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Basmati, , is a variety of long, slender-grained
aromatic rice Aromatic rice is one of the major types of rice. It is a medium- to long-grained rice. It is known for its nutty aroma and taste, which is caused by the chemical compound 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline. Varieties of aromatic rice include Ambemohar, Basmat ...
which is traditionally grown in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
, and
Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
.Big money in "specialty rices"
Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations (2002)
, India accounted for 65% of the international trade in basmati rice, while Pakistan accounted for the remaining 35%. Many countries use domestically grown basmati rice crops; however, basmati is geographically exclusive to certain districts of India and Pakistan. According to the Indian Government agency APEDA, a rice variety is eligible to be called basmati if it has a minimum average precooked milled rice length of and average precooked milled rice breadth of up to , among other parameters.


History and etymology


Etymology

According to ''
Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a co ...
'', the word ''basmati'' derives from
Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
, , literally meaning 'fragrant', from (, 'fragrance') + the word-forming suffix ().


History

Basmati rice is believed to have been cultivated in the Indian subcontinent for centuries. Earliest mention of Basmati rice has been made in the epic Heer Ranjha composed by the Punjabi poet Varis Shah in 1766.


Production and cultivation

India accounts for over 70% of the world's basmati rice production. A small portion of that is being grown organically. Organisations such as Kheti Virasat Mission are trying to increase the amount of organic basmati rice that is being grown in the Punjab in India.


In India

The areas which have a
geographical indication A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town, region, or country). The use of a geographical indication, as an indication of the product's source, ...
for basmati rice production in India are in the states of
Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...
,
Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...
,
Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...
,
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...
,
Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...
, Western
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
and Jammu and Kashmir. India's total basmati production for the July 2011 – June 2012 crop year was five million tonnes. From April 2018 to March 2019, India exported 4.4 million metric tons of basmati rice. In 2015–2016, Saudi Arabia, Iran and UAE were the three biggest destinations for India's basmati rice exports and exports to these three countries accounted for more than half of India's total basmati exports. In 2015–2016, basmati rice worth US$3.4 billion was exported from India.


In Pakistan

According to the FAO, Pakistan's original Basmatic area lies in the Kalar bowl between the Ravi and Chenab rivers. Almost all the cultivation of Basmati takes place in the Punjab province where total production was 2.47 million tonnes in 2010. In fiscal year 2020, basmati exports stood at 890,207 tonnes valuing $790 million. In overall basmati exports, Europe holds a 40% share while the rest are exported to Gulf countries, Australia and US.


In Indonesia

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
produced its own local variant of basmati in
West Java West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten ...
and
Central Kalimantan Central Kalimantan ( id, Kalimantan Tengah) is a province of Indonesia. It is one of five provinces in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo. Its provincial capital is Palangka Raya and in 2010 its population was over 2.2 million, while the 20 ...
, with production capacity estimated to reach up to 8.2 tonnes per hectare. Basmati seeds were first brought from Pakistan in 2007; however, the seeds were unable to be grown due to soil incompatibility. The
Ministry of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...
then managed to produce and cultivate a
hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...
between basmati and local rice in 2017.


In Nepal

Basmati rice is produced mainly in the
Terai , image =Terai nepal.jpg , image_size = , image_alt = , caption =Aerial view of Terai plains near Biratnagar, Nepal , map = , map_size = , map_alt = , map_caption = , biogeographic_realm = Indomalayan realm , global200 = Terai-Duar savanna a ...
region of
Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
and some parts of Kathmandu valley. Unique Nepali varieties of basmati rice were barred from export to other parts of the world although this ban might be lifted.


In Sri Lanka

Small amounts of basmati rice, especially red basmati rice, are being cultivated in the tropical wet zone areas of Sri Lanka.


