{"id":4700,"date":"2020-11-05T23:59:18","date_gmt":"2020-11-05T23:59:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gentianeetantoine.com\/igk\/?p=4700"},"modified":"2020-11-07T23:35:35","modified_gmt":"2020-11-07T23:35:35","slug":"what-is-it-with-new-rice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/gentianeetantoine.com\/igk\/index.php\/2020\/11\/05\/what-is-it-with-new-rice\/","title":{"rendered":"What is it with new rice???"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Japanese are big fans of \u201cnew\u201d things. \u201cnew\u201d as in newly harvested: of course there is new potatoes, but also new tea \u65b0\u8336 – shincha, new sake \u65b0\u9152 – shinshu and new rice \u65b0\u7c73 – shinkome. If you are not an aficionado of any of the above products you may not get the point of newly made, brewed or harvested, but with a little palate training you can easily make the difference and see what I am talking about below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New rice is harvested at the end of the summer until early autumn depending on region. Harvesting of rice is linked to many matsuri to celebrate so it\u2019s always a lively time of year. In Isumi, the harvest usually starts in the 3rd week of August and stretches until early September. The harvested rice is then put in husker where the chaff \u7c7e\u6bbb – momigara is removed, and you can see pile of chaff growing in field. Usually used as it is or burned to fertilize fields and kitchen gardens. And a few days later you start to see new rice bags filling the shelves of the local farmers market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every year, without fail, I would buy a bag of new rice and enjoy it in the simplest manner. Simply boiled without any addition or a simple homemade umeboshi. New rice when cooked is more translucent and has a beautiful white color and firm texture. The flavor is also more subtle, less plain than when older. The comparison with new potatoes and potatoes is the best I found to explain the difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I encourage you to buy new rice and test by yourself!!! Would you want some new rice from Isumi, post a comment or send me a message and I can arrange shipping of 1kg or 2kg bags.<\/p>\n\n\n\n