ITALIAN RICE VARIETIES: DISHES, RECIPES, BUY ONLINE

Italian rice varieties are appreciated in Italy and abroad.
In Italy different varieties of rice are cultivated, and for some types of rice, such as the Vialone Nano, Arborio and Carnaroli, Italy is the only world producer.
Italy is the leading European country for rice-growing areas (about 50% of the European total) and rice production (still around 50% of the European total).
The other European producing countries are Spain, France, Greece, Portugal, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary.

In Italy different types of rice are grown, different varieties of rice. Furthermore, for some types of rice, such as the Vialone Nano, Arborio and Carnaroli varieties, Italy is the only world producer.
The most cultivated varieties of rice in Italyare those suitable for risotto, which occupy about 36% of the cultivated area; then there are round grain rice varieties (30%), A long grain rice varieties to produce parboiled rice (15%), Indica rice varieties (15%). Finally there are medium grain rice varieties (4%); with the exception of Vialone Nano, medium grain rice varieties are not grown much in Italy (they are cultivated mainly in Spain, for Paella).
Some varieties grown in Italy are:

• Maratelli
• Rosa Marchetti
• Venere
• Gigante Vercelli
• Carnaroli
• Ribe
• Arborio
• Vialone Nano
• Sant’Andrea

On Gustorotondo you find the best Italian rice and Italian foods.
We look for producers who have high-quality standards, and we offer artisan Italian good products that enhance the tradition and authentic flavours of Italian cuisine.
Gustorotondo was born as a traditional Italian food store in the center of Milan, and then started the e-commerce business. Now you can buy traditional Italian food online on Gustorotondo from all over Italy, from England, from Germany, from Netherlands, from the Czech Republic, and from all the other European countries.
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The trade names for Italian rice do not always correspond to a single agronomic variety.
In fact, some agronomic rice varieties with similar characteristics in terms of grain length, width, length to width ratio, consistency of the grain and pearl have been grouped under a single trade name.
However, for the agronomic varieties of rice Arborio, Baldo, Carnaroli, Roma, S. Andrea, Vialone Nano and Ribe, if in the package there is only one agronomic variety and all the indications provided by the law have been followed, then the package can carry the indication ‘classic’ (for example: ‘classic Carnaroli rice’).
Let’s look at the names and characteristics of some of the Italian rices that, like Carnaroli or Roma, can be marketed with the word “classic".

The following agronomic varieties can be marketed under the trade name Arborio rice:

• Aleramo
• Arborio
• CL 388
• Generale
• Telemaco
• Volano
• Vulcano

All these varieties of rice have the following characteristics:

• Length between 7.6 and 7.2 mm
• Width between 3.2 and 3.4 mm
• Ratio between length and width between 2.0 and 2.2
• Consistency (hardness) between 0.65 and 0.80 kg / cm2
• Very large pearl

If the rice bag contains only the Arborio rice agronomic variety, and all the indications required by the law have been followed, then the rice bag may carry the indication ‘Riso Arborio classico’, which translates ‘Classic Arborio rice’.

The following agronomic varieties can be marketed under the trade name Carnaroli rice:

• Caravaggio
• Carnaroli
• Carnaval
• Carnise
• Carnise Precoce
• Karnak
• Keope
• Leonidas CL
• Poseidone

All these varieties of rice have the following characteristics:

• Length between 6.5 and 7.0 mm
• Width between 2.9 and 3.1 mm
• Ratio between length and width between 2.2 and 2.3
• Consistency (hardness) greater than or equal to 0.85 kg / cm2
• Very large pearl

If the rice bag contains only the Carnaroli rice agronomic variety, and all the indications required by the law have been followed, then the rice bag may carry the indication ‘Riso Carnaroli classico’, which translates ‘Classic Arborio rice’.

The Vialone Nano is the only rice for which only one agronomic variety can be commercialized with that name. The Vialone Nano, therefore, is always ‘classic’.

The characteristics of the grain of Vialone Nano are the following:

• Length: 5.6 mm
• Width: 3.3 mm
• Ratio between length and width: 1.7
• Consistency (hardness) greater than or equal to 0.96 kg / cm2
• Very large pearl

The following agronomic varieties can be marketed under the trade name S. Andrea rice:

• Allegro
• Andrea

The reference values ​​for the two varieties are the following:

• Length between 6.2 and 6.7 mm
• Width between 2.9 and 3.1 mm
• Ratio between length and width between 2.1 and 2.3
• Consistency (hardness) between 0.60 and 0.75 kg / cm2
• Not very large pearl

If the rice bag contains only the S. Andrea rice agronomic variety, and all the indications required by the law have been followed, then the rice bag may carry the indication ‘Riso Sant’Andrea classico’, which translates ‘Classic Sant’Andrea rice’.

Italian rice is often used to prepare risotto recipes.
What is the best Italian rice for risotto?
Risotto is normally considered good when the grains are compact, absorb flavours and are to some extent joined in a ‘cream’ without being stuck together.
The grains of the Italian rice varieties most suitable for risotto have a good amylose content, are not very sticky and have good consistency (hardness).

