The Complete Handbook of Rice
A practical reference for buyers, sellers, and serious cooks
by Alumigogo Books
non-fiction
A neutral, technical reference on rice types, grading, storage, troubleshooting, and business opportunities for professionals and serious enthusiasts.
About this book
Rice feeds more people than any other grain, yet most commercial guidance is either a marketing sheet from a miller or a vague blog post. This handbook fills that gap. It starts with the biology and chemistry of the rice grain, then moves through the major commercial varieties (indica, japonica, aromatic, glutinous) and the grading systems used in the United States, Thailand, India, and Japan. You will learn how moisture content, milling degree, and breakage percentage affect price and cooking behavior, and how to specify rice for sushi, biryani, paella, or institutional feeding.
The book also covers practical storage and troubleshooting for both small operations and large warehouses, including insect control, oxygen absorbers, and how to rescue rice that has picked up off-flavors. The final sections address the business landscape: how major suppliers are positioned by price point and quality, what margins look like in wholesale and retail, and how to evaluate private labeling, importing, or consulting as an income stream. Whether you run a restaurant, manage a grocery aisle, or just want to buy the best rice for a special meal, the procedures, tables, and checklists in this handbook will give you a decisive advantage.
Reader Reviews
Jennifer Adams
★★★★★Good reference overall, but I wish the chapter on brands and suppliers had named more specific companies. The generic descriptions are useful, but I had to do extra homework to map them to actual vendors. Still, the storage and troubleshooting sections are superb and the glossary is a time-saver.
Jacob Miller
★★★★★As a chef who teaches rice cookery, I recommend this to every student. The explanation of amylose content and gel temperature finally made the science click for me, and the cooking advice is far more reliable than the usual internet forums. It is dense, but it respects the reader's intelligence.
Christopher Miller
★★★★★The most honest rice reference I have found. It does not just say which rice is best; it tells you why, with numbers and moisture percentages and real-world storage advice. I have been importing specialty rice for years and still learned several practical tricks about warehouse temperature and insect prevention.
Jacob Adams
★★★★★I bought this because I wanted to start a private-label rice business and had no idea where to begin. The business chapter is excellent: it explains how suppliers are positioned, what margins you can expect, and what certifications matter. It is not a get-rich-quick book, it is a solid operational manual.
William Jackson
★★★★★I am a purchasing manager for a regional restaurant group, and this handbook is now my first reference. The chapter on rice chemistry alone paid for it: I finally understand why basmati and sushi rice behave so differently, and I have stopped buying the wrong grades for our menu. The grading tables are exactly what I needed.
Sarah Taylor
★★★★★I run a small grocery store and wanted to expand our rice section beyond the standard long-grain. This handbook gave me the confidence to source jasmine, basmati, and arborio from better suppliers. The section on moisture content and breakage percentages helps me evaluate shipments quickly and avoid overpaying.