People who are into wine, coffee, bread, etc, can taste the differences, whereas someone who isn’t can’t. If you’ve spent your whole life eating rice, of course you can taste a difference.
Why is this its own thread? It should go on the pointless questions daily thread.
If you want to find out, you could ask them what they find”interesting”about a particular rice grain.
If you don’t want to ask, you can do your own tasting: start with the usual rice and try to get the”taste image” of that rice in your mind. Then take a different variety (not necessarily a different brand) and try to take the “taste image”. You may be able to tell very coarse differences (maybe the texture, some particular after taste, the sensation in mouthfeel…)
After several attempts you may be able to tell differences or find the one you like and be able to talk to that ojisan… or you may find rice is not your thing, but you will know for sure.
I recently tried rice from Okinawa Ishigaki and it has a distinctive taste almost like whole wheat and it’s more fluffy than the one I used to get (I think it was from Mie). When I finish this rice bag in tasting one from Aomori next!
I didn’t believe it until I could do it…. Not brands, but sweetness and flavor. I can identify good rice (rice that has more flavor for my palate).
Thought it was a joke for years.
Many Japanese people are born with tongues that allow them to, with practice, distinguish between very slightly different flavors.
^((Many non-Japanese people are also born with the ability.))
It’s very feasible. If it wasn’t there wouldn’t be different rice with different costs. If you understand what you’re looking for in flavor in texture, it’s easier to find.
There’s a noticible difference in the taste of different rice types. For me, Japan’s Koshihikari has a sweet taste to it, but Californian “koshihikari” is pretty meh. The koshihikari grown on the sea of Japan also tastes better than it grown eastern side, so yeah, I think you can taste the differences.
start from starkly different rice
japanese vs thai jasmine vs basmati
you’ll get a rough idea what to look for when comparing rice. then move on to distinct strains of japanese rice like
koshi hikari (sweet and bouncy) vs sasa nishiki (neutral and has bite)
My wife definitely can. I tested her. I bought a bunch of different rice and cooked a little of each. She correctly identified all of them. Not by name, just the general taste pallet. I can barely tell the difference.
Yeah it’s a thing. My wife’s family are rice farmers up in Niigata. They’re totally rice snobs.
All i can taste is whether I put too little, too much or just enough water in the rice cooker.
Yeah, it’s true. My wife’s parents rice brand they buy tastes better, we just don’t buy it cause it’s a bit expensive. They sometimes get a gift of 20kg of some nicer stuff, and when they do we normally get half. Easy to tell its better (not sure if more expensive)
I can to an extent too.
It’s all about collecting taste experience. As a contrast, most Japanese can’t distinguish turkey from chicken. To Americans, it’s inconceivable since the flavor and texture are so obviously different. But, we have many years of experience in eating the two and cataloging those differences, making a “turkey” profile and a “chicken” profile in our brains. I can’t do it with rice yet (I’m at the “Oooh, I like this one. What is it?” stage) but I imagine it’s the same mechanism.
[removed]
Extremely feasible.
Currently in Niigata on business, but I live in Aichi normally. People at my company who knew about my trip constantly were telling me the rice is so much better in Niigata. “Bullshit.” I thought. “Rice is rice. It’s all about how you make it.”
I order some Sauce Katsudon at a restaurant and I’m surprised when I find that it’s not the dish I already know well, but with a splash of sauce for fun, but a completely new dish, which is mostly just rice, with a bit of fried meat on top. “Disappointing,” I thought. “Niigata katsudon is bullshit.”
I eat a couple pieces of meat and then arrive at the rice.
It’s…sweet? Like, a honey-type of rich sweetness? Although obviously much more mild. Madness. Absolute madness. This rice is better than the meat. What the fuck is going on.
I had brought rice with me from Aichi to eat in my temporary accommodations but I bought some from Niigata to test side by side. Absolute night and day. Aichi rice is filler, Niigata rice makes you understand why rice is considered a main dish.
