Rice protein is aveganprotein isolate made from rice. It is often used as an alternative to the more common whey andsoy protein isolates.[1] To make it,brown rice is treated withenzymes that causecarbohydrates to separate from proteins. The resulting protein powder may then be flavored, and consumed with water, milk, or added tosmoothies orhealth shakes.
Rice protein powder has a more distinctive taste than most other forms ofprotein powder. Likewhey hydrolysate, this flavor is not effectively masked by most flavorings; however, the taste of rice protein is usually considered to be less unpleasant than the bitter taste of whey hydrolysate. This unique rice protein flavor may even be preferred toartificial flavorings by consumers of rice protein.
Rice protein is commonly mixed withpea protein powder. Rice protein is high in thesulfur-containingamino acids,cysteine andmethionine, but low inlysine. Pea protein, on the other hand, is low in cysteine and methionine but high in lysine. Thus, the combination of rice and pea protein offer a superioramino acid profile that is comparable todairy oregg proteins, but without the potential forallergies or intestinal issues that some users have with these proteins.[2] Moreover, the light, fluffy texture of pea protein tends to smooth out the strong, chalky flavor of rice protein.