With the grain

I ADORE rice for myriad reasons. Apart from being a basic cupboard staple, this little grain comes in a number of varieties, shapes, flavours and textures which lend themselves to an endless selection of both sweet and savoury uses.

The creamy rice pudding of my childhood, with its bubbly golden skin, was my first introduction to rice; sweet rice is still a favourite but that was only the beginning. I can't quite remember when I first tasted rice as an accompaniment to a savoury dish; certainly, I was in my teens. Our meals at home would always have included the much-loved potato.

Rice is grown not just in Asia but also in the US, Brazil, Peru and Ecuador, Guyana, Surinam, Spain, Italy, Iran, Madagascar, Egypt, several African countries and Australia. There are thousands of varieties but, as with many other plants, the number in commercial cultivation is quite small. However, farmers in many countries still continue to grow low yielding varieties for their flavour and texture. Seed banks around the world are also doing their utmost to save endangered varieties for posterity. They may well be needed in the future if the main crops become diseased.