Brown rice

Brown rice is a whole grain rice with the inedible outer hull removed. This kind of rice sheds its outer hull or husk but the bran and germ layer remain on, constituting the brown or tan colour of rice. White rice is the same grain without the hull, the bran layer, and the cereal germ. Red rice, gold rice, and black rice (also called purple rice) are all whole rices with differently pigmented outer layers. Brown rice generally needs longer cooking times than white rice, unless it is broken or flour blasted (which perforates the bran without removing it). Studies by Gujral and Kumar in 2003 estimated a cooking time between 35 and 51 minutes. A shorter cooking time is necessary for "converted" or parboiled rice. Brown rice has a shelf life of approximately 6 months, but hermetic storage, refrigeration or freezing can significantly extend its lifetime. Freezing, even periodically, can also help control infestations of Indian meal moths. Rice plants accumulate arsenic, and there have been concerns over excessive arsenic levels in rice. There is more arsenic in the bran, so brown rice contains more arsenic. The European Union has introduced regulations on arsenic in rice, but the United States has not. Natural arsenic levels in groundwater and soils vary. Rice grown in some regions contains less arsenic than others. Arsenic from pesticides and poultry fertilizer may be taken up by rice. A 2012 report from the US publication Consumer Reports found measurable levels of arsenic in nearly all of the 60 varieties of rice and rice products it tested in the US. Consumer Reports states that brown rice has 80 percent more inorganic arsenic on average than white rice of the same type, because the arsenic tends to accumulate in the outer layers of the grain. Its 2013 analysis found that rice cereal and pasta can possess significantly more inorganic arsenic than the 2012 data showed; Consumer Reports said just one serving of rice cereal or pasta could place children over the maximum amount of rice it recommended for their weekly allotment, due to arsenic content.