The Essential Ingredient
Easy to prepare, attractive to serve and a pleasure to eat, rice appears as hors d’œuvre, side dishes, main courses, desserts and snacks; its simplicity as an ingredient matched only by its versatility.
Because of the many ways in which rice can be prepared, it’s important to choose the right rice for your dish. The properties of the grains- from their size and texture to their level of absorbency and cooking time- can vary enormously between varieties.
Pair the right grain to your dish, however, and you can create magic.
Bomba rice from Molí de Rafelet is grown, milled and packaged in the Ebro River Delta Natural Park in Northern Spain (see below for some images of the rice being produced).
Bomba is an ancient strain of rice that matures very slowly and as a result an exceptionally dehydrated grain is produced when harvested. This enables it to absorb 30% more liquid than other varieties, which means 30% more flavour.
The difference between Bomba rice and others is the way it expands when cooked. Rather than expanding longitudinally like other rice strains, Bomba rice expands in width like an accordion.
The consistency of Bomba in a finished dish differs from Italian Arborio rice, which is creamy, and Asian rice, which is meant to be sticky. Bomba absorbs three times its volume in broth (rather than the normal two), yet the grains remain distinct and separated.
When making paella, for which Bomba is perfect, this is just what you want to bring uniform flavour to the dish.
Rafael Margalef has been growing rice in the Tarragona area since 1935. With the development of a handcrafted wooden mill in 1945, he created what would quickly become a family tradition. Today, the 2nd generation of Margalef Brothers use the same process to produce this same exceptional artisanal rice.
Until recently, many feared that the Bomba strain would become extinct, as the rice requires such intensive care to flourish. Fortunately, demand for the rice prevailed and Bomba is once again commercially available.
Bomba rice from Molí de Rafelet, available exclusively in Australia from The Essential Ingredient, is completely hand milled in a hand-crafted wooden mill without the addition of any chemical treatment.
Because of this, it is vacuum-packed in order not to lose any of its culinary properties and to keep its recently milled qualities.
To experience the unique consistency and exceptional flavour-capturing properties of Molí de Rafelet Bomba rice, visit The Essential Ingredient today.
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Molí de Rafelet Bomba rice in production:
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