Rice, Arborio, Organic, Superpail

Our white arborio rice is certified organic and perfect for all baking and cooking purposes, including risotto and rice pudding.

Convenient & safe storage

Our arborio rice is certified organic and non-GMO, and comes in six-gallon buckets (or pails... another word for the same container), containing 47 lbs. net weight. When you store arborio rice at home, it needs to be protected in a couple of ways. First, it needs to be protected from a variety of little critters who'd like to get to it before you do. Weevils and rodents, for example. You also need to protect your rice from picking up excessive additional moisture, which can be drawn from the atmosphere. The buckets our arborio rice comes in provide full protection against these storage risks. They have airtight gasket-sealed lids, Mylar liners, and oxygen absorber packets that remove the oxygen from the air in the bucket after we put the lid on. The O2 absorbers leave an atmosphere of nitrogen in the bucket (because air is mainly oxygen and nitrogen). Our buckets safely lock out pests, and biological processes are put "on hold" in the Mylar protected, oxygen-free nitrogen atmosphere, so your arborio rice enjoys complete peace and quiet until you want to use it.

Beat oxidation!

In whole-grain foods, the plant's cellular walls protect nutrients from oxidation. The process of oxidation begins to occur as soon as grain is ground, exposing the cell's contents to oxygen in the air. Flour that is several days (or more) old, has been exposed to oxygen that inevitably diminishes its nutritional value. The way to get the most nutition and flavor from grains is to mill them when you need them, right in your kitchen. Modern high-speed grain mills make it fast and easy to enjoy the freshest, best tasting and most nutritious food imaginable!

Super-cleaned

All of our rice is cleaned to ensure purity and protect your grain mill from any foreign objects. (Arborio rice that isn't sufficiently cleaned may contain small stones that will damage or destroy a grain mill... not to mention that you don't want such things in your food!) Our arboro rice is cleaned to 99.99% purity by weight. To clean, the rice is processed using a screener, gravity table, de-stoner, and magnets. Achieving this level of quality may require further processing yet, through a color sorter. No liquids, soaps or additives of any kind are used in the cleaning process.

Shelf Life

Our organic arborio rice has a shelf life of 10+ years when unopened and stored in a cool, dark, dry environment.

Non-GMO

All of Pleasant Hill Grain's grain products are natural (non-GMO). Also, PHG does not sell any grains, beans, lentils, pulses or seeds sourced from China.

History & Uses

Arborio rice is a gluten-free cereal grain that can be ground for flour or cooked whole. It’s easily digested, may lower the risk of diabetes, lower cholesterol, and help maintain a healthy weight.

Rice is predominantly grown in South Asia, but is cultivated on every continent except Antarctica, in over a hundred countries worldwide. Rice is a staple food in Asian countries and is popular in many western cuisines as well, making it the most popular grain for human consumption.

One way to classify rice is by the length of the kernel. Rice is available as long, medium, and short grain. Long grain has an elongated kernel, while short grain is nearly round. Short grain rice is sometimes referred to as sticky rice because it’s higher in amylopectin (a type of starch) which causes it to stick together when cooked. Sticky rice is perfect for making sushi, eating with chopsticks, and making rice pudding. Long grain rice stays fluffy when cooked, making it the preferred option to use in soups, casseroles, salads or as a side dish. The Arborio rice on this page is short grain, and perfect for risotto, pudding, Italian rice cake, and much more!

Have you wondered what the difference is between white and brown rice?  White rice starts out as the same grain as brown rice, but the nutrient-packed bran and germ part of the kernel are removed in order to make a rice that cooks up softer and is white in color. The bran and germ remain intact in brown rice, and they give the cooked rice a slightly chewy texture and earthy brown color. Both white and brown rice have had the inedible outer hull removed. Brown rice is considered a whole grain food, while white rice is refined.

Rice bran, which is not present in white rice, contains most of the grain’s fiber. Fiber aids in the digestion of carbohydrates by slowing down the digestion process, and this helps the body sustain a steadier blood sugar and energy level. Fiber also keeps you feeling full longer, making it easier to eat less, for those who want to lose weight.

Rice germ, which is also absent from white rice, contains 30% of the grain’s nutrients even though it comprises just 1% of the total weight of the whole grain! Rice germ is high in protein, essential amino acids, fatty acids, and fiber. It’s also a good source of thiamine, vitamin B6, vitamin E, iron and magnesium.

There are endless varieties of rice—over 40,000! Some of the most common varieties are  basmati, jasmine, and arborio. Each of these varieties are available as either whole grain brown rice or refined white rice. Our arborio rice is white.

Beyond cooking, rice can also be ground into gluten free flour, puffed to use in baked goods like granola bars, or fermented to make saké. Arborio rice can be ground with any type of grain mill. Arborio rice flour should be used quickly after milling to avoid rancidity. Rice flour is popular in gluten free diets.

To cook, boil 1-1/2 cups of liquid (water, or stock) for every 1 cup of arborio rice. It’s important to keep the pot covered while cooking to allow the rice to steam.