Among the best Italian rice varieties to make risotto we find:

• Carnaroli rice. It is often said that it is the best rice to make risotto. In fact, despite being a rather dated Italian rice variety, it has good characteristics for preparing risotto. Find out more about Carnaroli rice
• Vialone Nano rice, which, despite the small size of the grain, has similar characteristics to Carnaroli in terms of consistency (hardness) and stickiness
• Arborio rice, that has very large grains, although according to some it has a consistency (hardness) that is a bit too low and an excessive stickiness. The Arborio rice, due to its high sensitivity to diseases and poor productivity, is often replaced by the Volano rice variety.
• Roma rice, introduced in 1962 at the at the Stazione sperimentale di Risicoltura e delle Coltivazioni irrigue di Vercelli. Its name was given in honor of the capital of Italy
• Baldo, with a grain similar to Rome, but crystalline
• Gigante Vercelli rice
• Razza77 rice
• Reperso rice, the result of recent research
• Sant’Andrea rice variety.Sant’Andrea rice is also the typical variety to prepare Panissa, a typical dish from the Vercelli area

To prepare a good rice salad it is advisable to choose a rice with good consistency (hardness) and low stickiness.
Among the most suitable types of Italian rice we find the Carnaroli, the Baldo, the Arborio.
We can also choose wholegrain rice types such as Venre rice, wholegrain Ribe or Ermes red rice, also due to the excellent cooking resistance.

The best rice varieties to prepare Sushi are those indicated by Italian law as ‘riso tondo’, wich translates ‘round rice’.
Round rice is rice with small, roundish grains.
Among the agronomic varieties marketed as round ricewe find, for example, Selenio, cultivated in the provinces of Pavia and Vercelli.
Selenio rice has a short, round, crystalline grain. It is not aromatic, and has a certain stickiness that is useful to make nigiri or to wrap it in the bamboo mat to make rolls.

In Italy, rice is mainly grown in Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia.
The rice fields of Piedmont and Lombardy make up over 90% of the total Italian area planted with rice. Rice is also cultivated in Sardinia and in other regions – Calabria, Tuscany, Friuli, Sicily -.Both in Piedmont and in Lombardy there are numerous irrigation infrastructures, such as the Cavour Canal, which was built in just three years in the second half of the nineteenth century, and the Ivrea Canal.

Within the Varietal Register of the Ente Nazionale Risi for the agricultural year 2018/2019, 145 Italian agronomic varieties are listed.
The agronomic varieties of Italian rice are broken down as follows:

• Round grain rice: 34 Italian rice varieties
• Medium grain rice: 31 Italian rice varieties
• A long grain rice: 22 Italian rice varieties
• B long grain rice: 58 Italian rice varieties

Among the varieties of Italian rice indicated within the Varietal Register, 34 are varieties of round-grain rice. Here they are:

1. Agata
2. Ambra
3. Ardea
4. Aristotele
5. Arpa
6. Balilla
7. Brio
8. Calliope
9. Castore
10. Cellini
11. Centauro
12. Cerere
13. Chinese originario
14. CL12
15. CL15
16. Cleopatra
17. Cripto
18. Ducato
19. Elio
20. Felix
21. Filippo
22. Gageron
23. Krystallino
24. Lagostino
25. martedì Mirai
26. Perla
27. Polluce
28. Selenio
29. Sfera
30. Sole CL
31. Spillo
32. Terra CL
33. Virgo
34. Yume

Among the varieties of Italian rice indicated within the Varietal Register, 31 are varieties of medium-grain rice. Here they are:

1. Alpe
2. Argo
3. Crono
4. Eclisse
5. Flipper
6. Fuoco
7. Furia CL
8. Gilda
9. Gioiello
10. Il Cardinale
11. Il Moro
12. Karbor
13. Kolorado
14. Lido
15. Limperatore
16. Maratelli
17. Edea
18. Musa
19. Nero Peppino
20. Nerone
21. Nerone Gold
22. Nuovo Maratelli
23. Orange Nori
24. Orione
25. Padano (Bahia)
26. Rosa Marchetti
27. Savo
28. Tea
29. Venere
30. Violet Nori
31. Wang

Among the varieties of Italian rice indicated within the Varietal Register, 22 are varieties of A long grain rice. Here they are:

1. Adone
2. Aiace
3. Bertone
4. Cirene
5. Egeo CL
6. Falco
7. Galassia
8. Gigante Vercelli
9. Gloria
10. Insubria
11. Iride CL
12. Kikko
13. Marchese CL
14. Pato
15. Razza 77
16. RE CL
17. Reperso
18. Risrus
19. Samba
20. Sanluca (ex Volano Nano)
21. Solitario
22. Ulisse

Among the varieties of Italian rice indicated within the Varietal Register, 58 are varieties of B long grain rice. Here they are:

1. Achille
2. Albatros
3. Apollo
4. Arianna CL
5. Ariosto
6. Arsenal
7. Artemide
8. Artiglio
9. Asia
10. Brezza
11. Cassiopea
12. Cantro
13. CL 26
14. CL 28
15. CL 46
16. CL 71
17. CL 80
18. CL 111
19. CLXL745
20. Corimbo
21. CRLB1
22. David CL
23. Delfo
24. Ecco 51CL
25. Ecco 61
26. Ecco 63
27. Elettra
28. Ellebi
29. Emma
30. Ermes
31. Fast
32. Febo
33. Fiamma
34. Fragrance
35. Gange
36. Gelso
37. Gemini
38. Giano
39. Giglio
40. Gladio
41. Iarim
42. Inov CL
43. Kemet
44. Keris
45. Libero
46. Mare CL
47. Mercurio
48. Mirko
49. Ninfa
50. Oceano
51. Sagittario
52. Saturno
53. Scudo
54. Sirio CL
55. Sprint
56. Teseo
57. Thaibonnet
58. Urano

https://www.risoitaliano.eu/category/le-varieta-italiane/
https://www.enterisi.it/upload/enterisi/documentiallegati/REGISTROVARIETALEcampagna2018-2019persito_13660_2211.pdf

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