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White rice is the name given to milled rice
Rice

Rice is a staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in tropical Latin America, and East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia, making it the second-most consumed cereal grain, after maize....
 that has had its husk
Husk

Husk in botany is the outer shell or coating of a seed....
, bran
Bran

Bran is the hard outer layer of grain and consists of combined aleurone and pericarp. Along with cereal germ, it is an integral part of whole grains, and is often produced as a by-product of milling in the production of refined grains....
, and germ
Cereal germ

The germ of a cereal is the reproductive part that germinates to grow into a plant; it is the embryo of the seed....
 removed. This is done largely to prevent spoilage and to extend the storage life of the grain. After milling, the rice is polished, resulting in a seed with a bright, white, shiny appearance.

The polishing process removes important nutrients. A diet based on unenriched white rice leaves people vulnerable to the neurological disease beriberi
Beriberi

Beriberi is a nervous system ailment caused by a deficiency of thiamine in the Diet . Thiamine is involved in the breakdown of energy molecules such as glucose, and is also found on the Cell membrane of neurons....
, due to a deficiency of thiamine
Thiamine

'Thiamine', or 'thiamin', sometimes called aneurin, is a water-soluble vitamin of the B complex , whose phosphate derivatives are involved in many cellular processes....
 (vitamin B1).






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White rice is the name given to milled rice
Rice

Rice is a staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in tropical Latin America, and East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia, making it the second-most consumed cereal grain, after maize....
 that has had its husk
Husk

Husk in botany is the outer shell or coating of a seed....
, bran
Bran

Bran is the hard outer layer of grain and consists of combined aleurone and pericarp. Along with cereal germ, it is an integral part of whole grains, and is often produced as a by-product of milling in the production of refined grains....
, and germ
Cereal germ

The germ of a cereal is the reproductive part that germinates to grow into a plant; it is the embryo of the seed....
 removed. This is done largely to prevent spoilage and to extend the storage life of the grain. After milling, the rice is polished, resulting in a seed with a bright, white, shiny appearance.

The polishing process removes important nutrients. A diet based on unenriched white rice leaves people vulnerable to the neurological disease beriberi
Beriberi

Beriberi is a nervous system ailment caused by a deficiency of thiamine in the Diet . Thiamine is involved in the breakdown of energy molecules such as glucose, and is also found on the Cell membrane of neurons....
, due to a deficiency of thiamine
Thiamine

'Thiamine', or 'thiamin', sometimes called aneurin, is a water-soluble vitamin of the B complex , whose phosphate derivatives are involved in many cellular processes....
 (vitamin B1). White rice is often enriched with some of the nutrients stripped from it during its processing. Enrichment of white rice with B1
Thiamine

'Thiamine', or 'thiamin', sometimes called aneurin, is a water-soluble vitamin of the B complex , whose phosphate derivatives are involved in many cellular processes....
, B3
Niacin

Niacin, also known as vitamin B3, is a water-soluble vitamin which prevents the Nutrition disorder pellagra. It is an organic compound with the chemical formula C6H5NO2....
, and iron
Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. Iron is a Group 8 element and period 4 element. Iron is lustrous and silvery in color....
 is required by law in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
.

At various times, starting in the 19th century, many have advocated brown rice
Brown rice

Brown rice is Huller or partly milled rice, a kind of whole grain, a natural grain that remains unbleached. It has a mild nutty flavor, is chewier than white rice and becomes rancidification more quickly....
 or wild rice
Wild rice

Wild rice is any of the four species of plants that make up the genus Zizania , a group of Poaceae that grow in shallow water in small lakes and slow-flowing streams; often, only the flowering head of wild rice rises above the water....
 as healthier alternatives. The bran in brown rice contains significant dietary fiber
Dietary fiber

Dietary fiber, sometimes called "roughage", is the indigestible portion of plant foods that pushes food through the digestive system, absorbing water and easing defecation....
 and the germ contains many vitamins and minerals. (See whole grain
Whole grain

Whole grains are cereal that contain bran and cereal germ as well as the endosperm, in contrast to refined grains, which retain only the endosperm....
.) This is in contrast to the traditional view of brown rice, where it was associated with poverty and famine.

The simile
Simile

A simile is a figure of speech comparing two unlike things, often introduced with the word "like" or "as". Even though similes and metaphors are both forms of comparison, similes allow the two ideas to remain distinct in spite of their similarities, whereas metaphors seek to equate two ideas despite their differences....
 "like white on rice" comes from the bright, light color of white rice.

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See also

  • Parboiled rice
    Parboiled rice

    Parboiled rice is rice that has been boiled in the husk. Parboiling makes rice easier to process by hand, improves its nutritional profile, and changes its texture....