A question on Rice

[Hickybank Profile]

So is it worth paying outr the extra for premium rice
I can buy a kilo of supermarket rice for a little over £1 or I can buy Tilda rice for over £4 for the same ammount
Question is " is it worth it?"

[scullion Profile]

i'm not sure i would notice the difference - i go for the supermarket basmati for our 'every day' rice and haven't bought tilda for decades (it was the one available from the food co-op and i can't remember anything that made it stand out against any other).

[Suelle Profile Website]

I buy supermarket own-brand aged basmati (around £3 a kilo).

When we changed to aged basmati, several years ago, we must have decided we could tell the difference, as we kept to it. Now that I'm on my own, and restricting carbohydrates, I only use 50g for a portion, so the cost of using a premium quality rice isn't a large part of the meal.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I notice you aren't mentioning a specific type of rice - Patna, Basmati, Jasmine etc - that seems to me to be what's important rather than the brand

I am not keen on Morrison's own white basmati, lthough their brown basmati is fine, and their generic "risotto rice" is pretty good for the price

I tend to buy Laila which is cheaper than Tilda

Edited to add that I had a quick look - Laiila is currently the cheapest Basmati at both Tesco & Sainsbury's
I have the Xtra Long (black packet) which I don't think tastes much different but does have a very good texture, especially in pilaus. might try a biriyani

https://www.lailafoods.com/rice/

[Amyw Profile]

I may be a peasant but I don’t think I’d overly notice the difference , particularly for four times the price !! I’d be more concerned about cooking it correctly rather than the brand as I think that makes or breaks rice

[northleedsbhoy Profile]

I may be a peasant but I don’t think I’d overly notice the difference , particularly for four times the price !! I’d be more concerned about cooking it correctly rather than the brand as I think that makes or breaks rice

Yep, I agree with what you say. What rice for some is different for others but at the end of the day it’s how it’s cooked is the game changer. I very rarely cook rice (cos I’m rubbish at it) but friends do and whatever rice they use comes out perfectly.

Cheers
NLB

[karadekoolaid Profile]

I buy huge 10 kgs bags of "Royal" Himalayan basmati. Beautiful long grains, wonderfully aromatic and cooks in 11 minutes flat.
Tilda is supposed to be one of the finest Basmati rices available, thus the price tag.The difference is the quality, where it was grown, the soil, the atmosphere, organic, etc. You´ll also find that cheaper rice has a higher proportion of broken grains. If you´re not a frequent rice eater, it would probably be a little difficult to tell the difference, so I´d save 3 quid and use it for something else!
To give you a vague comparison, it´s like drinking a vin de table (which sometimes are very good) compared to a chateauneuf du pape 2017. Something like that, anyway!
The only thing I WOULD be careful about is to make sure the Basmati is not "parboiled". I was given a bag some while ago, and it´s dreadful; no aroma, no perfume, no wonderful fluffiness.

[karadekoolaid Profile]

NLB: I suppose it´s what you are used to cooking on a regular basis.I´ve been fortunate enough to have worked with the Indian Embassy over here, and they´re very fussy about their rice. The Commercial delegate once gave me a quick masterclass on the differences!
Most good cooks in the UK would be able to tell you what kind of potato is good for chips, what´s good for mash, what´s good for baking,roasting, etc. Over here, a spud is a spud. In the end, it´s what you´re happy with, that´s all.

Apart from Tilda and Royal, I´ve also tried Deep, Laxmi and Nirav basmatis. The latter was the best.

[jeral Profile]

I'm assuming basmati rice, being what Tilda sell. I really like the fragrance and taste of basmati rice. (I don't add salt.) If a cheaper version has those two qualities, why not? Alternatively, if people don't notice either (many aren't rice people, eggs is eggs) an ordinary long grain rice or cheaper basmati version will be fine, especially if flavours are to be added or if used in a biryani.

In cooking terms, any rice batch of any type seems to vary but is easy to monitor, so that isn't a deciding factor for me when buying.

So is the price worth it? I bought a 5kg bag of Tilda (which is fine to keep apparently and does stay fine) as the small bags did seem very costly.

[jeral Profile]

I would echo karadekoolaid in the matter of broken grains. I don't expect to find any and don't want any. I did buy broken-grain basmati once, which I'm sure is fine in stuffings or something, but definitely isn't rice "as we know it, Captain Kirk" (Star Trek).

[Hickybank Profile]

Thanks for all your reply's.
I had just placed an online order with Morrisons & in a moment of madness added Tilda Basmati rice,
Reading your comments I have just changed it to own brand rice.
Thanks
Terry

[Pampy Profile]

I'm assuming basmati rice, being what Tilda sell.

They sell other types too https://www.tilda.com/our-range/speciality-other-rice/
I've never heard of the Golden Sella Basmati, though - don't think I fancy it at all.

[karadekoolaid Profile]

The Golden Sella is parboiled. Avoid it like the plague. Although my basmati wasn´t Tilda brand, it was parboiled and was tasteless.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Parboiled rice depends - and I don't think Tilda's explanation is clear. It is not usually the same as easy/quick cooking rice!

Ordinary white (polished) rice is made by mechanically removing all the outer layers, taking away the bran and all the fibre, B vitamins and quite a lot of the flavour

In parts of India and the Middle East whole rice grains are briefly parboiled before mechanically removing the outer husk (milling), this leaves the inner husk with more fibre, B vitamins and flavour in place, and in the case of Indian red rice, preserves the beautiful colour (Camargue red rice is different).. I stayed for one night on a farm in Kerala where they grew, parboiled and prepared their own rice, so they explained the process to us, and it was delicious - you can't buy it in the UK as it is illegal to export it

And despite the rubbish explanations given by both Tilda and Laila, it appears that Golden Sella Basmati is prepared by parboiling before milling, as I describe, so I'll definitely be trying it when I track some down

https://myfavouritepastime.com/2017/09/ ... mati-rice/

[Kacey Profile]

We eat a lot of rice in this house, and for white long grain then I only ever buy Tilda Basmati. I buy 20kg sacks from PAK supermarket, the last one a couple on months ago, it was about £32 as far as I recall. Its usually about £10 more than the 'unknown' brands. What I love about Tilda is that right down to the last few grains of that big sack you'll still get that beautiful smell when you open the plastic zip.

[halfateabag Profile]

we r with kool, love that aroma when the rice is soaking (3 times prior to cooking). we do add a tad of salt when cooking, it enhances the flavour 4 us. we buy 10kg -much cheaper and it does keep well. Soak mine in the gh, it smells great. as i said before, it shortens the cooking time and is normally perfectly fluffy.

[halfateabag Profile]

experimented today with easycook rice and soaked it, rinsed, and twice again. halved the cooking time, same good quality taste.

[WWordsworth Profile]

I have probably posted my method before, apologies if that is the case.
I read it somewhere a few years ago and have used it ever since.
It's never failed me.

For 2 people I use 1 Paris goblet of dry rice.
Place it in a sieve over the sink and pour a kettle of boiling water over.
Transfer the rice to a bowl and cover with plenty of cold water.
You will need to break up any clumps.
Leave it for 20mins at least. I have gone to the pub at this stage.
Drain the rice and add it to a pan of boiling, salted water.
Bring back to the boil and cook for 4 minutes.

[Pepper Pig Profile]

Forgive my ignorance but what is a Paris goblet?

[scullion Profile]

this.
standard pub wine glass.