Rice is Nice | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

[music]. Welcome to Stuff You Should Know, a. production of iHeart Radio. [music]. >> Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm. Josh, and there's Chuck, and Jerry's. here, too. And this is a podcast called. Stuff You Should Know about rice. [music]. >> That's right. Uh, can I just throw out a. couple of stats real quick at at the. onset? >> I would love that. Uh because this. [music] is about rice, the food. Uh just. in case it was confusing at all.

>> What other kind of rice is there? >> I don't know. I just wondered. I mean, for all I know, it's some weird new sex. term. >> Oh, that's reche. >> Okay. [laughter]. >> Yeah, you've clearly only seen it. written before, >> I guess. So, uh all right. So, rice um. generally is looked at as the most eaten. um food in the world. Uh, I think some. people might have wheat uh just ahead of. it, but it's either one or number two.

It's grown on every continent except. Antarctica. >> About three and a half billion people. It's a staple food accounting for 20% of. the calories consumed all over the world. is rice, which is a staggering number. And uh in Asian countries, uh 50% of the. calories. That's amazing. 50% is rice. >> Yeah, it is. um until you realize that. uh pork crackklins make up another 20%. of all the calories consumed worldwide. [laughter]. >> Yum.

>> Um there's also like something that's. worth mentioning too that um rice. production supports 200 million. households in developing countries. That's how they make their living. >> Yeah. >> So to say that rice is an important crop. here on planet Earth is kind of an. understatement. >> Uh yeah. Okay, good. I'm glad you [laughter]. agree. There's one thing I want to cover. before we move on because it bothered me. so hopefully it will bother somebody. else and that's why I want to satisfy.

that itch. >> Okay. >> I wondered what rice is when we're. eating rice. What is it? It's a seed. The rice is the seed of the rice plant. Did you know that? >> Uh yeah. >> Oh, okay. Well, >> what if that was just my new persona? How obnoxious [laughter]. is that? Um, here's how we know that rice is a. seed. Aside from, you don't have to be a. botist for this. You can go to the store. and buy rice and plant it and it will. grow a rice plant. So, it's the seed, but it's classified as a cereal, which.

is a seed from a grass plant. Um, and so. rice is a seed. Everybody calm down. >> That's right. Uh, and I'm clearly. joking, by the way. I can't imagine how. many people I turned off with the new. persona. >> I liked it. Oh, I figured people would. be like, "Is that what Chuck shaped his. beard for Halloween? Is that new Chuck? I don't like it.". >> Oh, yeah. That's right. You did. I think. you should have grown the mustache back. real quick after Halloween. >> Buddy, if I could, I would. I miss that. beard so much already.

>> Are you growing it back? >> I I mean, I told Ruby, Ruby hated it, of. course. But I said, "Ruby, it's already. growing back. I've already started. The. second I finished shaving it, I started. growing it back.". >> Nice. You're like, I got to hurry up and. squeeze Halloween in. But the stash. looked pretty good though, right? >> It did. I liked it a lot. You looked. like a construction worker slashpornst. star yacht rock musician all rolled into. one. >> Yeah. >> Like Kenny Loggins, I guess. >> Yeah. Any anytime you have a stash like. that, you're 20% more police officer, too.

>> Oh, don't forget that. Yeah. >> Yeah. >> But you looked a little more like. village people police officer. >> Hey, I'll take that any day. >> Okay. >> That just sounded like Kim Catrell. >> You should have been like, "Oh, I'll. take that any day. >> [laughter]. >> All right, back to rice because this is. the bulky one. We can't goof around. Uh, we're going to break down types of rice. Um, if you look sort of at the top of. the dividing point, you're probably. going to go white rice or brown rice. Um, I really don't care for brown rice.

I'm not yucking yum. I I can't stand the. taste. >> It's an acquired taste. >> It's much better for you. Um, they are. not uh different varieties, but white. rice is rice with the brand and the germ. removed. uh brown rice and uh also red. and black rice still has the brand and. the germ and it's much much much better. for you than white rice. I just cannot. stomach it. >> Yeah. Um the reason why uh is because. the brand and the germ are the thing. that have all the nutrients. So if. you're eating white rice, it's basically.

stripped of any nutritional value. whatsoever. So much so that a lot of. rice is actually fortified. They mix the. vitamins and minerals that they strip. out. >> um back in in different ways. >> that's enriched, right? >> Yeah. Some Let's talk about that real. quick. Okay. Did you see the different. ways that you can enrich white rice? >> I mean, uh can't they just kind of like. powder coat it? >> Sure. Powder coating is one, but they. don't powder coat all of it. They they. pick out select grains of rice, powder.

coat them, and then mix them back in. with unpowdercoated rice. Oh, okay. >> At a ratio of about 1 to 100. >> What? Really? And that provides enough. uh good stuff? >> I guess. So, do you have any other. guesses of how you could enrich rice? >> I'm trying to think how I would do it. Uh, no. I have no other guesses. >> You You could coat it in layers. Base. coat, nutrient coat, protective top. coat. Okay. >> And then the last one is you can extrude. it. So, you take rice flour and you.

