Rice Types
Rice begins as brown rice, genmai (玄米), which may then be polished by a machine (精米機seimaiki), in which case it is sold as ready-polished or white rice, hakumai (白米).
Sprouted brown rice hatsuga genmai (発芽玄米) is also sold in smaller quantities. It has a softer texture than brown rice and a pleasant fragrance, yet retains the health benefits of brown rice.
A spot with an automated rice polishing machine, called seimaijo (精米所), for polishing brown rice, are a common sight in rural Japan. The by-product of the polishing process, rice bran (米ぬかkomenuka) can be used for making a kind of pickle called nukazuke (ぬかづけ) or recycled as fertilizer. The rice polishing machines typically polish a 10 kg amount for 100 yen.
Most supermarkets in Japan sell ready-polished rice in 10 kg, 5 kg, and smaller bags. Brown rice is usually sold in 30 kg bags.
Read more about this topic: Japanese Rice
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