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ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Classic Cajun dishes generally call for medium grain white rice. It can go in just about anything, though it is particularly suited to something like étouffée, with its oftentimes rich and thick sauce. If you are preparing a gumbo, on the other hand, you might consider a stickier grain of rice, since gumbo typically has a thinner broth. Short grain rice releases more starch as it’s cooked, and that starch is what makes it sticky. When preparing a jambalaya, cooks often go for a long grain rice. Now, I am sure half of the entrants in the Gonzales Jambalaya Festival’s cooking contest disagree with this, but hold your fire, friends: When you are making a pot of jambalaya the size of a bathtub, do what works for you. Because when it comes to jambalaya, there is no wrong rice! Only a wrong color. (Red. Red is the wrong color.) Beyond Cajun cooking, different types of rice yield different dishes. Jasmine rice is frequently used in Middle Eastern dishes because that rice exudes a floral scent that elevates shawarmas, grilled meats and kibbeh. You might also consider jasmine rice when making a pilaf or any dish where the rice stands alone. Wild rice is great with wild game — duck, rabbit or venison, for instance — because it has a stronger flavor profile and can stand up to proteins that possess a stronger, gamier flavor. (That’s why, when you see a duck dish at a restaurant, it’s frequently served with a wild rice pilaf.)

ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Crowley, Louisiana, in the heart of the American rice belt, is home to Supreme Rice Mill, the largest rice mill in the state and one of the oldest, going back to 1936. Supreme Rice Mill’s state-of-the-art milling

equipment processes over one billion pounds of rice annually, including long and medium grains to brown and American-grown jasmine rice. Supreme Rice’s passion is closely entwined with the cultivation of rice and the American farming families who grow it.

ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT The Falcon Rice Mill, also in Crowley, has remained one of the oldest family-run rice mills in the country. It opened in the 1950s and began selling rice under the names Ed’s, Randy’s and Falcon rice. Later, other brands were developed to include their popular Cajun Country brand of long, medium, brown, jasmine and popcorn rice.

ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Second-generation rice farmer Michael Frugé of Eunice founded Parish Rice in 2018. Grown and harvested in South

Louisiana, Parish Rice has 53% more protein and a low glycemic index value,

because the higher protein changes the way the carbs in rice affect your body. The variety, officially called Frontière, was developed at the H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station in Rayne by LSU AgCenter scientists Herry Utomo and Ida Wenefrida.

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