Aroma and flavour

Basmati rice has a typical ''pandan''-like (''
Pandanus amaryllifolius ''Pandanus amaryllifolius'' is a tropical plant in the ''Pandanus'' (screwpine) genus, which is commonly known as pandan (; ). It has fragrant leaves which are used widely for flavouring in the cuisines of Southeast Asia and South Asia. Occurre ...
'' leaf) flavour caused by the
aroma compound An aroma compound, also known as an odorant, aroma, fragrance or flavoring, is a chemical compound that has a smell or odor. For an individual chemical or class of chemical compounds to impart a smell or fragrance, it must be sufficiently v ...
2-acetyl-1-pyrroline 2-Acetyl-1-pyrroline (2AP) is an aroma compound and flavor that gives freshly baked bread, jasmine rice and basmati rice, the spice ''pandan'' (''Pandanus amaryllifolius''), and ''bread flowers'' ('' Vallaris'' ''glabra'') their customary smell. ...
. Basmati grains contain about 0.09 ppm of this aromatic chemical compound naturally, a level that is about 12 times as much as non-basmati rice varieties, giving basmati its distinctive fragrance and flavour.Big money in "speciality rices"
Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations (2002)
This natural aroma is also found in cheese, fruit and other cereals. It is a flavoring agent approved in the United States and Europe, and is used in bakery products for aroma. During cooking, the level of 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline decreases. Soaking the rice for 30 minutes before cooking permits 20% shorter cooking times and preserves more of the 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline.


Glycemic index

According to the Canadian Diabetes Association, basmati, brown, wild, short and long grain rice has a medium
glycemic index The glycemic (glycaemic) index (GI; ) is a number from 0 to 100 assigned to a food, with pure glucose arbitrarily given the value of 100, which represents the relative rise in the blood glucose level two hours after consuming that food. The GI of ...
(between 56 and 69), opposed to jasmine and instant white rice with a glycemic index of 89, thus making it more suitable for
diabetic Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...
s as compared to certain other grains and products made from white flour.


Varieties and hybrids

There are several varieties of basmati rice. Traditional Indian types include basmati 370, basmati 385, and basmati Ranbirsinghpura (R.S.Pura) and Gujjar Chack area in Jammu province situated at the India-Pakistani border in Jammu and Kashmir state of India. 1121 and Muradabadi 6465 Extra Long Grain Rice. Pakistani varieties of basmati rice are PK 385, Super Kernel Basmati Rice and D-98. Scientists at
Indian Agricultural Research Institute The Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), commonly known as the Pusa Institute, is India's national institute for agricultural research, education and extension. The name Pusa Institute is derived from the fact that the institute was or ...
,
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...
, used conventional plant breeding to produce a hybrid semi-dwarf plant which had most of the good features of traditional basmati (grain elongation, fragrance, alkali content). This hybrid was called Pusa Basmati-1 (PB1; also called "Todal", because the flower has awns); crop yield is up to twice as high as traditional varieties. Fragrant rices that are derived from basmati stock but are not true basmati varieties include PB2 (also called sugandh-2), PB3, and RS-10.


Approved varieties


Indian varieties

Basmati, P3 Punjab, type III Uttar Pradesh, hbc-19 Safidon, 386 Haryana, Kasturi (Baran, Rajasthan), Muradabadi Basmati 6465, Basmati 198, Basmati 217, Basmati 370 Bihar, Kasturi, Mahi Suganda, Pusa 1121, Pusa 1718, Pusa 1509, Pusa 1692,
Pusa 1637 ''Pusa'' is a genus of the earless seals, within the family Phocidae. The three species of this genus were split from the genus ''Phoca'', and some sources still give ''Phoca'' as an acceptable synonym for ''Pusa''. The three species in this g ...
, Pusa 1401.


Pakistani varieties

Basmati 370 (Pak Basmati), Super Basmati (Best Aroma), Basmati Pak (Kernal), 386 or 1121 basmati rice, Basmati 385, Basmati 515, Basmati 2000, Basmati 198 and Chanab Basmati.


Related varieties from around the world

In Indonesia, the variant of basmati called ''baroma'' (; aromatic basmati) was launched in February 2019. This variant could be grown in low-altitude terrain and managed to attract interest among potential middle-to-upper class consumers. In the United States, a variety of rice based on basmati called ''Texmati'' is grown in
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
. The rice is produced by RiceSelect, previously owned by RiceTec (mentioned below). In
Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...
, a rice variety called ''Pishori'' or ''Pisori'' is grown in the Mwea region. The word ''Pishori'' is an alteration of the word ''Peshawari'' from where the basmati variety used to be exported to the countries of East Africa in the past.