actually make fake rice grains. >> Ah. and you've mixed the rice powder. with the nutrient powder and you mix. those in with real rice or regular rice. That's how you do it. I don't know why, but I could not not find out how you. would enrich rice. It just got me. So, I. had to go figure it out and I wanted to. share that just like sharing the fact. that rice is seed. >> That's right. I love it. Um, most of the. rice that we, you know, kind of buy in. stores and know about is, uh, a. descendant from the, uh, o r y za,

capital o, I, I guess, the oriza sativa. >> Um, that was domesticated in China. Um, you know, somewhere between 8,200 and. 13,000 years ago. Uh, there are two main. subspecies, uh, indacica, uh, indicaponica. Uh, I think the indica is more likely to. be long grain, the japonica is more. likely to be short. Sure. >> Even though there are exceptions and um.

the starch levels are different in the. two, right? >> Yeah. I think um japonica has more. starch. Um a certain kind called. amalopectin. which is water soluble so it it makes. the rice sticky. Um, indacica is um chalk full of amalos. which is a starch but it keeps the rice. separate or the rice doesn't stick. together. It doesn't actually keep it. separate. And so knowing that and. knowing long grain and short grain, you. can kind of start to guess what.

different varieties of rice belong to. which um family. >> Yeah, for sure. Uh we don't want to. leave out the um orza glabbera. That's. African rice and that is is grown in. Africa still. >> Um it is not as popular as the the Asian. or variety but uh they have tried to mix. the two because there are good and bad. points for both. Um I think the the. African variety is a little hardier and. more resistant to disease and pests and.

climate issues which is great. Um I. think water depth and soil it just seems. like a better allound sort of grower. >> Um but the yields aren't as great and. it's harder to mill without breaking. So. maybe um crossbreeding these two, you. could come up with like a super rice. >> Yeah. Uh I don't know what you'd call. it. Maybe Glabria Japonica. Poof. >> Yeah, that sounds great. >> Let's talk some variety, shall we? >> Yeah. Uh we can kind of quickly go. through this. Basmati is one of my.

faves. It's a long grain indica rice. >> Um South Asian cuisine a lot of time. will have basmati or maybe jasmine. Also. a long grain indacica rice. It's a. little stickier than basmati and a. little more floral. >> Did you know? I'd always thought like. they added something to give jasmine. rice that smell. Apparently that's. natural to the rice. Did you know that? >> Uh I kind of figured that because I just. didn't think they would add a scent to a. rice. >> I could see that. I could see somebody. adding a scent. Especially the Thai.

They love like orchids and stuff like. that. They love things that are lovely. And so adding a lovely scent to rice. makes sense. >> Yeah. Two of my favorite rices right off. the bat. >> All right. Well, one of my favorites, actually, let's just go ahead and say. it. My favorite is sushi rice. It's a. type of japonica. Um, not surprisingly, it's sticky, but it's not as sticky as. another kind of rice called sticky rice. or glutenous rice. Uh, and they're not. to be confused, even though they're both.

pretty sticky. Uh glutenous rice is. naturally sticky because it's got so. much um amalopectin starch in it. >> that it actually the grains actually. kind of crumble together and it almost. turns into like a porridge like when you. make a batch of uh sticky rice. It's. almost like a just a big clump that. sticks to your fingers. It's all over. the place. You can use it to hang. wallpaper. >> Um sushi rice is sticky. It'll stick. together. But if you ever really look at. sushi, um, like a piece of the.

you can see the individual grains of. rice. >> Yeah. >> But it still sticks together. And the. reason why it really sticks together is. because of the treatment it gets um with. a little bit of vinegar, salt, and sugar. concoction that's mixed in with the rice. after it cooks. >> That's right. Maybe a manny petty. >> Um, I don't get that one. >> You know, the treatment. Oh, >> okay. Do you ever get those? >> Uh, no. >> Chuck, treat yourself at least to a.

pedicure. You will never not get one. again. >> Uh, we'll talk off air. >> Okay. But I'm just saying you can't. surprise those people or offend them. Somebody who's a professional. pedicurist, it doesn't matter what your. feet look like, they will do it and they. will not crack a smile. >> It It's not a hammer toe issue. Oh, >> okay. >> Um, can we move on to risoto? Because if. you love risoto, you're probably looking. at one of a couple of things. Both. japonica versions. Uh either arboreio or.

carnoli rice. >> Mhm. >> Um risoto, they're both medium grain. Um. delicious. I don't um I've made risoto. before, but it's really tough to. perfect. >> Yeah. >> But one of my favorite dishes if it's. done right. I made it once or twice too. and it actually turned out both times, but it is very time consuming because. you add like the broth a little bit at a. time and you basically have to stir. until that the the rice absorbs the. broth and over and over and over again. But when it turns out it is delicious.

It's just much easier to order out. though. >> Yeah, it's a dish you got to babysit. You know, you can't walk away. >> Similarly, paella is a dish that you. have to babysit too. Uh and that uses a. couple of specific kinds of rice. Bomba. um which means bomb because it expands. into little bombs the grains of rice do. when um they encounter water. And. calispara. and they're both short grain rices um. which is strange. They should be long. grain because of the the dish kind of.

calls for it. But you do not want to use. other short grain rices as substitutes. and paella because they're not the. actually indica type rices like those. other two are and they'll just cook. different and you'll basically ruin your. paella. And who wants ruined paella? >> Now I used to make paella and I never. babysat it. Was I doing it wrong? >> Oh yeah. I thought like you typically. made it outdoors and you basically had. to hang around it while it was cooking.

