You may think rice contains gluten due to its sticky texture, but that is incorrect. Rice is a gluten-free grain. But what makes rice sticky?
Rice naturally contains two types of starch called Amylose and Amylopectin.
White Rice
Sticky Rice
Basmati Rice
Amylose
This type of starch molecule does not gelatinise during cooking. Because of that, rice grains containing high amounts of amylose will be light, fluffy and separated once cooked. Basmati is one typical example of a rice type that has high amylose content and least amylopectin.
Amylose Molecules
Glutinous Rice
Amylopectin
This starch is the gelatinising agent that makes rice glutinous and sticky. The higher the amylopectin molecule, the stickier it gets once cooked. Mostly, short grain rice such as Koshihikari, Akitakomachi, Arborio and the like is high in amylopectin and has the lowest amylose content. Some medium-grain rice does fall into this category, where the cooked rice texture appears slightly stickier than long-grain varieties.
Amylopectin Molecules
Do you know that Glutinous rice or sticky rice contains the highest amount of amylopectin and no amylose?
This rice is mostly used in Southeast Asia to make desserts and sweet dishes.
