Grown in Thailand, jasmine rice gets its name for the fragrant jasmine scent it produces while being cooked. Black jasmine rice, while not as prevalent as the white and brown varieties, adds more vibrant color to meals, but it also provides additional health benefits, as well.
Identification
A form of long-grain rice, black jasmine rice retains its outer layer of black bran, which normally gets removed during processing to produce white jasmine rice. Because the black bran remains in place, black jasmine rice doesn't stick together like other jasmine varieties. Black jasmine rice possesses a sweet, nutty flavor and soft texture, turning a deep purple when cooked.
Uses
In Thailand, people seldom eat black jasmine rice on its own as part of the main meal. Instead, they season black jasmine rice with sugar and coconut milk, enjoying it as a snack or dessert. Black jasmine rice may also be added to dishes to provide additional flavor and color.
Features
According to BlackRice.com, a nonprofit website dedicated to spreading the word about black rice, one serving size of 1/4 cup of uncooked black rice contains 160 calories, 1.5 g of fat, 34 g of carbohydrates, 2 g of fiber and 7.5 g of protein. Black rice also contains calcium, iron, niacin, potassium and zinc.
Benefits
Black jasmine rice owes its coloring to a mix of flavonoid anthocyanin antioxidants, which have shown promise in fighting heart disease, cancer and other ailments. In fact, while speaking at a meeting of the American Chemical Society, Dr. Zhimin Xu of Louisiana State University, stated a spoonful of black rice provides all the same health benefits as a spoonful of blueberries, except without the sugar and with even more fiber and vitamin E antioxidants.
Function
A study published in the "Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry" revealed that black rice bran may also be able to suppress skin inflammation. Researchers from the Department of Biological Sciences for Ajou University in Korea conducted a study in which they fed mice a regular diet with an additional 10 percent black rice bran. The mice demonstrated a significant suppression of allergic contact dermatitis, while mice fed a normal diet without the black rice bran showed no such resistance. This could lead to black rice bran treatments to prevent allergic reactions and other diseases featuring chronic inflammation, as well as the production of anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic food additives.
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