The first time we talked to Michael Bosworth about bringing his barely broken jasmine rice to Imperfect Foods, he was sitting atop a combine harvester in his fields.
As huge food nerds, we were super excited to open our Zoom call and see this. Here is one of our cherished supplier partners tending the fields where our food is grown! And looking at Michael’s vast fields, sunlit and stretching to the horizon, we started a big conversation about something very small: grains of rice. Broken ones, to be precise.
We first came into contact with Michael during the pandemic. Michael, a fifth-generation farmer, grows nine varieties of rice in addition to a few other crops. When we heard about all the regenerative and sustainable practices he uses on his farm, we immediately felt respect and kinship. He and his team use complex tools to reduce dependence on fertilizer and water, and are proud members of waterfowl habitat improvement programs through Natural Resources Conservation Service and The Nature Conservancy. Every action Michael and his team take is aimed at providing healthy, wholesome food to as many people as possible at this time. But they don’t compromise the future for the present. Michael keeps a focused eye on what is best for the country in the long term and delivers it in a way that will benefit future generations.
It’s only natural that Michael thinks about the future: he and his wife have three sons, ages five, seven and nine. Although the boys are still too young to help Dad operate heavy machinery, they lend a hand around the farm in other ways, and Michael is optimistic that one day they will take over what he started.
In addition to working his own fields, Michael started a company called True Origin Foods where he sells rice, popcorn and beans. Much of the rice is his own, and he also buys from a select number of other farmers who grow quality produce that he can stand behind. Some of True Origin’s largest customers are corporate headquarters of technology companies that buy vast quantities of rice to feed their employees. But during the pandemic, everyone was eating at home and companies weren’t looking for truckloads of rice. Michael had a bumper crop of great food and nowhere to go – cue the entrance music from Imperfect Foods!
We took as much of Michael’s surplus rice as we could, made it available to our customers, and watched with glee as it flew off our digital shelves.
With a successful first collaboration under our belts, we decided to take things to the next level with an exclusive to imperfect product: barely off-white jasmine rice.
When it comes to rice, how broken is too broken?
In the US, rice can only be considered #1 quality – a perfect product without imperfections – if it contains no more than 4% broken grains. This standard is intended to ensure quality, but due to the equipment available to U.S. rice farmers and producers, it is quite difficult to achieve.
Most of the rice grown in California is short grain, think sushi rice. These grains are small, round and springy, and somewhat shaped like a lemon. But jasmine rice grains are longer and thinner, more like a banana. Because much of California’s rice is short-grain, the equipment is tailored to that variety. So if you send banana-shaped rice through a machine designed to grind lemon-shaped grains, it doesn’t always come out in one piece. Jasmine rice grains are broken more quickly than sushi rice grains, leaving farmers with more than the allowed 4% breakage.
Even after sorting the broken grains, much of this rice doesn’t make it to the coveted portion of US #1 rice (which can often sell for a higher price). But the thing is: a few broken kernels don’t change much in terms of taste and mouthfeel. The rice Michael has on hand has a breakage rate closer to 10% – think 10 out of 100 grains. That means at least 90 out of 100 kernels are perfectly whole, and when our team searched Michael’s rice, we couldn’t find a single cracked kernel. So why should this nutritious rice go to waste?
We say this is not allowed. While talking to Michael atop his rice combine, we decided to team up to bring you Barely Broken White Jasmine Rice. Its delicious, nutty flavor is the perfect addition to stews, curries and stir-fries, and you can feel good knowing that it has been grown in idyllic conditions and cared for by careful farmers.
Look at where your rice was raised
One of the great things about shopping at Imperfect Foods is that you connect with where your food comes from. When you purchase our Barely Broken White Jasmine Rice, you can see exactly what condition your rice was grown in.
Depending on the region, your rice may have shared a home with migratory birds, soaked in the heat of late summer, or traded places with a crawfish. Imagine what he saw on his journey to you!
Turn over your package of White Jasmine Rice and check the lot code to find the state abbreviation.
Here’s a glimpse into your rice’s past life.
In California…
- 500,000 hectares of rice are planted annually by farms across the state
- The most (85%) is Calrose, beloved by sushi chefs and restaurateurs from coast to coast
- Only a small percentage is jasmine
- As a member of waterfowl habitat improvement programs, Michael floods his rice fields in the winter to help decompose remaining straw and create habitat for migratory birds!
In Louisiana…
- 400,000 hectares of rice are planted annually by farms across the state
- Most are long grain with some medium grain and some jasmine
- Due to the warm climate, many South Louisiana growers get two harvests per year
- Fields often alternate between growing rice and flooding them for crawfish production
In Missouri…
- 180,000 hectares of rice are planted annually by farms across the state
- Most are long grained with some specialty varieties such as jasmine
- Migratory birds love the Mississippi Flyway rice fields and make them their home
How to cook jasmine rice
Now that you have a delicious jasmine rice in your hands and have been dreaming about its past, you are probably hungry for the perfect jasmine rice recipe. Search no further.
The ideal ratio of jasmine rice to water is 2 to 3. This means that for 2 cups of rice you need 3 cups of water (or stock). If you use less than 2 cups of rice, divide the amount of rice you use by 2/3 (or 0.66) to get the amount of water you need.
All that math is confusing, so here’s a handy guide:
Jasmine rice to water ratio
½ cup rice + ¾ cup water yields → 1 ¼ cup cooked rice
1 cup of rice + 1 ½ cups of water yields → 2 ½ cups of cooked rice
2 cups of rice + 3 cups of water yields → 5 cups of cooked rice
And whether you cook on the stove, in a rice cooker or in an Instant Pot, here’s how to make perfect jasmine rice every time.
Ingredients:
½ cup Imperfect Foods White Jasmine Rice
¾ cups water or broth
1 ½ teaspoons butter or oil (optional)
To make jasmine rice on stovetop:
1. Rinse your rice thoroughly.
2. Combine rice, water or stock, and butter or oil (if using) in a pot. Bring to a boil and cover.
3. Once it boils, reduce the heat to low and let it cook for 15 minutes with the lid on.
4. Remove from the heat (keep the lid on!) and let steam for another 10 minutes.
5. Loosen it with a fork and taste it. If it’s not quite tender enough, add 1-2 tablespoons of liquid and turn the heat on for another 10 minutes, or until done.
To make a rice cooker or Instant Pot Jasmine Rice:
1. Rinse your rice thoroughly.
2. Add rice, water or stock, and butter or oil (if using) to your Instant Pot.
3. Close the lid and turn the vent knob to the shut-off position.
4. Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes, then let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes.
5. Turn the bleed knob to the bleed position to release any remaining pressure.
6. Open the lid and loosen it with a fork before serving.
Your rice is ready to dance with stir-fry or enjoy a curry. May we suggest Rice bowls with salmon and cucumber, Pumpkin and broccoli curryor Easy fried rice?
Better yet, bring your rice all the way home and cook one of Michael’s favorite Bosworth family recipes: Jasmine Rice Salad with Spicy Shrimp.
Imperfect Foods Barely Broken White Jasmine Rice can be found exclusively on our website. Enjoy and have a rice day!
Reference By: blog.imperfectfoods.com
