Dainty, formerly Mount Royal Rice Mills, was founded in Montreal in 1882, on the edge of the Lachine canal, by Robert Reford, an Irish immigrant. Reford adventurously sourced rice in the Orient, South East Asia, Europe and South America. The Dainty Brand was created for the post-war consumer in 1947 when consumer packaged goods became popular. Loyal to its origins, Dainty provides consumers with a huge variety of rices sourced all over the world and visually guides you to travel to rice origins with its packaging. Dainty also supplies a large number of food service companies and manufacturers with rice and rice flour, as it has done since its beginnings. Dainty remains Canada’s only rice mill, and continues to source, mill, clean, package and distribute over 40,000 metric tons of the highest-quality rice each year, proudly.
Our rice is certified by Non-GMO Project, through Food Chain ID.
In basic language this means the DNA, or natural genetic make-up, of the rice seed has not been tampered with. GMO crops have had a trait from another plant inserted into their DNA to provide the now genetically modified seeds with an attribute they did not have naturally.
While our rice is naturally gluten-free, the Dainty mill is a certified gluten-free facility without risk of cross-contamination, certified under the Gluten Free Certification Program (GFCP) and endorsed by the Canadian Celiac Association.
Every grain starts life as a whole grain, as the term refers to the entire seed of the plant, including the bran, germ, and endosperm. Brown rice is an intact whole grain, with just the inedible outer hull removed. White rice is the same grain, with the hull, bran layer and cereal germ removed. For this reason, brown rice has greater nutritional value than white rice as its remaining bran layer contains prominent levels of magnesium, fiber, iron and B vitamins.
Bran: rough and hard outer layer which protects the seed and contains fiber, minerals, and antioxidants.
Germ: The nutrient-rich core containing carbs, fat, protein, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other plant compounds.
Endosperm: this is the largest part of the grain, which consists almost entirely of carbohydrates and a small amount of protein.
Rice is a crop, a natural product :
In some cultures the rice is soaked before cooking to soften the grain, reducing breakage when it is handled and served – but this is not necessary, just a preference for some.
Pilaf, sometimes known as Pilau, Pulao or Pellao, some say is the Middle East’s and India’s major contribution to world cuisine; where, usually basmati, rice is cooked in flavoured stock with spices, typically having added meat or vegetables.
You’ve heard it said they’ve found rice in the pyramids? Well, it was likely very dry and would not have had much flavor, but was probably still edible. White rice can technically keep for years if well stored. However, brown rice will go rancid after some time even if kept in perfect conditions. The natural oil in the germ, or brown covering on the rice, will give off an unpleasant odor and will taste even worse.
Brown rice has a higher oil content than white rice as it retains its bran layer where the oil resides. Oxidization of the essential fatty acids within this layer is what causes brown rice to go bad . For this reason you can slow the process by keeping brown in a glass jar in your fridge, especially if you don’t eat it very often. You will know if it is rancid just by the smell, and it will taste even worse.
Kedgeree is a British word borrowed from the Hindi word ‘kitchri’ or Farsi word ‘kichiri’, both meaning cooking rice with other ingredients. In Victorian England, it became a breakfast recipe consisting of rice with cooked flaked fish, served either hot or cold.
Oryza sativa is the classification name for what the Western world refers to as rice. It contains two sub-categories, ‘Japonica’ for the shorter, stickier grains and ‘Indica’ for the long grain varieties. The origins of this classification are from a genus of perennial grass that originated in India, Thailand, and southern China. All the Dainty kinds of rice except for wild rice fall under this classification.
Wild rice describes 4 different species of grass, 3 are native to North America and 1 to China, all classified under the genus Zizania. Wild rice has a chewy outer sheath and a dense inside grain that is rich in nutrients. It grows in shallow water on short stalks. Wild rice grains are high in antioxidants, proteins minerals, vitamins, and dietary fiber. This rice is so good that various aquatic animals also use it as a food source.
Steaming is the preferred cooking technique for sticky rice and also for some low-amylose kinds of rice (amylose is a long, straight starch molecule that does not gelatinize during cooking). The rice is usually soaked in water first, then drained. The grains are then put in a special steaming basket of spread out in a flat steamer. The basket or steamer is placed over a pot or wok of boiling water. The rice does not touch the water; it is cooked only by the steam.
Rice absorbs humidity, and salt will attract humidity if it is present. The size of rice grains won’t pass through the salt shaker head, making it a great way to keep your salt from clumping and not having dry rice sprinkled all over your plate!
