Are you confused between Jasmine Rice and White Rice? Well, we will help you understand the differences between the two so that you can pick the one that suits you.
Learning to use new and beneficial foods can be considered a way to express oneself at meals, especially for those individuals who enjoy eating or are conscious of what they eat. It’s valuable for exploring different flavors and characteristics in a range of cuisines.
Given its many appealing forms, color, and flavors, rice is a great fundamental food item to have in the kitchen. It is a versatile ingredient that could be cooked, pounded into rice flour, or even used to complement tasty dishes.
This widely used grain is grown practically on all continents. Typically rice is categorized per grain size. White rice and jasmine rice are two excellent varieties of long-grain rice. In this blog, we shall discuss and evaluate jasmine and white rice.
About Jasmine Rice
The most popular choice in Thailand and parts of Southeast Asia is jasmine rice, which has a mild fragrance. This fragrant, long-grained rice is served with fish and curries. It has flowery notes.
Jasmine rice comes in two variants that are white and brown variants, like other kinds of rice, though the brown kind has been acclaimed as having more nutritional content. This is due to the fact that white rice loses much of its nutrition such as fibers when bran, husk and germ are removed during processing.
About White Rice
American diets tend to include traditional white rice more often, yet for extra convenience, numerous homes now turn to instant rice. White rice is more refined and has slightly more carbs.
White rice does have a longer shelf life and thus is less likely to rot over long durations. The grains of rice are polished, giving a shining, luminous appearance in addition to giving a whiter shade.
Due to the loss of various nutrients and a tad higher glycemic index score, the texture is less nutty and perhaps other nutrients are also lost. The GI index of white rice is around 67.
Let’s Compare
Let us evaluate jasmine rice and white rice on different grounds as follows:
Nutrition
According to many cooks, steaming jasmine rice enhances the flavor and reduces unwelcomed stickiness. More than five grams of high protein content plus levels of vitamins like thiamin, and niacin ( also known as vitamins B1 and B3), which aid in turning food into energy, can be present in a single cup of jasmine rice, moreover to its peculiar texture and flavor. Single-cup of brown jasmine rice also contains other vital minerals like phosphate, phosphorus, and magnesium.
Whilst white jasmine rice has a respectable amount of calories and carbs, it is deficient in good fats, satisfying fiber, and vital vitamins and minerals. A healthy diet and the maintenance of biological functions both depend on a sufficient intake of specific minerals and vitamins, which are found in abundance in brown jasmine rice. In contrast to white jasmine rice, it contains 2% of your regular intake of iron and is relatively high in vitamins B1 and B3.
With four grams of protein content and additional thiamin, folic acid, niacin, and iron, a single cup of white rice contains the same kind of nutrients as jasmine rice. Use water that is boiling hot to cook it. White rice has fewer calories and carbs than other grains, but it doesn’t have any fiber, vitamins, or other nutritious constituents.
Cooking
As a side dish for grilled and cooked meat, jasmine rice has frequently been favored in stir-fry preparations. Even though it’s safer to avoid using jasmine for fried rice meals as it may turn overly soggy in this application, it’s great in stews and rich curry recipes.
White rice is ideal for frying owing to its shorter, stauncher consistency opposed to jasmine rice. Alongside veggies, it goes perfectly as a plain side dish with meat, chicken, and seafood. Furthermore, white rice is widely used in desserts like horchata as well as tapioca pudding.
Beauty
For many years, particularly among Asian women, rice water has been utilized in skin care as well as other cosmetic routines. The Yao ladies of Huanglao, a village in China, are noted for cleaning their hair with the jasmine rice water that is left aside post cooking. As the ‘world’s longest hair town’ where people don’t detect gray hairs before they’re in their late eighties, the community was even listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. The women wash their hair with fermented rice water to maintain its vitality and beauty; this is also intended to keep hair devoid of knots.
Similar to jasmine rice, white rice is used for many beauty tricks. It works well, especially, on eczema, rashes, acne, and even sunburn pain. Antioxidants with nourishing and anti-inflammatory characteristics, notably ferulic acid as well as allantoin, are the magic elements.
What to Prefer – Jasmine Rice Vs White Rice
Both standard white rice as well as brown jasmine rice have nutritional benefits and perhaps even cosmetic benefits. Furthermore, both are easily available gluten-free carbs for people having Celiac disease, wheat sensitivities, or gluten intolerance.
Natural oils found in jasmine rice also assist in lowering cholesterol and diabetes. Among other eatables likes blueberries and such fruits, it also scores highly for its antioxidant benefits.
It has been noted that brown jasmine rice has been one source of arsenic, despite being an excellent option. Arsenic in trace concentrations need not be dangerous to people. However, women in particular need to exercise caution as increased level can be dangerous for reproductive health.
In some aspects, brown jasmine rice can be better for you than white jasmine rice. Fiber and protein levels are typically higher.
Still, compared to white jasmine rice, brown jasmine rice has a higher caloric value. This implies that having it will cause a person to feel full for an extended span but it won’t ever prevent people from reaching the weight loss goal if they intend to do so.
Brown jasmine rice can be safely used by people on caloric diets, and they may consider it to be a better and more filling option to have than low-nutrient white rice.
Who Wins?
After knowing and considering the good and bad points about white rice and jasmine rice, it can be concluded that the healthier option is jasmine for being nutritionally denser, whereas one can opt for white when considering a longer life span.
