There's rice, baby! More than 20 years ago, Helge Schneider sang in his song of the same name about the grainy side dish, which - as in many German kitchens - only played a sad supporting role. Today is time for a new beginning, because rice can do much more than just provide satiety.
Risolier Stefan Fak in an interview:
What is a “Risolier” anyway?
After many years in tourism management, I wanted to one day create space for clear thoughts again. So I set off for Asia and was fascinated by the endless rice fields there, in the Mekon Delta. Interest became fascination and fascination became passion. I developed into a “risolier” - a rice expert. The Risolier's broad knowledge of rice production and processing options goes beyond the purely culinary - a Risolier also deals with the political, social and cultural aspects of rice and thus also with the importance of the grain for the world's population.
What is special about rice for you?
Our idea that the world of rice culture consists of whole grain rice, long grain rice and risotto rice is - I think - a thing of the past. There are over 120,000 varieties of rice worldwide, many of which are just now coming onto the market. A world of new possibilities opens up that we didn't know before. The culinary properties of the rice grain are almost inexhaustible: there are colored rice from soft pink to shimmering purple, there are rice varieties that look like pearls or sticks and even varieties that change color during cooking. The variety of rice cultures far exceeds the variety of gourmet salts, which have also triggered a boom in the kitchen in recent years.
In addition to the topic of rice, there are also many other culinary topics in the Risolier blog. Why?
The longer I worked with rice specialties in Asia, the more often I was able to discover completely new foods that were previously unknown in Europe. Finding the hidden, traditional treasures of Asian food culture and making them tangible for a European audience is simply fun. As a result, the Risolier blog now also contains articles about tropical coconut species, rare sugar specialties and a lot about the miracle fruit “jackfruit”. But if you take a closer look at the individual recipe ideas, then the circle finally closes - with the rice!
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