Best Black Rice

Black Rice: Tips & Advice

What is the best black rice? And what is black rice anyway? How does it vary from other rice varieties? 

Native to Asia, there are three basic types of black rice: sticky black rice (used in desserts from Thailand), black Japonica (a short grain rice that is quite sticky) and Chinese black rice. The latter is also called forbidden rice and is grown in Northern China.

Here are some tips and advice on shopping for and cooking with black rice:

• Black rice looks black when dry, but then turns more of a dark purple when cooked.

• Black rice taste much like brown rice—and you cook it much the same way. Black rice and brown rice both have a nuttier flavor than white rice, in our opinion.

• If you soak black rice overnight, you can shorten the cooking time.

After trying out several black rice brands, here are the ones we think are the best bets.

Why Trust Us

We’ve been rating and reviewing products for the home and families since 1994. We do hands-on testing—we buy the products with our own money and evaluate with an eye toward quality, ease of use and affordability.

Here’s another key point: we don’t take money from the brands we review. No free samples, no sponsors, no “partnerships.” Our work is 100% reader-supported!