Is green bamboo rice more nutritious than regular rice?

It is the autumn harvest time again. Right now, it is the time when new rice is put on the market. But have you ever seen green rice?

Recently, the appearance of green rice in offline supermarkets has sparked heated discussions among netizens. The pictures and text descriptions uploaded by netizens show that this kind of rice is emerald green, which is in sharp contrast to ordinary rice.

In this regard, one netizen commented: "This is 'technology and hard work' at first glance." Another netizen said that he had bought and eaten this kind of rice and that "it has a bamboo fragrance."

So, is green rice natural or artificial? And is it more nutritious than regular rice?

Artificial granulation products

It is understood that this green rice is called green bamboo rice. The reporter searched for green bamboo rice as a keyword on an e-commerce platform and obtained more than 5,000 results, and found that its price range is 7 to 20 yuan per catty.

Clicking on the details page of a green bamboo rice on an e-commerce platform, you can see descriptions such as "full of fragrance", "pure natural" and "no additives". The product description shows that this green bamboo rice is made by mixing light bamboo leaf powder with grain powder and other raw materials. In the ingredient list of another green bamboo rice, the reporter saw that its ingredients are rice powder, spinach powder, light bamboo leaf powder, edible kudzu powder and water.

"Judging from the ingredient list, green bamboo rice is made by grinding a variety of raw materials into powder and mixing them together. It is an artificial granulation product," said Fan Zhihong, professor at the College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering of China Agricultural University and director of the Chinese Society of Food Science and Technology.

Li Zaigui, a professor at the Department of Nutrition and Health at China Agricultural University, said that from a processing technology perspective, green bamboo rice is obtained by extruding starch gel formed by aging after starch gelatinization, and is a starch gel product.

Nutritional value may be very limited

Many bloggers on the Internet have conducted taste reviews on green bamboo rice. Most bloggers said that the steamed green bamboo rice has a thicker texture and tastes like glutinous rice.

A product promotion interface for green bamboo rice shows that green bamboo rice cannot be soaked or used to cook rice alone, but needs to be mixed with rice; it can be mixed with other grain rice to cook porridge. After cooking other rice until 80% done, add the green bamboo rice and cook for 15 minutes, then simmer for 5 minutes before serving.

"Green bamboo rice is a starch gel product, and it may have a chewier texture," said Li Zaigui.

Green bamboo rice has a unique taste, but what about its safety and nutritional value?

Li Zaigui said that green bamboo rice, like other recycled rice (i.e. artificial rice), is made by extruding various raw material powders. It has been on the market for more than ten years and "there should be no problem with food safety."

Li Zaigui reminded that green bamboo rice can be eaten occasionally, but if it is eaten for the purpose of increasing nutrition, the effect may be very limited.

One of the ingredients of green bamboo rice, bamboo leaf powder, is bamboo leaf extract. Fan Zhihong said that bamboo leaf is a food and medicine ingredient. "Food and medicine ingredients have certain medicinal properties and may not be suitable for everyone. Consumers should be cautious when purchasing."