>> I always just baked it in the oven in. the in the proper pan. >> Maybe that was just a cooking show I saw. once and they were doing that to seem. cool. >> It was like one of those cooking. challenges that like they give them a. bunch of restrictions. >> No, weirdly it was a cooking show. I. don't remember the chef, but Gwynneth. Paltro was standing around there and it. was like first thing in the morning and. they were both blurry eyed and clearly. messed up still from the night before,

but they decided to film that that. episode of the cooking show that day. >> I'm probably not doing it in the. traditional style or something, but it. always turned out pretty good. >> Good. >> Uh I want to talk a little bit about. Carolina Gold. It's one of my favorite. rices. It's an heirloom long grain. >> Oh, you've had it? >> Japonica. You haven't had it? No, I've. never had it. >> Oh, man. Yourself. Yeah, >> it's great. I always when I go to. Charleston, I'll pick up a bag of the. local stuff. >> Well, pick up two. >> I will, big boy. Comes in a cool looking.

little soft bag, too. You know, >> I saw Oh, like a kind of a little burlap. bag. >> Yeah, like a cloth thing. >> I saw [clears throat] there's a company. called Anson Mills um that they started. making it in the 1990s, I guess, at. least for national sale. And their their. prices aren't terribly bad. I didn't get. to the shipping stage. Um, that probably. jacks the price up, but it was like. eight bucks for a pound of this. Apparently the best rice you'll ever. have. >> I mean, I think you can just buy it in. Publix here, can't you? >> I I I've never looked for it. Maybe I.

will. >> I'm not sure. I mean, in Charleston, certainly you can buy it at just Harris. ter. And that's uh the deal. It was um you. know, it comes from the Carolinas, the. lowlands of of South Carolina and North. Carolina. Uh I think it was the first. commercial rice in the United States and. uh genetically goes back to South Asia. although the seeds reportedly arrived to. Charleston in the 1600s from Madagascar.

went away after the Civil War and then. uh came back into fashion like you said. in the '90s when Anson Mill started. making it again. But this was a rice. where English colonists you know they. came here they hadn't grown rice very. significantly so they like didn't really. know what they were doing. Mhm. >> Um but uh enslaved Africans arrived, they had that experience on how to grow. rice, which is was it's a tricky crop. and we'll get to all that later. Um they. had you know some lowland wetland. cultivation areas in West Africa. So.

they came with that knowledge and um you. know that's how it became a thing in. South Carolina like how to how to. cultivate it and grow it there. >> Yep. Then now we have Carolina Gold. >> That's right. I have to go try because. this this um article uh thanks to Dr. Claw for helping us with this too. Uh. made me very hungry for rice. >> How many of these others do you want to. go over? >> I don't know that there's much to to go. over. There's black rice, which. apparently has anthrocyanins, the same.

pigment in blueberries. So, it's high in. antioxidants. >> Yeah. >> Uh apparently it was called forbidden. rice in ancient China because only. royalty could eat it. >> And. >> that's black rice, I think. Right. >> Yeah. Black rice. >> Yeah. And then I think it's worth. mentioning wild rice. Um, it's not. technically rice because it doesn't come. from a rice plant. Comes from a. different type of grass that's native to. North America. >> But from what I see, it's actually even. healthier than a um than brown rice.

>> Okay. >> And it's not bad. >> I love it. >> Do you like it? >> Uh, and you know, I I'll quickly shout. out Cal Rose because when I used to roll. my own sushi, uh, that's what I would. use even though it's. >> um not exactly sushi rice. I was told by. a chef like it that it does pretty good. >> Okay, that's a nice little tip from. Chuck's Kitchen. >> Uh, all right. Well, let's take a break. then. Uh, it's a good start and we'll. come back and talk about that. cultivation I spoke of right after this. [music]. [bell].

[music]. >> [music]. [music]. [music]. >> All right. Uh, rice cultivation, like we. mentioned earlier, started in China, specifically the, uh, Yangti River. Basin. Uh, could have been like as much. as 14,000 years ago. Definitely at least.

9 or 10,000 years ago. Mhm. >> And it's the kind of thing that happened. over time from like wild rice growing. just in the wild after heavy rains to. them saying, "Hey, like let's actually. try and farm this stuff.". >> And you know, valleys would flood and. they would say, "Hey, this is um this is. how you grow rice." And in water flooded. patties. I imagine it was quite a. revelation. >> Yeah. Um I think it made it to South. Asia, that is India, by I think 8,300.

years ago. and it made it to Southeast. Asia about 4,400 years ago. Um, and the. the whole idea of growing rice, like. anybody who ever thinks about growing. rice, you know, when you're sitting. around thinking about growing rice, >> Yeah. >> you think of it in in patties, like. you're talking about, like little. flooded fields, usually surrounded by. slightly raised um dikes or walkways or. buns. >> Yeah. Uh, and that is a way that rice. grows, but it it doesn't actually need a.

flooded field to grow. It needs a lot of. irrigation, a lot of rainfall, but it. can also be grown on like mountain. sides, terrace mountain sides. That's. called upland farming. >> But low, I didn't either. >> Um, usually that's for subsistence. Uh, the the upland stuff because it's so. much more productive using the lowland. method, which is using flooded patties. Um but it only needs flooding a couple. of times during um growing the growing.

