Brown rice is awhole grainrice with only the inedible outerhull 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, thebran layer, and thecereal germ.Red rice,gold rice, andblack rice (also called purple rice) are all whole rice with differently pigmented outer layers.
Brown rice generally needs longer cooking times thanwhite rice, unless it isbroken or flour blasted (which perforates the bran without removing it).[1] Studies in 2003 estimated a cooking time between 35 and 51 minutes.[2] A shorter cooking time is necessary for "converted" orparboiled rice.
Arsenic is in the natural environment and may be present in common grains, such as brown rice.[6] Although rice may absorb arsenic more readily than other crops, rice remains as a staple of a well-balanced diet, particularly whenfortified withmicronutrients in infant rice cereal.[7]
Cooking brown rice in hot water can reduce the content of inorganic arsenic by 40–60%, although this cooking method also diminishes the content of micronutrients.[7]
Brown rice is widely cultivated inVietnam,[8][9] mainly in the northern and central provinces.[10][11] According to statistics from theMinistry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the area of brown rice cultivation in Vietnam in 2023 reached 150,000 hectares,[12][13][14] with a production of 1.2 million tons. Brown rice has high economic value and is popular in the market.[15][16] The price of brown rice is usually higher than white rice by 10–20%.[17][18] Brown rice has great potential for development inVietnam,[19][20] and could become a major export product.[21][22]
