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The Absolute 5 Best Paella Rices in the Market
Mar
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There are about 100,000 varieties of rice around the world. To know which one of them is a proper Paella Rice, let’s take a little tour. These rice varieties are divided into long and round rice.
Long rice needs more cooking time, and it tends to get its ends split easily. Thus, not appropriate for Paella making.
Round rice, on the other hand, is a much harder rice that will resist any cooking battle without losing its flavour and its texture. It also absorbs the broth allowing us to “chew the broth” as we eat it.
Valencian Rice is the most popular rice grown for this dish. In other words, of the 100,000 varieties from around the world that we had to choose, we kept these Top 5, very Valencian and a guarantee to success. There is no substitute for paella rice.
5 Best Paella Rices
Rice J. Sendra
It is the one with the best reputation among paella makers, and it is deservedly famous, because no other like it has the capacity to absorb the flavor of bajoquetes (green beens), garrofons (Lima Beans) and other essential ingredients of Valencian paella. It takes around 16 minutes to cook it. Be careful: it is a variety that requires skillful and experienced cooks: if the cooking and serving time is not well controlled, it has a tendency to caking.
Senia
It has similar characteristics to J. Sendra and Bahía, but without being, by any means, a bad rice, perhaps it is not as appreciated as those two because its degree of absorption of flavours and aromas is a little less. It needs about 18 minutes of cooking.
Bahia
It’s very similar to J. Sendra. Good absorption of flavours and aromas (this is due to its high amilpectin content, as in J. Sendra and Sénia, which acts as an enhancer) and risky in terms of going too far and caking (because of its low amylose content, the same as in the other two rices). It needs about 20 minutes of cooking.
Bomba Rice
This Spanish paella rice is almost a monument. He is that friend who never fails and if he fails, it is because you have failed him. Bomba rice never goes soft. It has so much absorption capacity that when cooked with broth, it can double its size, while the grains will remain loose and consistent. For brothy rice, it requires 15 minutes of cooking. If they are dry, around 18. And not only does it not overcook, but if you let it rest for a bit after cooking, it will absorb the flavours of the paella even more.
Albufera Rice
It´s a newcomer in the world of rice, because it only began to be marketed in 2016. It is a hybrid of the Sénia and Bomba varieties, which adds the best of both. That is, it absorbs the aromas and flavours as if it were a Sénia. But it never goes soft, as if it were a Bomba. Who will deny a round of applause to the Valencian rice growers, who spent years and years researching and producing this marvel until they achieved it.
We have an extra paella rice to show you:
Calasparra Rice
(Oryza sativa L. in its Balillax Sollana and Bomba varieties), It is not from Valencia. It is from Murcia. With Denomination of Origin, is the fruit of the wisdom of its farmers. Its cultivation in mountainous areas with cultivation elevations between 350-500 meters above sea level. in Las Vegas from the Segura and Mundo rivers (tributary) give it exceptional culinary qualities and physical-chemical characteristics, thanks to its natural culture environment. It´s the best rice used in paella.
Check out the Regional Government Website
It stands out from the other rices for:
Hardness of the elaborated grain
Due to a natural dehydration that occurs in the last stages of grain maturation, which coincides with high temperatures and low relative humidity (30-40%).
Pasting resistance
Due to the consistent clustering of grain starch. Low amylose level. It can absorb up to X 4.5 times the amount of liquid! 1 Kg —-> 4.5 Litres
Natural product
Because it is irrigated with clean and fresh water, recently unbalmed. Throughout its cultivation, insecticidal chemical products are not used because there are no pests that affect the crop; In this ecological cultivation environment, crop rotations (typical of traditional agriculture) are practiced that favor the elimination of potential pests in a natural way (breaking their biological cycle), and also favor the proliferation of useful insects (crop pest predators)). Since massive chemical treatments with insecticides are not carried out, the beneficial fauna is not eliminated and with this a balance is achieved in the populations of both harmful insects, which do not reach the pest level, and useful insects.
We highly recommend Bomba Rice and Special Paella Rice that we have available in our store.
Some of our sources
What kind of rice is used in paella?
How is paella rice different to normal rice?
Can you use any rice for paella?
Is paella rice the same as Arborio rice?
For more Paella resources, click here
