Because, until relatively recently, most Americans came from parts of the world in which wheat, oats, rye, or potatoes were the major starchy food. There was no habit of eating rice, so it wasn't eaten. There are exceptions to this.
People typically eat the crops that are available, so our choices are often dependent on climate, as well as the culinary traditions of our ancestors. Wheat and potatoes grow well in the northern climates of Europe and the U.S. while rice does well in more tropical and sub-tropical climates.
Not as a staple, not with every meal (bread usually is), but rice is very much enjoyed in the West. Italians have invented magnificent Risottos , rice is used as ingredient in meatballs or, with green peas, served as a side to Wiener Schnitzel (unless one prefers potato salad)...
Although flatbreads (especially with toppings such as pizza or tarte flambée) and rice are eaten in Europe, they are only staple foods in limited areas, particularly in Southern Europe. Salads (cold dishes with uncooked or cooked vegetables, sometimes with a dressing) are an integral part of European cuisine.
Traditional foods are usually based on what grows well in the area. Northern climates aren't suited for cultivating rice. Even in northern China you will findd wheat cultivated as a major crop, and read deeply instead of rice as a major source of carbs. Much of Europe is well suited to wheat.
Rice cultivation is well-suited to countries and regions with low labor costs and high rainfall, as it is very labor-intensive to cultivate and requires plenty of water for cultivation. This property of rice made its growth impossible in northern and central parts of Europe, where sunlight was lacking.
China. China has the distinction of being the world's biggest producer and consumer of rice on an annual basis. Rice consumption behaviour varies across different regions of China.
Re: Is there a country or tribe that doesn't eat rice? The Inuit ate no rice at all. In fact, for all practical purposes, they were carnivores — they ate no plant-derived food at all, with the exception of a few berries in the summer.
Three of the worlds most populous nations are rice-based societies: China, India, and Indonesia. Thus, rice is a staple in the diet of half the world's population. In India, rice is eaten three times per day.
In China, both rice and noodles are staple foods, but the consumption patterns depend on the region. Generally, rice is consumed more in the south while noodles are more popular in the north.
The History of Rice
According to Chinese mythology, rice was given as a gift from the animals after a large flood, giving the Chinese people a source of plentiful food. Rice thrived in China's wet rural environment and became the principal food staple of the region.
The Western pattern diet is a modern dietary pattern that is generally characterized by high intakes of pre-packaged foods, refined grains, red meat, processed meat, high-sugar drinks, candy and sweets, fried foods, industrially produced animal products, butter and other high-fat dairy products, eggs, potatoes, corn ( ...
Because it works: you can easily pile just the right amount of rice in a fork and navigate it to your mouth for a satisfying mouthfull. Because we are used to pile the rice on the fork with the help of the table knife, and that would not work as well with a spoon.
"When you start to look at the Italians, as well as the Spanish, there's quite a bit of rice in their risottos and paellas. "They don't really wash their rice because what they want to do is retain the [starch] that is essential in making sure the dish ends up tasting creamy.
Apart from its role as a dish in full meals, rice is a versatile grain found in various consumer products in Japan. While direct consumption of rice grains makes up most of the. They are often added as an ingredient to impart a sophisticated character based on traditional technology.
Rice is not just a staple for Koreans. The symbolism is rooted in deep history where rice was and still is a symbol of how one's life's prosperity is measured. In essence, rice equates to “life”. Ssal (쌀) is the Korean word for “uncooked” rice.
Approximately 70% of the world's 1.3 billion poor people live in Asia, where rice is the staple food.
Rice is easy to digest and is has less saturated fats and has good cholesterol as compared to other foods. Hence, it is good for heart health. Suffering from stomach ailments, then rice can be the best healthy alternative to go for.
Have you even wondered why Asian countries have eaten white rice for thousands of years, not brown? Because brown rice is full of phytates and lectins, which bind to vitamins and minerals and prevent them from being absorbed. Phytates are anti-nutrients found in grains and legumes.
Potatoes are the third most consumed food crop in the world, after rice and wheat.
Many scholars now accept that the Yangtze River area in China is the place where rice was originally domesticated as a consequence of these newer findings (11, 19–23).
Rice ranked #1 on the most commonly consumed foods list. It is believed that over half of the world's population consumes rice as a staple dish and is one of the most common food items across the biggest continent Asia, along with Latin America and areas of South Africa too.
It is theorized that rice was first introduced to Europe through Alexander the Great's journeys into Asia around 320 B.C. Much later, during the 8th century A.D., the Arabs brought rice into Europe through the Iberian Peninsula.
This statistic shows data on the average per capita consumption of rice in Germany in selected years from 1950/51 to 2021/22. In 2021/22, the average per capita consumption of rice was roughly 7 kilograms.