Black Rice - Intriguing?

We've all heard of white rice and brown rice but what about Black rice?

This rice is originally from Asia yet not really black but more of a deep purplish color, giving a dark shade. It has been commonly used as a condiments or as decoration for meals and desserts.

Black rice is rich in iron and fiber, but what is more important is its richness with antioxidants that fight free radicals, helping your body stay young, healthy and disease free! According to a study presented at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), “one spoonful of black rice bran contains more antioxidants than a spoonful of blueberries." And knowing that blueberries has been the talk of antioxidant-interest communities, this is quite the break through! "Black rice offers more fibers and vitamin E antioxidants, but less sugar than blueberries.” I love it already!

Here are some more facts about black rice brought from Blackrice.com

• One serving of Black rice (1/4 c.) provides 1.5 g of fat, 2 g of fiber and 34 g of carbohydrate and 160 calories.
• Black rice takes slightly longer time to cook than white rice and needs two cups of water of each cup of rice. It will take around 25-30 minutes to completely cook.
• Most grocery stores do not yet carry black rice, but you may find it at an Asian market. It can also be ordered online.
• Black rice is used in a number of products ranging from flour, black rice chocolate, noodles, tea, milk and soaps and skin creams.
• In ancient times, black rice was considered a rare commodity and only reserved for royalty, in fact even stealing a handful of black rice was punishable by death.