Food Surprise

I love it when something really ordinary surprises you - especially food. I mean who expects food to do something almost magical? Have you ever put those beautiful purple beans into a pot for steaming and then picked up the lid to see they had turned bright green?! Such a fun surprise! The first time I used black rice, also referred to as "Forbidden Rice" I had put it into a soup as a replacement for wild rice which I couldn't find in our grocery shop at the time. I was doing a crockpot soup, so had filled it chock full of veggies of all kinds, some stock and the required amount of wild rice, or in this case, black rice. I set it to cook and came to check on it several hours later. When I picked up the lid I had to laugh - everything had turned dark purple! Every single vegetable from the beans, to the tomatoes to the mushrooms had all turned deep purple! It was a little unsettling to see everything the wrong colour, but I have to say, the soup tasted great. This week I found black rice on sale and this time, knowingly, cooked up some red beans and rice fully informed this time, that all would turn purple.

So - why the name "forbidden"? According to tradition, black rice was considered so unique and special that it was reserved only for chinese royalty. Why special? Well, there are some reasons to suggest that black rice may be nutritionally superior to other forms. Compared to other rices, black rice contains more protein, and is high in iron and fiber. Black rice also has a higher antioxidant potency. That purple colour? It comes from the anthocyanin, a well known antioxidant found also in blackberries and blueberries. All of this likely means that black rice may be beneficial in reducing cancer risk and heart disease. Read more about it here:

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/black-rice-benefits#The-bottom-line

What's been your most recent food surprise?