Jikei 58 was selected from protoplast-derived plants of Koshihikari, and has a 20% shorter culm length (Noda et al. Despite the need for high-yield rice, the first priority was to produce delicious rice that emphasized quality and taste. Hashizume A, Yamagishi A (1969) Studies on growth regulation of rice plants by soil treatment with pentachlorophenol (PCP). The only countries that cultivate this type of rice are Japan, Australia, and some parts of the United States.

If you’re looking for a delicious and high-quality rice, then Koshihikari is definitely worth trying.Ashikari M, Sakakibara H, Lin S, Yamamoto T, Takashi T, Nishimura A, Angeles ER, Qian Q, Kitano H, Matsuoka M (2005) Cytokinin oxidase regulates rice grain production. To meet these demands, Japanese rice breeders have tried to develop new cultivars that can increase rice consumption and respond to the diversification of eating quality preferences.

Kojima Y, Ebitani T, Kaneda H, Doi M, Ishibashi T, Kidani Y, Mukaino N, Yamaguchi T, Omoteno M, Yamamoto Y (2003) Development and utilization of isogenic lines Koshihikari Toyama. Also, if you love one rice brand, please stick to it because different rice brands require varying amounts of water. Unfortunately, you cannot shape the rice into its traditional triangular shape using this method because the rice would not be sticky enough. Nishimura M, Kusaba M, Miyahara K, Nishio T, Iida S, Imbe T, Sato H (2005) New rice varieties with low levels of easy-to-digest protein, ‘LGC-Katsu’ and ‘LGC-Jun. Meanwhile, in 1965, Niigata Prefecture adopted it as a recommended breed ahead of the rest of the country.Japanese rice vinegar, 1 tsp (6g) fine table salt, 1 tbsp (14g) granulated sugar, and 1 (2g) 4" long kombu in a saucepan. Try your best to rinse quickly and don't let the rice soak in the water for too long to prevent the rice from absorbing too much moisture. Norin 22 and Norin 1 were crossed at the Niigata Prefectural Agricultural Experiment Station in 1944. This feature has been inherited by other Japanese rice cultivars such as Hitomebore and Akitakomachi that are progeny of Koshihikari (Fig. The main reason for this widespread preference for Koshihikari by Japanese consumers is its superior eating quality.

The best rice for onigiri is the short-grained Japonica variant or “Koshihikari,” known for its fluffy and stickier texture with shiny exterior. It is recommended not to keep it warm for more than 5-6 hours to maintain the quality of the cooked rice. although Koshihikari has some resistance genes, including Pish and Pik-s, blast races virulent against Pish and Pik-s are distributed widely in Japan (Kawasaki-Tanaka and Fukuta 2014, Kawasaki-Tanaka et al. Breeders have continued to develop new rice varieties whose properties surpass those of Koshihikari. Kawasaki-Tanaka A, Hayashi N, Yanagihara S, Fukuta Y (2016) Diversity and distribution of rice blast ( Pyricularia oryzae Cavara) races in Japan.If you couldn’t find the above Japanese rice or want to use more budget-friendly rice, Calrose rice is also a good choice. Joost Nusselder, the founder of Bite My Bun is a content marketer, dad and loves trying out new food with Japanese food at the heart of his passion, and together with his team he's been creating in-depth blog articles since 2016 to help loyal readers with recipes and cooking tips. As we noted in the previous section, rice breeders tend to use Koshihikari and select phenotypes, especially for good eating quality, that resemble it.