season and they actually drain the patty. for harvesting. >> Yeah. >> But a lot of a lot of um people who. cultivate rice just keep it flooded the. whole time because it's a lot easier to. not put water in and out when you need. it. >> Yeah, for sure. Um as far as uh you know. farming it um you can you can be old. school, it can be done by hand. Obviously, they have machinery that can. do that stuff now in a lot of places. >> Uh the rice plants, you can like a lot. of plants and vegetables and things like.

that and herbs. You can start them out. in like a nursery bed, transfer them. over to a patty or it could be a big. mechanized system of of seed drilling or. you can drop rice, you can air drop it. into a flooded field and it doesn't take. that long, a few months, about 120 days. Uh, and you know, different varieties, it depends on like the depth of water. for the different varieties and stuff. like that. Uh, and they will drain as. needed, but just a few months to to grow. a successful rice yield.

>> Yeah, I was watching some messmerizing. videos on growing rice. One of them was. in Vietnam. I couldn't tell where the. other one was. Um, but it was really. interesting. I, for some reason, I find. a rice patty fascinating. >> Oh, same. >> It's just way way more interesting than. your typical crop field. Yeah, agreed. Water. >> Yeah. And and I thought until yesterday. that was the only way to do it. >> No, that's wrong. >> Cranberries, didn't it? Cranberries that. grow in water. >> Yeah. And like a bog.

>> That's deep water. You have to wear. waiters to harvest cranberries. As far. as the commercials for ocean spray that. I've seen say. [laughter]. >> Yeah. >> So, after you harvest the rice, uh. there's a lot of ways to harvest it. One. of the traditional ways is to just use. hand sickles and cut the probably the. top half of the plant off. Um after that. you dry the rice and what you have is. called rough rice and that still has the. hole on it. It's got what the protective.

husk which you'll sometimes see if you. buy a plant there's these little holes. Those are rice husks. I I guess they put. them in for drainage maybe. I don't know. why else they would. >> Huh. But when you remove just the husk. and leave the rest of the rice alone, um. kind like shucking an ear of corn, but. really tiny. That's essentially the rice. husk. Um once you take the husk off, you. got brown rice. >> Yeah. Little tiny bits of cardboard. ready for eating. >> I mean, I I'm with you. It It takes a.

lot for me to make myself make brown. rice when the I have the option of. making sushi rice. >> Yeah. >> But it is so much better for you. It's. crazy. It really is. >> But I I don't I don't know if either of. us eat enough rice to really matter. I. don't know. >> No, I mean any health problems I have. are not from eating white rice, [laughter]. >> right? >> You know. >> Yeah. But what about white rice? How do. you get white rice from brown rice? Because that's where you get it from. >> Well, another you got to go through.

another round of work basically and uh. called the milling process. That's going. to remove the bran. Um, sometimes they. even if you see rice that looks like. just super pristine and shiny that might. have been polished in a factory. somewhere with glucose. >> Isn't that weird? >> Uh, and then we talked about, you know, some rice even goes through the. enriching process. >> Would you like to go over those three. ways again? >> Oh, that's all right. >> Okay. >> Uh, but, you know, we're going to talk a. little bit about the downside of rice. because anytime you're talking about. like these major crops or farm. situations, uh, it's not always the.

greatest for the environment and it. takes a lot of water to grow rice. Um, like you said, if it's not done in a. patty, just tons and tons of irrigation. Um, which makes it surprising that. California, which suffers a lot of. drought, um, has about half a million. acres of rice. >> Yeah. If you listen to our Salt and Sea. episode, that should be an eyepopping. number to you. >> Yeah. >> Um, that said though, rice production. still requires less water than any kind. of meat production. um any kind of nut.

production from what I understand and a. lot of vegetables still use more water. than rice cultivation I guess worldwide. So water use is a thing. Land use is. another thing too. Um but greenhouse. gases seem to be probably the biggest. problem with rice production. >> Yeah, this kind of is something that I. would not have considered. Again, I was. just sort of naive to that. I I usually. think of like factory farming of animals. and stuff as being big methane. contributors, but uh when you have a big.

flooded rice field, uh you're also going. to have a lot of microbes in there. feeding off of decaying plant matter, and that's going to create a lot of. methane. Um I didn't realize it was that. big of a problem, but apparently it is. >> It must be because so much rice is. cultivated worldwide that that all. combined makes it a problem. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Um, one of the things you can do to. reduce methane emissions is to drain the. patties when the rice is at a growing. stage where it doesn't need to be.

flooded and then when it needs it again. um you can reintroduce the water and. then you dry it again for harvesting. The problem is this. And I love stuff. like this even though it's terrible. I. love it when you solve one problem and. it creates an equal and opposite. problem. That's exactly what happens with rice. cultivation. When you dry out that. patty, it exposes the soil and a bunch. of nitrous oxide, which is another. greenhouse gas um gets emitted. And so.

if you just grow it just with soil, it's. going to emit nitrous oxide. It's going. to be covered up with the the water in. the patty, and then when you dry it. again, it's going to release more. nitrous oxide. So, they're trying to. figure out like the balance of which. one's worse. You know, would it be. better to just leave it flooded all the. time? Would it be better to to dry it? Because you can take care of the. methane, nitrous oxide goes up. Take. care of the nitrous oxide, the methane. goes up. But did you see that thing. about rice fish farming?

