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There are about 83,000 varieties of rice* cultivated in the world today, most of them in Asia, and more than 17,000 are found in Thailand. They are collected and conserved at the National Rice Seeds Storage Laboratory for Genetic Resources. The varieties of Thai rice were first spread to the world market when Thai rice named "Pin Kaew" and other local varieties won the first, second, third and eight other prizes at the World Grain Contest held in Canada in 1933. At present, the well-known Thai jasmine rice has become very famous for its premium quality and aroma as in our ROYAL UMBRELLA rice products. We also have many more famous varieties in Thailand and you will see how we classified the rice varieties.
By Size : Short and Long Grain
 Long grain rice, such as jasmine and basmati, is more than three times as long as wide. Once cooked, grains stay separate, light and fluffy. ROYAL UMBRELLA Thai jasmine rice is a good example. Medium grain rice is between two and three times as long as wide. When cooked, the grain retains more moisture than long grains with a bit of cling.
 Short grain (red rice and sticky rice) is less than twice as long as wide, it is creamier in texture and sticks together once cooked, like ROYAL UMBRELLA Thai sweet rice, and is used for cooking Thai sticky rice or the Vietnamese ping-pong rice balls.
By Waxiness : Waxy or Nonwaxy
Waxy rice is low in amylose, usually absorbs less water and is slightly sweet when cooked. It is suitable for steaming. Waxy rice is also known as sweet, sticky, or glutinous rice.
Nonwaxy rice is high in amylose and usually cooks into dry separate grains.
By Rice Characteristics :
 White Rice
White rice has been milled to remove its bran. Often it is also polished to remove even the last traces of bran. Its color is white or cream-colored.
Aromatic Rice
Aromatic rice, such as jasmine and basmati, produces a subtle seductive scent as it cooks. When the rice is served hot, it is still aromatic. Some of the aromatic rices are part of the Thai family, with soft, slightly clingy grains when cooked, while others are Della-type rices that cook to a drier, fluffier texture.
 Thai Jasmine Rice
Known as "khao chao", it is a low-amylose long grain aromatic rice. Thai jasmine rice is produced from Kao Dawk Mali 105 that was originally developed in Thailand. It has clear, translucent, crystalline long grains. It is usually absorption-cooked to make the rice soft and slightly clinging.
 Thai Sticky Rice
Known as "khao neeo" in Thai and Lao, and as Thai sweet rice or Thai glutinous rice in the world market. Thai sticky rice has a medium to long grain and is slightly aromatic. When raw, the grains are opaque white - unlike the translucent grains of nonsticky Thai rice.
 Parboiled Rice
Parboiled rice has been steamed in order to dissolve the nutrients from the bran and then pressurized to deposit the nutrients in the kernel. The result is more nutritious and evenly textured white rice.
 Brown Rice
Brown rice has been taken from its husk but not yet milled and polished. Some "brown rice" is not brown but red or black, because the bran is naturally colored.
 Thai Black Rice
A black variety of Thai long-grain sticky rice, which does not stick together because the black outer bran separates the grains when cooked.
Wild Rice
The north American wild rice is not actually rice but the seed of a water grass (Zizania aquatica). Recently, wild rice has been successfully cultivated in California and elsewhere.
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