The Great Basmati Lie

'Basmati, Basmati, Basmati. If it ain't basmati I ain't eating it' 

The world is obsessed with basmati rice. The king of grains, the longest rice, the healthiest with the most flavour and aroma.  

Many rice brands will bathe you in the idea that their grains are handpicked by generations old farmers, on the high hills surrounded by snow covered peaks of the himalayas. That their basmati rice is grown in the nutriant rich soil of North Asia fed by cool, crisp glacial water. It all sounds rather lovely.... like a story told by your grandmother. 

Truth is, I've been to India - to the fields where 99% of all basmati rice is grown and the reality is a little less fairytail..ish. There were no mountains or rolling hills covered in rice plants. In reality rice is one of the most labour intensive foods to grow, period. Each plant needs to be planted, by hand in a field, a rather big one. Ever tried gardening yourself during Summer and you'll know it's back breaking work. 

Then comes the extreme water usage. To grow one kilo of rice, up to 5000 litres of freshwater is needed (40% more then wheat). Add this up and rice farming astonishingly is responsible for using 40% of the world's irrigated water each year.  And remember this is often grown in areas where access to drinking water is a luxury. 

Are you actually eating basmati? 

Basmati is a particular species of rice grown in a certain geographic location. Normally the very North West tip where India meets Pakistan. Despite all the claims that basmati rice is healthier for you, significantly longer then other types & whiter the only real difference is the aroma it produces in it's cooked/uncooked forms. 

And since I'm on a roll, lets dispel some other myths.....

Basmati is healthier then other rice

NOPE! It may have something called low GI and next to no cholesterol but so does every other rice grain across the globe. Should you want 'healthy' rice, ask for Parboiled or Sella rice as the process of manufacture removes lots of starchy fats. 

Basmati is much longer then others

Not necessarily. True god honest basmati rice has a code given to it called, 1121. However there exists a rice called 1509 (a GM creation) that grows even longer. Sorry. 

If it says Basmati on the pack, that's what I get.

Sorry to the bearer of bad news but it's unlikely. Due to the quantity of rice produced and eaten across the world, rice is traded like a stock or share. Prices change hourly and can fluctuate up to 60% in the space of a few months. As Basmati is the most expensive non-organic species of rice to buy profit hungry rice companies will change the % of basmati rice in their bags so their margins are kept nice and large. The result is a bag of basmati rice containing on average 70% true basmati and the rest a concoction of other cheaper 'filler' non-basmati rice. Busted! 

SO HOW IS KING OF BASMATI DIFFERENT? 

Consistency & Quality. As we are the growers, millers, distributors of King of Basmati - we know what goes into every bag. We control it and more importantly we do it using our own standards (and not of the industry). Every bag you receive from day 1 onwards is the same. And every bag is guaranteed to cook, taste and smell perfect. Now that's something our competitors can't lie about.