatoes, cheeses, rice, corn, meat, pork, and fish. All these meals are well seasoned and slightly spiced for creating the most delicious dishes.

If you choose to cook with some Italian rice varieties, you must consider that every type of Italian rice is used for specific dishes. Try the following recipes and discover the true Italian flavors.

Risotto all'amatriciana (4 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups of Carnaroli rice.
• 5.3 oz (150 grams) of guanciale (Italian cured pork).
• 14 oz (400 grams) of peeled and crushed tomatoes.
• 2/3 cup of pecorino romano cheese.
• 2 liters of vegetable broth.
• 3 tablespoons of dry white wine.
• Black pepper to taste.
• Salt to taste.
• 
  

Preparation:

In a saucepan, pour vegetable broth and keep it warm.

Cut guanciale into 0.5 cm strips.

In a saucepan, cook guanciale until it gets crispy and brownish.

Incorporate white wine, and cook until the alcohol starts to evaporate.

Season tomatoes with salt and pepper and add them to the saucepan. Cook this sauce covered at medium-low heat.

In another saucepan, toast the rice and add to the sauce. Stir very well.

Pour warm vegetable broth little by little.

And continue adding a few amounts of broth each time until rice is tender.

Take out rice from the heat, and add cheese.

Rice and milk pudding (4 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of white Baldo rice.
• 1 liter of milk.
• ½ cup of sugar.
• 1 tablespoon of butter.
• Vanilla extract to taste.
• Ground cinnamon to taste.
• Raisins to taste.

Preparation:

In a saucepan, pour milk, butter, and rice. Mix very well.

Add sugar and cook at medium heat. To avoid the mixture from sticking you must stir the mix carefully.

Reduce heat, and continue stirring.

When it gets creamy, remove it from heat, and add vanilla extract.

Serve with raisins and cinnamon on the top.

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