New Kinmemai Rice Offers Faster Cooking Time Without Rinsing

Toyo Rice Corporation (Tokyo) is introducing two new rice products to the U.S. market. Its Kinmemai Better White Rice and Kinmemai Better Brown Rice will now be available in Japanese specialty food stores and restaurants. Neither rice product needs to be rinsed, allowing for an eco-friendly and convenient preparation, says Toyo.

On the white rice, the wax layer and bran layer surrounding the rice grain has been removed while the sub-aleurone layer and germ are left intact, which provides “a porcelain appearance, mouth-pleasing texture, [easy digestibility], and a shorter cooking time [than] that of conventional white rice,” the company explains.

Meanwhile, the brown rice has only the indigestible wax layer removed while the bran layer, sub-aleurone layer, and germ remain intact. While nutritionally similar to conventional brown rice, Kinmemai Better Brown is fluffier, easier to digest, and only needs to be soaked for 60 minutes because it does not require rinsing, says Toyo. Conventional brown rice, by comparison, may need to be soaked for up to 20 hours or more.

“Rice has always been a food staple in Japan, and in recent years rice breeding has been enhanced,” said Yoshi Shiraishi, director of North American sales for J-Port Company (Mountain View, CA), U.S. distributor of Kinmemai. “These new rice products developed by Toyo, one of the leading Japanese rice milling companies, are revolutionary examples of the changing technology of rice manufacturing.”

In addition to being available Japanese specialty food stores, the rice products will also be available in Japanes Yayoi restaurants featuring teishoku, “a very simple yet well-balanced set meal which is served on a tray with kinme mai steamed rice, miso soup, a main dish of your choice, vegetables, and pickles,” according to Toyo. The first restaurant featuring Kinmemai will be located in Palo Alto, CA.

Accompanying the U.S. debut of the two new rice products is the launch of a new U.S. website, www.Kinmemai.com, which is meant to introduce the new products to a U.S. audience.

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Michael Crane
Associate Editor
Nutritional Outlook Magazine
michael.crane@ubm.com