>> Uh, is that like the seawater farming? >> No, this is it's a little different. It's where you actually you t you grow. fish. you like farm fish in your rice. patty and they actually help take care. of the methane problem by eating a lot. of the algae that would otherwise. decompose. So, the methane goes down, the nitrous oxide emissions go down. because the patty's always flooded. because, you know, the fish need the. water. And I saw that it um increases.

yields by 10 to 15% because the fish are. pooping and so they're the nitrogen. cycle is going a lot a lot more. frequently. you don't need to add as. much fertilizer if any and they're. eating a lot of the pests. So there's a. 50% reduction in pests and I think in. some if you do it right you don't even. need to use pesticides in rice. production. So growing fish with your. rice is like the way to save the planet. >> What kind of fish do you know? >> I don't I don't think it matters. Probably a smalish fish because there's.

only a few inches of water that you need. for rice patties. So it wouldn't have it. wouldn't be like a giant carp. You'd be. you'd be up the creek, I think, or the. carp would be if you tried to grow carp. in a fish patty, >> right? It wouldn't be say a marlin or. great white shark. >> No. Okay. >> No, but it would be something to see. [laughter]. >> Uh I did mention seawater rice there. You know, people efering to do that kind. of thing to, you know, grow it in in. seawater. >> Yeah. Uh obviously it's got to be a.

situation where they can get a rice. variety that um can tolerate that salt. content and the alkaline soil. Uh but. it's something that they're looking into. that is got a little bit of promise I. think. >> Yeah. Because it reduces the land use, right? Because you're not using really. valuable land for cultivating rice. >> Yeah. >> Um there's also the matter of toxins, too. I didn't realize rice was such a. downer. Did you? >> Uh I did not. I didn't know about the. the toxins and I think specifically.

arsenic is one of the I I think like. lead and cadmium also but arsenic seems. to be the major offender. >> Yeah. And the reason why it's such a. deal with rice is rice absorbs it more. than most crops for some reason. >> Um the big downer about the whole thing. is that arsenic is most present in the. uh germ and the bran. So, the type of. rice that's most beneficial for you. health-wise, brown rice, is also the. ones that have the most arsenic. >> Aha. >> Um, I I found an article that asks if.

the benefits outweigh the risk as far as. arsenic and brown rice is concerned. >> It was in 2023 uh edition of Frontiers. and Nutrition. And they basically said, I don't know, we should do more study on. it. >> Said, eat what you want, bub. >> Yeah, I guess. B basically they were. like we don't know why would why would. you even read this article chump. [laughter]. >> uh if you're seeking out safer rice uh.

you know there are people have done. studies consumer reports I think did. some testing for arsenic specifically. >> uh they found white bosmati in. California India and Pakistan. uh and sushi rice from the United States. maybe not intuitively uh has the least. amount of arsenic. Um if you get rice from Arkansas, Louisiana, or Texas, um it's going to have higher levels of. arsenic. >> Yeah. Um it's if your soil um is more. likely to be contaminated by industrial.

metals, that rice is going to suck it. up. And apparently California's soil is. less contaminated by industrial metals. than some other states. So from what I. could tell, your best bet is California. rice as far as arsenic is concerned. Yeah. And you know, you rinsing the rice. helps before you cook it. Um, cooking it. in the water and then draining and even. rinsing afterward can reduce the arsenic. count even more. But it's not like um it.

it it's apparently it's not enough. arsenic to really do a ton of damage to. you. But the problem is is children that. eat like a lot of times, you know, you'll have like the processed rice meal. and baby food. M. >> um and I think that stuff you you can't. ever tell how much that has been rinsed. or not as my. >> orthodontist Dr. Blake used to say. >> Uh so yeah, it can be problematic for. for little babies and toddlers. It can. be problematic for you too like as a.

grown-up and yeah it's not like you. would have to eat a lot of rice to hurt. yourself with say arsenic but if you eat. rice every day which a lot of people do. you can and arsenic is associated with. multiple kinds of cancer diabetes cardio. issues and obesity. Um so you don't. really want a lot of arsenic. So that is. an issue with rice everybody let's face. it. >> Should we take a second break? >> Yeah. >> All right we'll take another break. uh. go over some lists of countries who eat.

rice a lot. Probably not a very. surprising list, but that and other. stuff right after this. [music]. [music]. >> [music].

>> Okay, Chuck, I'll give you 10 guesses. What continent produces the most rice? >> Uh, is this production? >> Yes, production. >> My guess is China. >> No, continent. >> Oh, uh, Asia. >> Yes, you got it. Right out of the gate. >> within that I would say China. >> Yeah, you'd be right. China is the. number one rice producing country in. Asia followed by India. But that makes. sense because they both have a lot of.

land mass. Bangladesh is a big eyepopper. because it's not very big but it's the. third uh highest producing rice country. in in the world. >> Yeah, that's impressive. But all 10, top. 10 are Asian, whether Southeast Asian, South Asian or uh Asian proper, I guess. >> Yeah. Um I mentioned those states. Uh. California, Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Missouri, and Arkansas. produce the almost all the rice in the. US, which is about 20 billion pounds a.

