THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Rice

Lisa Karen Miller

          Gautama Siddhartha was trying to achieve wisdom through fasting.  For a long while, he ate only one grain of rice a day.

          After the Buddha found what he called The Middle Way, he began teaching what he had learned to others, by means of illustrative stories (much like the parables of Jesus).

          He would set a knife edge up, and pour over it handfuls of rice.  If a grain happened to balance on the blade, he said, “This is how precious a human life is. Very few souls will ever attain one.”

          In Poland, rice was one of the many grains thrown at the door of a new bride’s house, to ensure that she would never want for any of them.

          An old joke from Scotland (whose inhabitants carry proudly their reputation for being “reet ca’ful” with money) says that a father granted his daughter permission to marry on two conditions: she must marry at home, and the new couple must leave by the back door. 

          “Of course, father, but why the back door?” she asked.

          “Well you see lass, this is the way of it:  I’d like the hens to have the good of the rice.”

          The custom of throwing rice at weddings, originally symbolizing fertility, is slowly losing ground, mostly out of kindness to birds.  If they eat uncooked rice, it swells inside them and may be fatal.

          A Hindu bride throws handfuls of rice behind her as she leaves her parents’ home, to thank them for all they have given her. As rice symbolizes prosperity, she will also offer her groom a bowl of rice, though she herself must not handle it.

Oryza sativa is the staple diet of half the world.  The Chinese eat up to 1.3 pounds of rice a day – a total of 143 million metric tons per year. In comparison, the Japanese eat a mere one third of a pound per day, while Americans eat only 2.2 pounds per year.

          Brown rice contains minerals, fiber, and protein, is chewier, and needs to be cooked a bit longer.  Converted rice is brown rice that has been parboiled to give a white appearance, while retaining the nutritional value.

          Rice is a key component of a Mexican plate. There are myriad Mexican rice recipes available online. The key to authenticity is not to stint on the green chiles, and sauté the rice in chile oil before cooking.  This gives a completely different flavor and texture. To make it extra fluffy, use a steamer or rice cooker.

          Have a delicious Cinco de Mayo, and remember to throw birdseed at that wedding.

© Copyright 2023 Lisa Karen Miller