East Asia Times .
Is Rice an Important Part of an East Asians Life?.
Rice is one of the world's most important food crops. Nearly all Asians depend on it. China's rice production per year is 200,327,000 tons, and Japan's is 13,740,000 tons. China and India are the worlds leading rice producers; together they produce more than 1/2 of yearly rice harvests.
Rice was first found in South East Asia in around 5000 B.C. It then spread thousands of years later to North Japan and Korea. Nowadays East Asians eat rice so much that it provides half of their daily calories; it is also an excellent source of carbohydrates.
The rice plants have a bright green color when they are young, but as they ripen they turn yellow. 110-180 days after planting the grain becomes fully ripe. The plant actually grows from about 31-72 inches, and develops the flowering part 6-10 weeks after planting.
There are three steps in processing rice. First is the cleaning and hulling step; this removes dirt and weeds from the plant. Secondly you remove the bran layer; this involves sending it through a machine that rubs off the bran layer. Third is grading, this is where the millers sort it into grades for marketing based on size, moisture, and the number of damaged kernels.
So you see rice is the most important food crop. It is made all over but mostly produced in Southeast Asia, China, and India. Rice is eaten all the time and is an important part of our diet. The word "rice" even means "eat" in most Asian languages.