Black - Purple Rice

YES! I’M “THE ROYAL” AND “THE FORBIDDEN”

We love to eat!! Tasty, new, rich, heavenly foods are what we prefer in reality. Otherwise, food markets around the world would not be ruling us now. But when our health is at stake, we are willingly or unwillingly backing out from consuming as per our wish. Dieticians prescribe diet with more fruits and vegetables and reduced carbohydrates. Is it really the only solution? No! Some natural sources exists around us that can compete with different health properties of fruits and vegetables.

BLACK - PURPLE RICE

Among different cereal crops, rice (Oryza sativa L.) is an inevitable one as it is not only a staple food for a large population, but also a major ingredient in many foods. White, red, brown – are some of its few varieties that are used commonly, with their own health properties. Then what makes a black-purple rice stand out from its family? Then how is it possible to call them “the forbidden” then??
From past centuries, our ancestors cultivated black rice for consumption, especially in the regions of ancient China. But this peculiar rice variety was said to be reserved for the Emperor and royal family to ensure health and longevity naming it as “Emperor’s rice”.

Since it was forbidden to the subjects, they named it as “the forbidden rice”. Still people are using black rice in different parts of Asia (mainly China) for the

preparation of many palatable food products. ‘Kokushimai’ is the commercial name given for black - purple rice in Japan. These are also known as “prized rice, imperial rice, king’s rice or heaven rice”. On cooking, the black or dark purple color mostly reduces to a lighter shade transforming them to an eye-appealing color and its nutty flavor of this rice variety is a reason why people are now showing more interest.

Apart from the sensory attributes, the health benefits of black rice are remarkable. Similar to grapes, blueberries, cherries, purple cabbage, etc, black-purple

rice contains some health promoting compounds like anthocyanins, carotenoids, and so on. People rely on fruits and vegetables mostly because they contain attractive color pigments like purple color of beetroot (betacyanin), red colored tomato (lycopene), orange color of carrot and red color of ripe red pepper, (carotene) – are few names on the list. Anthocyanins present in black rice are not only providing alluring color, but also a powerful antioxidant, anti-cancerous, anti-diabetic and anti-inflammation activities. Additionally, studies says that black rice bran has a positive impact on skin due to its high antioxidant activity.

High protein content, low carbohydrates, presence of strong antioxidant and other health promoting factors

when compared to others in Oryza family. When most of the cereals contain gluten, black rice gluten-free and low in sugar and fat. All these properties are more than enough to make black-purple rice a better option for consumers who are health conscious.

Crops like black rice are not just a topic for us to cover through. Instead, we should make others aware of such exotic food crops and also make use of them maximum. We can replace many synthetic colors and food additives with black rice, as they can itself act as a colored food and can provide color to its soaked water and other food; replacing them with usual carbs bring better health benefits; new innovative foods can be developed with high sensory profile and replacing many glutinous ingredients of junk foods can also be done using better cereal options like black-purple rice. It is high time we bring at least a small modification in our food and life-style; a better tomorrow is awaiting us.

Now, why shouldn’t we eat what we wish!!!

Reference

Pereira-Caro, G., Watanabe, S., Crozier, A., Fujimura, T., Yokota, T. and Ashihara, H., 2013. Phytochemical profile of a Japanese black–purple rice. Food Chemistry, 141(3), pp.2821-2827.
Kushwaha, U.K.S., 2016. Black rice. In Black Rice (pp. 21-47). Springer, Cham.