glossary

Riso Venere was born in Italy in 1997 and it is the first Italian black rice. It has a black, completely natural color due to the presence of anthocyanins in the grain, powerful antioxidants. Its aroma too is natural and recalls the smell of fresh baked bread. After Venere variety, the following black rices have been Nerone, Artemide, Violet, Nero Beppino and Otello, all grown in Italy. The black and red colored rice is called pigmented (see also Red rice).

In the last century, the technique of polishing rice was the shine, consisting in a solution of talc and glucose or of linseed oil (in this case it was called camolinatura). The polishing of the rice is no longer permitted because it changed the characteristics of the rice.

Cropping is the process that transforms the raw rice harvested in the field, called paddy rice, into edible white rice. It consists of two phases: a lighter processing, called husking, that gives the brown rice, and a deeper process, called polishing, that gives the white rice.
Semi-milled rice is between brown rice and white rice (see also Brown rice).

Brown rice undergoes only a first degree of processing where the non-edible peel that covers it – called husk (lolla) – is eliminated; this process is called husking. Brown rice keeps the pericarp, the film that covers the grain, rich in fiber, mineral salts and vegetable lipids. For this reason, brown rice has a higher nutritional value than white rice (see also Pericarp).

Rice starch is extracted from the rice which is softened first, and then ground. Once separated, it is dried and pulverized. It is used in cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry, because of its emollient and anti-inflammatory properties, and in food industry, especially for weaning products thanks to its high digestibility and tolerability.