Sticky Rice seeds

LATIN NAME: Oryza sativa var. glutinosa

COMMON NAME: Glutinous Rice

Sticky rice is the quiet, glutinous heart of the kitchens of the East. The sturdy, upright annual carries the long, narrow, mid-green leaves and the nodding panicles of the small, pale flowers, to be followed by the dense heads of the short, plump, pearly-white grains that cook into the sticky, glossy mass so loved of the puddings, the dumplings and the savoury dishes. The plant is one of the great staple crops of the wet fields, and the grain has a very long record of use in the kitchens of the East. It is a plant of the warm, moist, rich ground.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The glutinous rice is a quiet giant of the plant science, studied for the short, plump grains that cook into the sticky, glossy mass. The way the grains hold their glutinous character has been looked at closely, and the plant keeps showing up in the work on the staple grains, the wet-field crops and the members of the grass family. The nodding panicles and the sturdy, upright habit have also made it a fine field plant, and the glutinous rice is a regular subject of the studies of the rice varieties of the East.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

The glutinous rice is the sticky heart of the kitchens of the East. The short, plump grains cook into the sticky, glossy mass that is the base of the dumplings, the puddings, the rice cakes and the savoury parcels of a dozen cuisines, and the grain is also ground into the fine flour of the sweet pastries. The plant is one of the great crops of the wet fields, and the straw is put to its own quiet uses in the craft and the thatch. It has been written up in the culinary and the agricultural papers for the sticky grains and the very long record of use, and it is a fine, generous crop of the warm, moist, rich ground.

Glutinous rice is one of the great staple crops of the wet fields, and the short, plump, pearly grains cook into the sticky, glossy mass of the dumplings, the puddings and the rice cakes of the East. The straw is put to its own quiet uses in the craft and the thatch.

To grow the glutinous rice from seed, sow the seeds thickly in trays of moist soil, then plant the seedlings out in a shallow, flooded bed, keeping the water just covering the roots through the season. The seedlings come through within a couple of weeks and grow on steadily. With the sun, the warmth and the moist, rich ground, the dense heads of the pearly grains will ripen through the warm season.