What is the Best Rice for Rice Pudding, Taste the Difference

Hey there! Have you tried the creamiest rice pudding yet? No worries, I’ll show you what is the best rice for rice pudding so you will taste and see the difference.

Origin

Rice Pudding is everywhere, you can find this awesome dessert anywhere in the world. You may have heard that rice pudding originates from China and the South Asia, because of rice being the staple food in that part of the world.

Interestingly, rice pudding is a dish that originates from Western Europe and there are tons of variants that can be prepared in so many ways as a meal and as a delicious dessert.

In some cultures, rice is boiled during the preparation method, while other cultures prefer baking it. Either way, the end result is a delicious dish that the whole family enjoys! Most importantly, it is a very simple dish to prepare.

Rice pudding is a simple mixture of rice, water and milk. In some cases, the mixture includes other ingredients and, depending on your preference, you can use different types of rice as well.

Type of Rice Used

As we already mentioned, the type of rice you use when preparing rice pudding is completely up to your preference. You can use any types of rice you desire such as white rice, brown rice, jasmine, basmati, and even red and wild rice depending on your health preferences.

One thing you should definitely never do is use instant rice.  Instant rice does not have the same quality as the regular, traditionally prepared rice.

It leaves an odd kind of aftertaste when mixed into a pudding texture. The texture of instant rice is not favorable for this type of dish.

Therefore, as long as you stay away from instant rice, you can choose which type of rice you want to use for your pudding.

Where to Cook the Rice

We are going to discuss the 5 best rice varieties used for rice pudding but before we get into that, you should know that most rice varieties will taste great in the pudding mixture as long as they are cooked tender.

To make sure that you cook the rice perfectly and according to your recipe, use a rice cooker with the best modern technologies like MiCom, IH, and Fuzzy Logic.

These are all Japanese technology that aims to make cooking way better.

There is no need to randomly check the rice while cooking, you only need to put in the correct rice to water ratio per variety and you are good to go!

What is the Best Rice for Rice Pudding – Top 5 Best Rice Varieties

Read on to find out the most common varieties used for this dish!

1. Basmati Rice – This long grain rice variety originates from East India and it is easy to prepare, whether cooked traditionally or in a rice cooker. It also gives a nutty flavor, which steps up the quality and the taste of your pudding.
2. Carolina Long Grain Rice – The Carolina Long Grain Rice is a very slim type of rice that is easy to digest and carries great nutritional values. This grain becomes slightly chewy and has a looser structure when cooked, meaning it mixes well with other rice pudding ingredients to create the right kind of pudding mixture.
3. Arborio Rice – Possibly the most common rice variety used for rice pudding, Arborio rice creates higher starch content. This type of rice has a shorter grain than the previous two types we mentioned and it is a bit more round and fat, which creates a creamier pudding structure.
4. Jasmine Rice – The Jasmine rice is one of the Thai rice varieties, which actually happens to be the most aromatic long grain type of rice out there. It also forms a stickier texture when cooked for rice pudding and it is quite soft to chew, which makes it very favorable for this type of dish.
5. Glutinous Rice – Last but not the least, this type of rice is grown in East Asia and it features opaque grains with sort of a neutral taste when cooked. It will provide a sticky texture for the pudding and the lack of specific taste will leave you space to experiment and mix other ingredients.

Rice Pudding Recipe

Now that you know what types of rice are most commonly used for rice pudding, here is a simple recipe to give the meal a try!

Ingredients

• 100 g of rice (your choice)
• 750 ml of almond milk (unsweetened)
• 4 tablespoons of honey or some jam
• 1 handful of strawberries or blueberries (you can choose some other berries)
• 1 ripe banana

Procedure

1. Mix the rice with 600 ml of almond milk
2. Add 200 ml of water to break down the structure
3. Add 4 tablespoons honey/jam inside of a rice cooker.
4. Give the mixture a nice stir until all ingredients blend in well and let it cook in the cooker for 20 minutes.
5. Add in the remaining 150 ml of almond milk in and stir well.
6. Let the pudding cool down before serving.
7. Decorate it with strawberries/blueberries and banana on top.

Other Ingredients To Try

Plain rice pudding is pretty boring, even though it can be a great dish as well. However, there are plenty of side ingredients you can add to make the dish stand out and have great and unique flavor.

Besides the blueberries, honey and banana we used in the recipe above, other ingredients you can use include:

• nutmeg
• cinnamon
• almond
• vanilla
• pistachio
• raisins
• sugar
• dates and other fruits
• Chocolate toppings or chocolate within the mixture
• Vanilla toppings

Watch this short video for a creamy and delectable rice pudding recipe!

Let’s wrap it up!

What’s great about rice pudding is that you can experiment with flavors and the texture. You can even include various ingredients that suits your taste!

If you liked our rice pudding recipe or you know other easy and delicious rice recipes, care to share in the comments below!