Village Harvest travels all over the globe to source a variety of authentic, traditional rice including the base of the Himalayas in India for Basmati, Thailand for Jasmine, the Po River Valley in the Piedmonte Region of Italy for Arborio, Tuscany for Farro, Peru for quinoa and Northern China for our Black Rice.
We do this because native soils and climates affect the flavor, scent and texture of rice and grains. (This is what wine makers refer to as terroir.) When you buy authentically-sourced rice and grain it tastes, feels and smells exactly as it should; and each will elevate your cooking to the next level.
Basmati is a long grain rice that is firm and dry when cooked, making it perfect for pilafs and other fluffy rice dishes. Jasmine is also a long grain rice, but it is moister and has a natural flowery scent.
Arborio is a short grain rice, which means it is extra moist and essential for a great risotto.
Thai Hom Mali is authentic jasmine rice grown primarily by small farmers. It is a naturally moist variety with a wonderful aroma and sweet taste, influenced by the soil, monsoon rains and native climate. Jasmine rice is slightly sticky and holds together well in a variety of cuisines. Village Harvest authentic Thai rice is Thai Hom Mali.
We recommend storing our rice in a cool, dry place. Additionally you can even put it in your own storage container. For our organic rice we also recommend storing the rice in the fridge or freezer. This does not affect the cooking time of the rice.
We offer a variety of gluten free rice! All of our non-wheat derived products are naturally gluten free. This includes our Red rice, Jasmine rice, Arborio rice, Black rice, Basmati rice and Red and Golden Quinoa.
Our Freekeh however, is not gluten free. This is because it is a cracked green wheat, and therefore naturally contains gluten.
Farro is a type of hulled wheat and also possesses naturally occurring gluten. For these reasons we do not recommend farro or freekeh to people with a gluten intolerance.
We are non-GMO. GMO stands for a “genetically modified organism.” This means that none of our food products have been altered at the gene level of the plant. Visit our page on the Non-GMO Project website to see the list of verified products.
No, we do not bleach our rice. The bran is removed by abrasive action of the rice kernel passing between a moving abrasive surface and stationary screen. The abrasive process peels off the bran layers from the brown rice. The rice is then polished to brush off remaining bran dust and to create a characteristic gloss on the milled rice.
Yes, we are fully certified Kosher by Star K. All of our products are Pareve.
“Certified Organic” means that no pesticides, no chemicals, and no toxins have been used in the growth process of a product. Chemicals that have been shown to cause cancer and other diseases are not present in these products. Village Harvest organic products are certified in both the country of origin and by the USDA.
No, none of our rice and grains have additives. All Village Harvest products are made from natural ingredients that you can pronounce. We believe that food is meant to be enjoyed in the purest form.
All of our facilities have allergen control programs as required by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) scheme. Tree nuts and peanuts are not present in our processing facility but may be present in our packaging facility. However, all of our co-packers have allergen control programs which minimizes cross contamination and the packing lines used for our products are exclusively for rice and grains (allergen free lines).
For our dry products the nutritional information is presented as uncooked rice and grains.