white rice

WHITE RICE: White rice has been refined to remove the brown hull. It comes in three basic sizes: long-grain, medium-grain, and short-grain. The shorter the grain, the starchier the rice. For risotto and other dishes where stickiness is an asset, we use a medium-grain rice, such as Arborio. For most other uses, we rely on long-grain rice, which cooks up very fluffy, with separate, distinct grains.

Published November 1, 1993. From Cook's Illustrated.