Paddy Rice or Rough Rice

The term Paddy rice or Rough rice is the rice that comes from the field after harvest. Paddy Rice gets it name from the Paddy Bird more commonly known in the UK as the Java Sparrow. Eaten by just about all seed eating birds, it is a favourite for many finches, parakeets and parrots.

Description of Paddy Rice or Rough Rice

It is the most original form of a rice kernel. After the harvest, rice is separated from the ear into individual grains. The grain of rice has a hard husk. Each grain is separate. After drying, the end result is the Paddy, whose kernel is still inside the hull. The husk (or hull) that covers rice is much thicker and tougher than most cereal grain husks. That is why, paddy rice is also called rough rice. After the milling process, the out hull is removed, along with the bran layer. And the end product becomes white rice.

Composition of Paddy Rice or Rough Rice

By weight, the composition of paddy rice is approximately:

• 22% husk (including about 2% trash)
• 10% bran and
• 68% rice (2% of the rice are very small pieces, brewers rice, and fines).

The rice portion can have varying percentages of broken kernels. Paddy rice is not as dense as milled rice and usually weighs about 37 pounds per cubic feet which is less than brown rice, milled rice, and broken rice.

Most paddy rice is milled in the US. Some is exported to countries like Brazil, Mexico, and Turkey for milling. However, it does not make any sense from economic point of view because of the unnecessary freight cost of hulls and bran. But, then export is beneficial when the importing country has some sort of duty advantage for paddy rice.