Cooking jasmine rice lends a heady, floral aroma to the air that is quite unlike other cooking smells. Originally grown in Thailand, this long-grain sticky rice steams well. While traditionally used in Asian cooking, try serving it alone so you can appreciate the subtle taste without competing flavors on your palate. Nutritional values are similar to basmati rice.
Fat and Calories
A 1/4 cup of both brown and white uncooked jasmine rice has approximately 160 calories and 2 g fat. Slight variations exist, depending upon what brand you purchase. If calories are your only consideration, it does not matter whether you purchase brown or white jasmine rice. This size serving will not damage your efforts to maintain a healthy weight.
Protein
Differences between brown and white jasmine rice become apparent when you consider the protein content of the rice, as 1/4 cup brown jasmine rice has 4 g protein and the same amount of white jasmine rice has only 3 g. However, unless you are protein deprived, this difference is not significant. Other foods are needed in your diet to supply your protein needs.
Fiber
Brown jasmine rice has 2 g of dietary fiber; this is a significant improvement over its white counterpart, which has no fiber. In addition to preventing constipation, a diet high in fiber minimizes the risk of colon cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. For this reason, the Harvard School of Public Health recommends that people consume 14 g of fiber for every 1,000 calories they eat. Brown jasmine rice far exceeds the suggested fiber-to-calories ratio.
Iron
While both brown and white jasmine rice lack calcium, vitamin A and vitamin C, 1/4 cup of uncooked rice supplies between 6 and 10 percent of the recommended daily allowance of iron. Different brands have varying amounts of iron; neither white nor brown is consistently associated with higher levels of iron. Iron is important because it is involved in transporting oxygen from the lungs to other areas of the body where it is needed. This is why people with anemia easily become fatigued and breathless.
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