year. Um more than I thought. Obviously. nowhere close to being a top 10. producer. But uh as far as eating rice. in the United States, you're probably. eating American rice unless you're going. to like a specialty store cuz about 80%. of the rice sold and eaten in the US and. 95% of sushi rice eaten in the US comes. from US farms. >> That's why when you go to a izakaya in. America, you'll frequently see somebody. with a mouthful of rice chaining USA. >> That's right. >> Um Okay. What about the countries that.

eat the most rice? that eat the most. >> What what continent would those be on? All 10. >> Well, I'm going to say Asia, but I'm. also going to drill down and say China. Uh just because of the the sheer amount. of people. >> Okay. Yep. China's number one. India is. number two. Both because they have a lot. of people there. Bangladesh is number. three. Again, they really love the rice. >> Yeah. >> Uh but in the top 10 list, Nigeria is. number 10 of the uh countries that eat. the most rice. Um, and there's something.

about eating a lot of rice. It's. impressive. Number one, Bangladesh is. number one for eating rice. The per. capita rice consumption per year equals. 592 pounds of rice per person, which is. almost two pounds of rice a day. And. that's dry uncooked rice that they're. counting. This isn't like the wet stuff. >> Yeah. And like I said, it's impressive, but it also goes to um it goes to point. out or underscore that the the. developing status of a country like.

Bangladesh because if you eat tons of. rice and you're getting a lot of your. calories from rice, it's because a lot. of other foods aren't available to you. because your country is lower income. So. that's why Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, um they all eat the most rice. uh in. part because it's widely available, but. also in part because their uh economies. are still developing or aren't as. developed as countries that eat less. rice. >> Yeah. And that's again those are per. capita numbers for that last list.

>> Yeah. Um that reminds me though of uh. when I was a kid in in like first, second, third grade maybe. Um, we would. once a year at school the school lunch. would be a cup of white rice with a. little pad of butter on it so that it. drove home like what other kids around. the world were eating for lunch that. day. >> Oh, interesting. >> Yeah, I thought it was kind of a nice. and principle, but um there were always. at least one or two kids who ate that.

and then also ate their lunch that they. brought from home too, like little. baskets. And I would say that pad of butter is a. bit of a cheat. >> Probably. Probably. But still, I mean, I. definitely It gave me pause. >> Yeah. I mean, I like a little butter in. some rice. I mean, not when I'm cooking. any kind of like um you know, Asian. style foods and stuff like that. I'm not. going to put butter on sushi rice, but. if you give me a, you know, a steak and.

a big old glob of Carolina Gold, you can. bet your bippy I'm going to throw a. little butter on that. Little salt and. pepper. >> Yeah, I never got into This was. definitely not Carolina Gold rice that. they were feeding us in styrofoam cups. in first grade. >> It's probably uh what's the stuff in the. bag? The minute rice or whatever. >> Yeah, like Uncle Ben's or something. >> Yeah. Yeah. I mean, the only time we see. that in our house, we keep a stash for. when the dogs are tummy sick and you. have to boil chicken and just have.

chicken and plain rice. And so, we have. those. >> those bags. That and like camping when I. was a kid is is that bring evokes those. memories. >> All right. Like, would you just have your pockets. full of loose rice? That's how you'd. hike it in. That's. >> how I'd hike it in. >> Um, let's see. What else? Anything else. about this? Oh, I want to point. something out. Um there there was a. study in 2005. Remember I talked about. how people eating rice um the countries. that eat the most rice also tend to be.

developing. >> Well, there was a study um from Ttori. University. >> And the reason that stood out to me is. because Yumi taught English in Tori at a. high school. Yeah. >> Oh, cool. >> It's a very rural area. She taught it at. like a technical school, technical high. school, but she loved it. She went over. there for a year as part of this. program. But this Ttoria University um. study basically found that rice is rice. consumption is dropping off in Asian. countries because wealth is expanding in. Asian countries and they're saying, "Hey, we love rice, but we also want.

that steak." Uh like Chuck said, >> you know, every time you throw a little. another Yumi tidbit out, she becomes. that much more interesting. >> Yes, she's very interesting. And I. realize how much more interesting both. Yumi and Emily are than either one of. us. >> Yes, it's true. I'm kind of a schlub. compared to Yumi, for sure. >> Yeah, I mean, yeah, congratulations to. both of us because they're both. wonderful, interesting uh women. I mean,

Yumi had a her her graffiti tag was. apothecary for God's sake. [laughter]. >> Pretty great. >> It's amazing. >> Um, we already took a second break, right? This is the third act we're in. >> Yeah, we're in the third act. So, we can. have a little fun with some of these. rice dishes if you want. >> Okay, go ahead and fire that gun. >> Well, uh, rice obviously in a lot of. dishes worldwide is going to be like a. base layer for something. Maybe a curry, maybe a stewed meat or vegetable.

