As many as 120 types of rice are produced in Italy, diversified by grain size, shape, content and paired recipes. The production of the Belpaese, aptly called “Europe’s rice field,” actually concerns, for 80%, about a dozen varieties, among which the very famous and loved by Italians are Arborio and the awarded Carnaroli, prized by recipes and chefs.
We use to divide those peculiar types of rice from the peninsula into the classification: “original”, “semi-fine” (Rosa Marchetti, Padano, Vialone Nano), “fine” (Ribe, Sant’Andrea), “super-fine” (Carnaroli, Roma, Arborio, Baldo). Some species types are put on the market without undergoing refining and whitening, obtaining that “whole” (but also the “Venere,” black in color, marketed as semi-whole).
The regions involved in production are: Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto and the entire Po Valley area, rich in moist and soft lands. Many popular regional recipes derive from here (pumpkin risotto, saffron, Treviso red radicchio and others). The super-fine are paired with risottos, gelatinized types (parboiled) are used for cold salads and whole productions are preferable for traditional different types of soups.
