Choosing
the right rice.
Rice is the staple food for
Asians.
Currently, many ethnic groups tend to eat rice. However, how much do we know
about rice? As an entrepreneur invited by the Ministry of Commerce of Thailand
to involve in Thaiflex, the largest international trade exhibition of food and
agricultural industry in Thailand, one question that many visitors usually ask
is what the difference between Hom Mali and Jasmine rice is. Actually, Hom Mali
rice is the original Thai name of Jasmine rice. Nevertheless, after
execution of the new Thailand agricultural standard, Jasmine rice without
mixing with other rice varieties is addressed as Hom Mali rice, which confuses
customers. Thus,
the objective of this article is to explain difference between Hom Mali and
Jasmine rice.
To begin with,
according to Georges Giraud, food marketing professor from France, fragrant
rice is classified as a premium product in the rice market because it has well-shaped appearance, subtle
aroma, and desirable taste and texture. Fragrant rice consists of diverse
varieties, namely Basmati, Phka Rumduol, and Jasmine rice. In particular, the well-known Jasmine rice comprises
only two varieties which are Khao Dawk Mali 105 and RD 15. The two varieties originate
from Thailand as geographical conditions in terms of climates, soil
physiochemical properties, sunlight, and temperatures are dramatically
appropriate for their growth. Definitely, when
life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Owing to such a condition, Thai
Jasmine rice is softer and more aromatic than fragrant rice from other regions. Thus, its eating quality is acceptable
for the global market. This is the reason that Thai Jasmine rice is expensive.
However, there are other fragrant rice
varieties in Thailand, namely Pathum Thani 1, Hom Khlong Luang 1, Hom
SuphanBuri, Hom Pitsanuloke 1, and RD33 as well, which are cheaper than Jasmine
rice. According
to Georges Giraud, because physical attributes of Jasmine rice and the
others are not explicitly different, some traders mix Jasmine rice with other
cheap fragrant rice and launch it in the market as Jasmine rice in order to
penetrate the mass market. Accordingly, there are pure Jasmine rice
and mixed Jasmine rice in the market. Doing so undermines reliability of
Thai Jasmine rice and confuses customers. Consequentially, the
Ministry of Commerce of Thailand promulgated the new Thai Agricultural Standard
in 2017 to
create two brands for fragrant rice, which are Hom Mali Rice and Jasmine Rice. Meanwhile, Hom Mali rice
means pure Jasmine rice for the high end market, and Jasmine rice means mixed
Jasmine rice with other fragrant rice for the mass market.
To illustrate, there are two
varieties declared as Hom Mali rice that is only Khao Dawk Mali 105 and RD 15
variety. If
manufacturers or traders sell the product resulting from the two varieties,
they are claim their products as “Hom Mali rice” on their package. Regard to purity, either brown rice
or white rice claimed as Hom Mali rice has to contain such a variety at least
92% by
weight. The
traders can verify purity from a certification from a related governmental department
before exporting.
On the other hand, a rice
combination containing Khao Dawk Mali 105 and RD 15 less than 92% by weight is unable to claim as
Hom Mali rice. Because
some traders want to penetrate the mass market, the two varieties may be
unaffordable for their customers. Thus, they has to mix cheaper fragrant rice for their
customers. As
a result, mixing other fragrant rice varieties which may be or may be not Khao
Dawk Mali 105 and RD 15 is declared as Jasmine rice. As far as the Thai
agricultural standard is concerned, Jasmine rice stems from combination of the
same fragrant rice varieties at least 80% by weight. In other words, mixing any
fragrant rice varieties calls Jasmine rice. To
wrap up, Hom Mali brand is premium Jasmine rice, but Jasmine rice is mixed
fragrant rice. “Thus, Hom Mali rice and
Jasmine rice are not the same product”.
Currently, Hom Mali rice becomes
the premium product among fragrant rice.
Not
only does Hom Mali rice has natural fragrance and flora taste, but also it
contains carbohydrates and protein without gluten which causes intestinal
damage to restrain small intestine from absorbing nutrients
. According to Shimma
Badawy and S. Mahgoub,
agricultural professors from Egypt, Hom Mali rice contains abundant iron
that is beneficial for tissues and immune system as well
. This is the reason that Thai
Hom Mali rice was voted by the World Rice Conference as the world
’s best rice in 2017
.
K.D. Rice Intertrade Company
exports authentic Hom Mali rice from Ubon rice fields to our customers. Our
manufactures, Kitudom Rice Mill, deliberately produces Hom Mali rice with advanced
technological machine to ensure customers the premium product. With
sophisticated production process, we acquired standards, which are Good
Manufacturing Practice (GMP), Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP),
and ISO 9001:2015. Thus, our production process comforms to food safety
management systems. We are truly confident that our products meet customers’ satisfaction.
The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
