Lundberg rice - favourite varieties and recipes

[Gooseberry]

I bought my first bag of Lundberg rice, white basmati. However, I was a little disappointed with it - it seems less perfumed than the basmati from Asia we usually buy, and a bit soft and mushy. Maybe I overcooked it?

Anyway, I'm trying to decide whether I should invest in some of their other types of rice -the short sweet brown rice looks interesting.

Any Lundberg fans out there? which type is your favourite, and what do you do with it?

[dfrostnh]

We buy the brown rice blends when we started low-fat, higher fiber diets. Plain brown rice seems to bland to us but the Lundberg mixes have a variety of textures and tastes. Seems more flavorful to us. There is more than one variety packaged but we don't have a favorite. I recommend Lundberg brown rice mixes to anyone who doesn't think they like brown rice.

[Gooseberry]

I became interested after Saveur had a whole special piece on brown rice, I think two months ago. Reminded me of all the things you can do with it, and how, like any food, it has its own nuances and variations in flavour, texture, etc.

[Calipoutine]

Did you order the brown rice that saveur recomended? I had it in my "shopping cart" but backed out at the last minute. I hate paying for shipping.

[Gooseberry]

I'm totally with you on the shipping thing! I can be very excited about whatever I'm purchasing, but the shipping price feels like a total grudge purchase.

[Calipoutine]

I love those brown rice blends too. CI did a story on basmati rice and they said that the best basmatis come from India. Stay away from domestic basmati.

[MMRuth]

I sometimes use Texmati "basmati", and while it's not as good as Indian basmati, I think it's pretty good. I also like their brown basmati.

[Gooseberry]

Did CI say what they considered the characteristics of a good basmati? I'm assuming it's to do with scent/flavour, and a firm, non-mushy texture.

[Calipoutine]

Here is what they said

"Prized for its nutty flavor and sweet aroma, basmati rice is eaten worldwide in pilafs and biryanis and as an accompaniment to curries. The best Indian-grown rice is said to come from the Himalaya foothills, where the snow-flooded soil and humid climate offer ideal growing conditions. Choosing among the multitude of boxes, bags, and burlap sacks available today on supermarket shelves can be confusing. To find a truly great grain, we steamed seven brands, five from India and two domestic options. Matched against Indian imports, domestic brands Lundberg and Della suffered. They were less aromatic, and the grains didn't elongate as much. Their overall texture was
mushy, too. While all of the imported brands were acceptable, tasters overwhelmingly chose the longest sample—Tilda—as their favorite. "

[Gooseberry]

thanks for sharing, calipoutine.

[Cheese Boy]

Lundberg has a very good short grain brown rice that's best used in soups. I like using it in a chicken based soup with napa cabbage. A great hearty meal come winter.

Similar to you, I recently purchased Carolina brand basmati rice (from India) and I too found it paled in comparison to most of the other Indian rices I've had. No fragrance, no nutty flavor. The texture, oh my. Why do I bother?