Forbidden Black Rice by Lotus Foods (15 ounce)

I was introduced to Forbidden rice about months ago, and I have fallen in love with it. I love rice but I know white rice is not healthy for you. So when I had some Forbidden rice and realized JUST HOW GOOD IT IS, I switched over. IT IS REALLY REALLY GOOD.

Ask a Chinese friend about "forbidden rice" (禁米), unless they are history buff like myself, they will give you a puzzled look. The term refers to an obscure trade policy during Manchurian dynasty, not an exotic rice. I will not going to bore you with history here.The story about emperor depriving commoners of red rice is a hoax made in America, like the legion of fortune cookies. Most fortune cookies are made in a wholesome factory near Atlanta. We trust that fortune cookies are safe to eat. "Forbidden rice?"There is a red rice in China, dark red, close to red bean. The color varies from gran to gran. Its thick bran provides a pleasant nutty flavor and al dente texture. The color does not come off easily. You can get them from Chinese grocery store.What is sold as "forbidden rice" at Amazon and Costco has a uniformed black to deep purple color. It appears to be rice over-milled, dyed, and polished. Drop a few grains in water, you can see color coming off. And the color tent to sink to the bottom. That is a easy tell tail. When cooked, the favor and texture of bran are absent. If they use red rice, they have milled away its bran to make the rice easy to dye.There is nothing wrong with using food coloring. But is the ink FDA approved? We do not know. The label does not say.I am returning mine to Costco. I will ask Costco to pull it off the shelf.

A new study, led by Japanese researchers, analyzed the genome of 21 black rice varieties (as well as some similar white and red rice types, for comparison) to try to find out more about how some rice ended up black, and why. They found that black rice all originates from Japanese rice, and found the specific gene that has gone haywire in black rice, triggering the plant to produce large amounts of anthocyanin. The theory is now that black rice is naturally occurring, but only as a mutation, and that it was kept and made into a reliable source by humans crossbreeding black rice mutants to produce more.

I was amazed the first time Chef Daniel Taylor served me a dish with Forbidden Black Rice at The Underground in Raleigh. It's a fantastic rice - it has the same texture as black beans. And unlike regular rice, Forbidden reheats nicely. A word of warning - be careful when cooking it cause it drips purple.