A Field Guide to Rice 🍚

Grab your forks, chopsticks, spoons and fingers!

Field Guide Vol. 265

Throughout homes, restaurants and farms, rice, this humble grain, stands as a cornerstone of sustenance. From the fields of Asia to the bustling kitchens of West Africa, and everywhere in between, rice—from short-grain to long-grain, basmati to sticky, jasmine to golden—has nourished billions, shaping traditions, economies and culinary practices. Join us in this week’s Field Guide as we explore its historical significances, its current challenges and its enduring role in kitchens and communities around the world.

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Did you know?

“¡Oh insigne sinofonía de todos los colores!" wrote José María Pemán in his Ode to Paella, the rice dish originally from Valencia: “Oh famous multi-colored symphony! / Oh illustrious paella / on the outside a colorful blouse / burning from within like a yearning maiden!”

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Stories from the Bengal Famine

By Kavita Puri