Dry rice, mellow or broth rice, three simple varieties of how to make our rice, but still we must decide, in addition, which variety of rice is the right one for our recipe.

You will probably think that any rice is the right one, but every chef or master chef, whatever the ingredient, can tell you that for certain dishes or recipes, some varieties of ingredients are better than others, either for their quality or properties.

And rice, whether for a paella, a broth or mellow pot or even a risotto is similar, different varieties are more suitable for different recipes and situations. In this blog post, we are going to take a look at the most popular and used varieties so you can use the perfect rice for that perfect recipe.

Different varieties of rice

Senia rice

Senia rice is a popular variety among rice cookers and paella masters, with a creamy and moist grain, it is a fine and delicate rice, which is recommended for experienced cooks due to its low tolerance to overcooking (maximum 16 minutes of cooking), compensated by its incredible absorption capacity and its looseness of the grain, which allows us to savor our broth or stock with each grain of rice.

It is a rice variety especially suitable for dry rice dishes, where it shows its true strength with other rice varieties when used to make paella.

Bomba rice

Bomba rice is a variety of rice that stands out for its resistance to overcooking, in addition to its great capacity to absorb broth, which allows it to make use of its unique characteristic of multiplying its size more than twice once cooked.

Its size is equivalent to round rice, sometimes even a little smaller, but its capacity to multiply its size makes it a very coveted rice by master rice cooks.

This variety of rice is magnificent for making paellas and dry rice dishes, due to its capacity to absorb flavors and aromas, while remaining loose, whole and tender. Even so, it is a multipurpose rice variety, which can also be used for soupy or brothy rice dishes, where its capacity to absorb flavors is especially appreciated thanks to the excess of broth necessary for the recipe.

Albufera rice

What happens when you combine two of the most appreciated varieties of rice, you get albufera rice, a fusion between senia and bomba rice that combines their most appreciated characteristics: the capacity to absorb flavors of senia rice and the resistance to overcooking of bomba rice.

A relatively recent variety of rice, whose combination of characteristics makes it an ideal rice for any kind of paella or rice recipe, whether dry, mellow or broth, very appreciated in restaurants or caterings.

Maratelli rice

Originally from Italy, but cultivated in Spain in the lands of Aragon and Navarre, the Maratelli rice variety has a round, pearl-textured rice grain, whose high amylose level (around 19% and 21%) gives it an incredible resistance to overcooking.

It is this last characteristic that makes it so appreciated for sweet rice dishes and risottos, as it can be left to cook for long periods of time without fear of it opening or losing its consistency.

Marisma rice

The Marisma rice is a variety of rice whose rice grain is of intermediate size, this means that, unlike the other varieties of rice in this list, which are short grain, it leaves us a larger halo, that is to say, it will cover a larger size of our paella or pot. We cannot forget its absorption capacity, which allows us to obtain all the flavor of the broth where it is included.

Due to its superior size and its capacity of absorption of flavor, it is a variety of rice very wished to realize rice broths.

Frequently asked questions

Which rice is best for which situation?

As we mentioned at the beginning of this post, which variety of rice we use for which recipe or dish depends not only on its characteristics, it also depends on the situation in which we find ourselves when making it.

Are you going to make a paella at home for your friends but they are going to be late? A Senia rice is quite ideal if you are going to make it at the moment, but if you want to have your paella already prepared for when they arrive, a bomba rice would be a more suitable option, since it can be more time cooked and at rest before it begins to lose its properties.

Similarly, an albufera or bomba rice is a very good option for a mellow rice, but if you want to leave the rice cooking for a long time, a maratelli rice is a much better option, as it resists overcooking more than these other varieties.

When you are going to make your recipe, consider not only that the variety of rice is the right one, but also that it adapts to your needs at the moment, it may seem a small detail, but you and your guests will notice it.

If you want to know even more about the different varieties of rice, you can find more information in our blog post: Types of rice for paella

We hope that this brief entry ensures that you use the right variety for your rice recipes, rice cooks!