Yes, it’s feasible. Different prefectures create different strains of rice hybrids. Some are starchier, sweeter, higher or lower in texture. Hokkaido’s nanatsuboshi is a good example. Higher in sweetness but softer.
Do you think people can taste the difference in different sakes? if yes, then there’s also people who can taste the difference in rice.
I can to some extent. Between Fukui Koshihikari and Uonuma Koshihikari probably not, but if they are significantly different like a Koshihikari with Yumepirika or Komachi, definitely the grain texture feels different, the way it holds itself together for making onigiri or reverse maki rolls, the fragrance after cooking in the same rice cooker is slightly different, the amount of sugars is different(after chewing for a while), how it smells after cooling off is different (and why i hate Calrose, it’s fine freshly cooked but if it sits in the fridge overnight for fried rice ugh it stinks like years old rice until it goes back into the wok).
i wouldn’t be able to tell the difference from brands of Basmati or Jasmine. But Japanese short grain i think i can a little bit. (and it could possibly all fall apart with a blind taste test. It’s not objectively tested) i also like certain brands of beef better than others(like Matsusaka, Yonezawa, and Maesawa).
I recent went to Uonuma area and bought 2 bags of Uonuma Koshihikari, one from a duck poop fertilized field, and the other a typical farm collective. i can’t really tell the difference other than one has more water absorption rate so it needs a little more water to cook or it gets a little dry and hard. (from my one button rice cooker) i’d say anyone can notice subtle differences provided how far do you want to do your own research into the subject, otherwise, just enjoy the delicious rice and ignore people like me who says we can. 😅
I eat Thai mai so…
Just let the ojisan have his little special thing he thinks he has. Some people don’t have much to live for.
Who cares?
I don’t claim to be able to tell the difference between every type in terms of texture and taste, but I certainly don’t think they seem to be the same.
Even if he can, what does it even matter?
>All Japanese white rice seems to be the same in terms of taste and texture in my mind.
If you can’t tell the difference between sushi rice and mochigome, you have some issues and probably need to see a doctor.
20 comments
People who are into wine, coffee, bread, etc, can taste the differences, whereas someone who isn’t can’t. If you’ve spent your whole life eating rice, of course you can taste a difference.
Why is this its own thread? It should go on the pointless questions daily thread.
If you want to find out, you could ask them what they find”interesting”about a particular rice grain.
If you don’t want to ask, you can do your own tasting: start with the usual rice and try to get the”taste image” of that rice in your mind. Then take a different variety (not necessarily a different brand) and try to take the “taste image”. You may be able to tell very coarse differences (maybe the texture, some particular after taste, the sensation in mouthfeel…)
After several attempts you may be able to tell differences or find the one you like and be able to talk to that ojisan… or you may find rice is not your thing, but you will know for sure.
I recently tried rice from Okinawa Ishigaki and it has a distinctive taste almost like whole wheat and it’s more fluffy than the one I used to get (I think it was from Mie). When I finish this rice bag in tasting one from Aomori next!
I didn’t believe it until I could do it…. Not brands, but sweetness and flavor. I can identify good rice (rice that has more flavor for my palate).
Thought it was a joke for years.
Many Japanese people are born with tongues that allow them to, with practice, distinguish between very slightly different flavors.
^((Many non-Japanese people are also born with the ability.))
It’s very feasible. If it wasn’t there wouldn’t be different rice with different costs. If you understand what you’re looking for in flavor in texture, it’s easier to find.
There’s a noticible difference in the taste of different rice types. For me, Japan’s Koshihikari has a sweet taste to it, but Californian “koshihikari” is pretty meh. The koshihikari grown on the sea of Japan also tastes better than it grown eastern side, so yeah, I think you can taste the differences.
start from starkly different rice
japanese vs thai jasmine vs basmati
you’ll get a rough idea what to look for when comparing rice. then move on to distinct strains of japanese rice like
koshi hikari (sweet and bouncy) vs sasa nishiki (neutral and has bite)
My wife definitely can. I tested her. I bought a bunch of different rice and cooked a little of each. She correctly identified all of them. Not by name, just the general taste pallet. I can barely tell the difference.