>> Maybe you're going to stir fry something. and throw it on top of that rice. That's. a great way to eat rice, not just as a. uh just a regular old plain side dish, even though that's fine, too. Um, but. I've had quite a few of these. Um I have. had jalof rice. Oh yeah. >> At African restaurants. Yeah. It's got. >> it's you know got like stewed tomatoes, onions, um you know, peppers. A lot of. these are kind of similar around the. world cuz it's. >> you know it's meager honest ingredients. like you know garlic and thyme and. ginger and rice and tomatoes and onions.

like stuff you get from the ground. Sometimes you can add meat and. vegetables. Um but jolaf rice is is good. on its own. >> Yeah. I I looked up a recipe of that and. I'm like that is something I'm going to. try. >> Yeah, >> there's also biryani. >> Love it. >> Um I am not more I'm more of a curry guy. so I don't get biryani when I go to. Indian restaurants because it's a little. drier. >> Yeah. >> But it it's got some nice um flavors to. it for sure when I have had it. But it's. a rice dish. It's got rice spices, some.

vegetables, usually some kind of meat in. there. Um yeah, it's good. You're a red. curry guy. Green. >> Uh, red. Green maybe if I'm at a Thai. place, but I'm a tikka masala and butter. chicken person. >> Oh man. God, >> I could eat that all day long every day. >> Yeah. No, I mean I said it before and I. I think it was our Chinese food episode. Like I could subsist entirely on Asian. cuisine 100% of the time and be as happy.

as I've ever been. >> for real. >> I don't need the other foods. Um, also. shout out SOG. Sogg paneer is fine, but. chicken sogg is Oh, it's the best. >> Yeah. Uh, I did mention paella earlier. I love it. Yeah. >> If you aren't familiar, it is a Spanish. dish. >> Uh, I think the Moors brought it over. the. >> uh Yeah, that's [laughter] right. >> Oh my god. What was that? >> That was from Seinfeld when um George. played Trivial Pursuit with the bubble.

boy. [laughter]. >> That's right. That's right. The moops. No, I'm sorry. The moops. >> Uh pie is delicious, though. It's, you. know, you cook it in a very specific. flat bottom round pan. Um if you don't. have one, like I I've cooked it in just. cast iron skillets. >> Uh it's got that clam juice. That's. where a lot of that seafoody flavor. comes from. And depending on what kind. of seafood you want in there, could be. clams, could be shrimp, could be. scallops, could be all that stuff. Um. some saffron, some like tomatoes that. stew up nicely. >> Uh it's just delicious. I love a paella.

It's usually not the kind of thing you. can just get a serving of. You get like. a a larger paella for a table. >> Um that clam juice thing, didn't that. reminded me? Didn't you used to make or. maybe still do make um bloody maryries. with clamato? >> Uh yeah, that's the only way for me. >> And that's a Canadian thing. And I can't. remember what they call a bloody Caesar. That's what it is. >> Oh, I've heard of that. I didn't know it. was Canadian. >> Yeah. Uh there's something there's. another rice dish um that I've had. before. I don't know if you've ever had.

it. It's called sushi. >> Um, >> yeah. >> And, uh, it's made with that short grain. rice, seasoned with some vinegar, like I. said, but it actually, and I know we. talked about this in the sushi episode, um, it grew out of a way of preserving. fish in vinegar. They would jam some. uncooked rice in there with it, too, and. pack it in there. That's right. >> And, uh, I guess somebody said there's a. better way to do this. And that's where. sushi came from. But you can still get. that original version called nar sushi. Um, which I really want to try. I like.

pickled anything, man. You could pickle. an old shoe and I'd be like, I'll eat a. little of that. Sure. [laughter]. >> Uh, we're not going to go down the list. of rice noodle dishes, but we we should. point out that rice noodles are a thing. >> Yeah. >> Um, we should mention a few rice. desserts because, uh, a a really really. nice rice pudding to me is one of the. more delicious things you can eat. >> Uh, yeah, I'm more of a bread pudding. guy, but yeah, I'll eat rice pudding as. well. That's when you cook the rice with. the milk and sugar and usually there's. like vanilla or cinnamon or something.

like that in there. >> I would eat just about anything with. condensed milk. >> Yeah, that's good stuff. >> Oh, I have a little a little tip for. you, Chuck. Yumi found this stuff. It's. ube condensed milk. >> Okay. >> It is the greatest flavor you will ever. put in your mouth. >> It's insane how good it tastes. >> Is it Do I have to go to like an Asian. mart to get it or is it. >> You could probably order it online, but. yeah. You're you're you're going to find. it at an Asian store more than maybe. Target.

>> Okay. >> Um there's also mango sticky rice which. uses that sticky glutenous rice which by. the way it doesn't have gluten. It's. just glutenous meaning sticky starchy. >> Gluten with an I. Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Uh have you heard of Polish rice cake or. Polish rice cake? I'm not sure. >> I had not until this. >> It's basically rice and condensed milk. and some other stuff. But it's it's a. cake with rice. It looks pretty good. Uh. well, we should talk about mochi at. least because uh mochi is a cake and. that is made from the glutenous rice as.

well. And if you've ever, you know, had. mochi in the US, it's probably a little. different from Japan because it's not. always a sweet thing there. But in the. US, it's usually wrapped around ice. cream. >> as most things are. >> Yeah. And you can buy like the little. mochi ice cream balls or whatever here. >> Yeah. They're good. A lot of times in. Japan, they'll have like sweet red bean. paste inside. That's a traditional mochi. there, too. But apparently it's it. references the rabbit in the moon. In. Japan, it's a rabbit in the moon rather. than a man in the moon, but he's making.

mochi up there. >> Oh, I never knew that. >> Yep. And we can't not mention horchata. real quick. Okay. >> Yeah. I I had a I went to a I had a. horchata flight in Mexico City one time. on a food tour. >> Oh, nice. And it was my first kind of. real exposure to it that I I think maybe. my first real exposure. And man, it was. so different and delicious. >> Yeah, it's um it's rice soaked in. evaporated milk. So, you know, I'd like. it. >> Add some cinnamon, some vanilla, and.

then you eventually after it's mush, you. strain it so that it gets any of the. grit out. So, it's kind of a a thickish. milkyish drink that's amazing on its. own, but if you're into things like rum. or bourbon, they mix really well with. hora, especially in winter time. >> Very interesting. >> Oh, yeah. You'll thank me later. >> Okay. >> Okay. >> I'll pre-thank you now because uh yeah, I didn't know that was a thing. Oh.