Basmati certification

The Basmati Mark is a DNA-fingerprinting-based certification done by the laboratory of Basmati Export Development Foundation (BEDF). On 15 February 2016, the Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), an autonomous organisation under the Department of Commerce in India, registered Basmati Rice as a product with Geographical Indication (GI).


Adulteration

Difficulty in differentiating genuine basmati from other types of rice and the significant price difference between them has led fraudulent traders to adulterate basmati rice with crossbred basmati varieties and long-grain non-basmati varieties. In Britain, the
Food Standards Agency , type = Non-ministerial government department , nativename = , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Food Standards Agency.svg , logo_width = , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = ...
found in 2005 that about half of all basmati rice sold was adulterated with other strains of long-grain rice, prompting rice importers to agree to a code of practice. A 2010 UK test on rice supplied by wholesalers found 4 out of 15 samples had cheaper rice mixed with basmati, and one had no basmati at all. A PCR-based assay similar to
DNA fingerprinting DNA profiling (also called DNA fingerprinting) is the process of determining an individual's DNA characteristics. DNA analysis intended to identify a species, rather than an individual, is called DNA barcoding. DNA profiling is a forensic tec ...
in humans allows adulterated and non-basmati strains to be detected, with a detection limit from 1% adulteration upwards with an error rate of ±1.5%. Exporters of basmati rice use purity certificates based on DNA tests for their basmati rice consignments. Based on this protocol, which was developed at the
Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics The Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) is an Indian biotechnology research centre, located in Hyderabad, India, operated by the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India. CDFD is a ...
, the Indian company Labindia has released kits to detect basmati adulteration.


Patent battle

In September 1997, an American company, RiceTec, was granted U.S. Patent No. 5,663,484 on "basmati rice lines and grains". The patent secures lines of basmati and basmati-like rice and ways of analyzing that rice. RiceTec, owned by Prince Hans-Adam of
Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarch ...
, faced international outrage over allegations of biopiracy. It had also caused a brief diplomatic crisis between India and the United States, with India threatening to take the matter to the WTO as a violation of
TRIPS The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is an international legal agreement between all the member nations of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It establishes minimum standards for the regulation by nat ...
, the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. Both voluntarily and due to review decisions by the
United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alex ...
, RiceTec lost or withdrew most of the claims of the patent, including, most importantly, the right to call their rice products ''basmati''."Bid for patent for basmati rice hits a hurdle"
''
The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
'', 5 November 2006
A more limited varietal patent was granted to RiceTec in 2001 on claims dealing with three strains of the rice developed by the company."India-Pakistan battle on Basmati Rice"
''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
''


See also

* Ambemohar * Camargue red rice * Domsiah *
Jasmine rice Jasmine rice ( th, ข้าวหอมมะลิ; ; ) is a long-grain variety of fragrant rice (also known as aromatic rice). Its fragrance, reminiscent of ''pandan'' (''Pandanus amaryllifolius'') and popcorn, results from the rice plant's n ...
*
List of rice varieties This is a list of rice cultivars, also known as rice varieties. There are several species of grain called rice. Asian rice (''Oryza sativa)'' is most widely known and most widely grown, with two major subspecies (''indica'' and ''japonica'') and o ...
*
Manoomin Wild rice, also called manoomin, Canada rice, Indian rice, or water oats, is any of four species of grasses that form the genus ''Zizania'', and the grain that can be harvested from them. The grain was historically gathered and eaten in both ...
* ''
Oryza sativa ''Oryza sativa'', commonly known as Asian rice or indica rice, is the plant species most commonly referred to in English as ''rice''. It is the type of farmed rice whose cultivars are most common globally, and was first domesticated in the Yan ...
''


References


External links


About patent dispute


{{Varieties of rice Bengali cuisine Rice varieties Rice production in India Rice production in Pakistan de:Reis#Basmati-Reis