Yeah it’s a thing. My wife’s family are rice farmers up in Niigata. They’re totally rice snobs.
All i can taste is whether I put too little, too much or just enough water in the rice cooker.
Yeah, it’s true. My wife’s parents rice brand they buy tastes better, we just don’t buy it cause it’s a bit expensive.
They sometimes get a gift of 20kg of some nicer stuff, and when they do we normally get half. Easy to tell its better (not sure if more expensive)
I can to an extent too.
It’s all about collecting taste experience. As a contrast, most Japanese can’t distinguish turkey from chicken. To Americans, it’s inconceivable since the flavor and texture are so obviously different. But, we have many years of experience in eating the two and cataloging those differences, making a “turkey” profile and a “chicken” profile in our brains. I can’t do it with rice yet (I’m at the “Oooh, I like this one. What is it?” stage) but I imagine it’s the same mechanism.
[removed]
Extremely feasible.
Currently in Niigata on business, but I live in Aichi normally. People at my company who knew about my trip constantly were telling me the rice is so much better in Niigata. “Bullshit.” I thought. “Rice is rice. It’s all about how you make it.”
I order some Sauce Katsudon at a restaurant and I’m surprised when I find that it’s not the dish I already know well, but with a splash of sauce for fun, but a completely new dish, which is mostly just rice, with a bit of fried meat on top. “Disappointing,” I thought. “Niigata katsudon is bullshit.”
I eat a couple pieces of meat and then arrive at the rice.
It’s…sweet? Like, a honey-type of rich sweetness? Although obviously much more mild. Madness. Absolute madness. This rice is better than the meat. What the fuck is going on.
I had brought rice with me from Aichi to eat in my temporary accommodations but I bought some from Niigata to test side by side. Absolute night and day. Aichi rice is filler, Niigata rice makes you understand why rice is considered a main dish.
Yes, it’s feasible. Different prefectures create different strains of rice hybrids. Some are starchier, sweeter, higher or lower in texture. Hokkaido’s nanatsuboshi is a good example. Higher in sweetness but softer.
Do you think people can taste the difference in different sakes? if yes, then there’s also people who can taste the difference in rice.
I can to some extent. Between Fukui Koshihikari and Uonuma Koshihikari probably not, but if they are significantly different like a Koshihikari with Yumepirika or Komachi, definitely the grain texture feels different, the way it holds itself together for making onigiri or reverse maki rolls, the fragrance after cooking in the same rice cooker is slightly different, the amount of sugars is different(after chewing for a while), how it smells after cooling off is different (and why i hate Calrose, it’s fine freshly cooked but if it sits in the fridge overnight for fried rice ugh it stinks like years old rice until it goes back into the wok).
i wouldn’t be able to tell the difference from brands of Basmati or Jasmine. But Japanese short grain i think i can a little bit. (and it could possibly all fall apart with a blind taste test. It’s not objectively tested) i also like certain brands of beef better than others(like Matsusaka, Yonezawa, and Maesawa).
I recent went to Uonuma area and bought 2 bags of Uonuma Koshihikari, one from a duck poop fertilized field, and the other a typical farm collective. i can’t really tell the difference other than one has more water absorption rate so it needs a little more water to cook or it gets a little dry and hard. (from my one button rice cooker) i’d say anyone can notice subtle differences provided how far do you want to do your own research into the subject, otherwise, just enjoy the delicious rice and ignore people like me who says we can. 😅
I eat Thai mai so…
Just let the ojisan have his little special thing he thinks he has. Some people don’t have much to live for.
Who cares?
I don’t claim to be able to tell the difference between every type in terms of texture and taste, but I certainly don’t think they seem to be the same.
Even if he can, what does it even matter?
>All Japanese white rice seems to be the same in terms of taste and texture in my mind.
If you can’t tell the difference between sushi rice and mochigome, you have some issues and probably need to see a doctor.