>> Uh how I mean, where do you get hora. here? >> Uh you can buy horada. Um, it those. people make it and sell it here in the. United States, meaning companies or. whatever, but it's actually not that. hard to make. You You might be better. off making it yourself. >> All right, I'll give it a shot. I I know. that the stuff we had in Mexico City was. like really really authentic and great. >> Yep. Plenty. There's plenty of recipes. There's like five or six ingredients. All of them easily obtainable. So, I say. make your own, Chuck. >> All right, I'll give it a try. >> Um, that reminds me, what did you think. of cherry Pop-Tarts? Cherry Frosted.

Pop-Tarts? >> Ah, yes. followup. I I texted Josh. photos. I immediately went to the store. I bought the cherry frosted Pop-Tarts. and um of course I had to get the. cinnamon uh brown sugar cinnamon. >> Of course. >> Boy, those cherries are beeping. delicious. >> Yeah. I told you they're way better than. strawberry, aren't they? >> Uh yeah. I mean, they are. They're way. better. I did my butter trick. Um. believe it or not, I I've I've um I. think there were four packs in each. So,

eight total packs, 16 total pop-tarts, >> and I've only eaten six total Pop-Tarts. So, three packs. >> That's nice. >> Since then, I'm really You just You just. can't go in there and and house those. things in two days. >> You You can pretty easily, but I think. you're showing a lot of restraint here. >> I I feel like I'm showing restraint. >> Yeah. Way to go, man. And you're Are you. enjoying them more than if you just ate. them all at once? Nah, interesting.

[laughter]. It's awesome. Uh, you got anything else? >> I got nothing else. Grow rice. >> Yeah, go grow some rice. Make your own. horada. Make some sushi. Make some. sticky rice. Make some curries. Just do. all that stuff. Some jawoff rice. Get to. it. >> And while you're making all that, uh, we'll just go ahead and read some. listener mail. >> Well, this is from Ted. Uh Ted wrote in. because Ted I'll just read it. You've. responded to Ted. You're going to send.

Ted something which is very nice of you. >> Nice. >> Uh hey guys, I recently finished uh. listening to the full stuff you should. know catalog. Yeah, big deal. For the. fifth time. >> That's a big deal, Ted. [music]. >> For sure. I think it's a big deal if you. listen to it all once. >> Uh yeah. >> Oh. Oh, yeah. You're doing your new. thing. >> Yeah, my new thing. >> Okay. I like it. Uh, see us attached. screenshot for proof. Ted, we didn't. need proof. We take you at your word. Um, at least I finished u my most.

recent. Listen, guys. Thanks for all the. wonderful hours. As an appreciation, here are the five things I most like. about stuff you should know. Number one, Josh and Chuck have character arcs as. their [music] lives have changed over. the 17 years, and they're not afraid to. share some of that personal stuff. >> Mhm. >> I'd say big-time character arcs. >> Yeah. I mean, 17 years. Yeah. Like think. about what's happened to anyone over. their the [music] last 17 years. There's. a lot of lot of stuff. Yeah. Uh number. two, Josh and Chuck don't talk [music].

over each other like many other. podcasters do. Uh we don't often. Sometimes we do, but yeah, we usually. let each other go, right? >> Yeah, we try to. I mean, every once in a. while there's a stumble here or there, but no, we're we're pretty good about. that. We we always have been. >> Yeah. But boy, some podcasts, even some. of my favorite ones, [music] at times. I'm like, "What is going on? There's. like three or four people talking." No, you can't do that. >> Can't do that. Number three, uh, I've. learned more about movies and popular. music by listening to stuff you should. know than actually by watching movies or.

listening to music. >> Yeah, I like to think that we have. imparted some pretty cool. recommendations over the years. >> Yeah, I just noticed Ted said [music]. he'd send in five things he loved the. most. There's only four, so I guess, you. know. >> Oh, Ted, this is beautiful because I. know what the last one is. >> Oh, I bet that's why he did it. Duh. Uh, number four, Josh and Chuck never make. it all the way through a list. Of. course, Ted, I'm so dense. I [music]. didn't even get the joke. >> That was a great That was a great arcane. in joke for stuff you should know, Ted. Bravo. I'm listening to the entire.

catalog five times, [music] and we are. trying to figure out something special. to get you for it. So, thank you for. letting us know. >> That's right. Thanks, Ted. [music]. >> Thanks, Ted. If you want to be like Ted. and talk about how much you like stuff. you should know or how many times you've. listened to stuff you should know or. whatever you want to say, you can send. it in an email to stuffodcast@. iheartradio.com. Stuff you should know is a production of. iHeart Radio. For more podcasts iHeart.

Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple. Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your. favorite shows. [music].