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Black rice, also known as purple rice or forbidden rice, is a range of rice types of the species Oryza sativa, some of which are glutinous rice.
There are several varieties of black rice available today. These include Indonesian black rice, Philippine Heirloom plant balatinaw black rice and pirurutong black glutinous rice, and Thai jasmine black rice. It is also known as chak-hao in Manipur, India and as "kavuni arisi" or "kavuni rice" in Tamil Nadu, India.
The bran hull (outermost layer) of black rice contains one of the highest levels of anthocyanin pigment found in food. The grain has a similar amount of Dietary fiber to brown rice and like brown rice, has a mild, nutty taste.
Black rice has a deep black color and usually turns deep purple when cooked. Its dark purple color is primarily due to its anthocyanin content, which is higher by weight than that of other colored grains. It is suitable for creating porridge, dessert, traditional Chinese black rice cake, bread, and .
The blackness trait occurred from alteration of a gene called Kala4, which activates the production of anthocyanin pigments. The black tropical japonica gene may have spread into rice subspecies via natural transfer of genes through introgression and by plant breeding for the black trait.
History
In marketing, black rice may be called "forbidden rice", based on claims that it was once reserved for Chinese royalty. Its rarity, nutritional value, and low yield may have contributed to its association with privilege and imperial use in ancient China.
See also
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