John Noble farms just south of Port Gibson at Melton. While Noble is considered a good crop farmer of corn, soybeans and sometimes cotton, he is probably best known around Claiborne County for his duck hunting skills and for sharing some of his freshly harvested fowl with his friends for a good duck gumbo. 

I value the times I get to talk with him about how his crops are getting along, and I can always count on him at this time of year to give me an accurate report on duck hunting. The other night, as he and I were talking, Noble brought up a good question about a side dish that his wife, Sarah, planned to serve alongside the ducks — rice. It seemed that Sarah had preferred to serve brown rice for its higher nutritional value, but instead had to settle for white for the sake of availability.

John wanted to know if the brown rice was nutritionally different from white rice.

It occurred to both of us that there may be many of the readers of this column who enjoy rice as a side-item or the foundation for gumbo and who have similar questions about the product itself. After all, rice is pretty diverse.

Worldwide, there are more than 120,000 different varieties of rice, though only a small number offer the quality acceptable for commercial growth in the United States. Did you know that 50 percent of the rice grown in the United States is produced in Arkansas? The Mississippi Delta is also a significant producer of rice. Varieties can be divided into long, medium and short grain. An increasing number of sweet, aromatic varieties are also produced in the United States. Those are referred to as rice types. 

Different degrees of rice processing determine what’s referred to as forms. For example, rough rice is rice as it comes from the field. Rice kernels are still encased in an inedible, protective hull.

Brown rice has the outer hull removed, but retains the bran layers that give it a tan color, chewy texture and nutty flavor. Retaining the nutrient-dense bran layer makes brown rice a 100-percent whole grain food, rich in minerals and vitamins, especially the B-complex group. Because of the extra thickness of the grain, it requires more cooking time than white rice.

Regular-milled white rice has the outer husk removed, and the layers of bran milled away down to the white seed. Most U.S. rice is enriched after milling, though. White rice might even be further processed as parboiled, which means it has gone through a steam-pressure process before milling. This procedure gelatinizes the starch in the grain and ensures a firmer, more separate grain.

Both brown and white rice are available precooked, meaning completely cooked and dehydrated. Sometimes these are called quick-cooking or instant. Precooked rice really just needs re-hydration and heating and can be prepared fast.

According to the USA Rice Federation, both brown rice and white rice are about equally nutritious, as both whole grains and enriched grains are important to a balanced diet. Perhaps that might be an excuse to get another duck supper — the next time with a side of brown rice.

John C. Coccaro is county Extension director. Write to him at 1100-C Grove St., Vicksburg, MS 39180 or call 601-636-5442. E-mail him at jcoccaro@ext.msstate.edu