Iran Press/ Iran News: Rice plays an undeniable role in Persian cuisine. Although it was traditionally the major staple item in northern Iran and bread was considered the dominant staple in other parts, nowadays a rice-based diet is widely used throughout the whole country.
Northern Iran produces high quality rice
Rice History in Iran
There is no exact information about the precise era in which rice was introduced along the Caspian shore and the Iranian cuisine, but we know that it was not widely grown in the country before the Islamic period. One evidence comes from the fact that there is no word for rice in Avesta. The farming of rice reached Iran from southeast Asia and India.
Rice cultivation in Iran is rooted in northern part of the country
It was a specialty of the Safavid empire’s royal household cuisine at first and became a major part of Iranian cookery by the end of the 16th century. Before that, during the 7th-13th centuries, rice was cultivated in Azerbaijan, Fars, Khuzestan and most importantly, the Caspian provinces, the very regions that are still the main areas of rice production.
Gilan, Mazandaran provinces are the major rice producers in Iran
Rice paddies of Iran
As mentioned above, rice is mainly produced in the northern part of Iran, where the fields are located near the Caspian Sea. Gilan is the most important province in this regard, considering the fact that 52% of farmlands in this province are paddy fields. This number is about 16% in Mazandaran province, 3% in Fars province and less than 1% in the rest of the country.
Iranian women at rice paddy in north of country
Gilan yields about 50% of the national harvest and the process of cultivating rice in this province commences in late March. The peak period of the job is around April and May. The tough and exhausting labor of rice cultivation is mainly done by women in this region and you’ll see them working hard in the paddy fields wearing their colorful traditional clothes.
Rice varieities in Iran
Iranian rice is among the best in the world. Among the most widely used rice brands in Iran are Tarem and Hashemi, both famous in this country.
Tarom is among the highest quality rice varieties in Iran
Tarom
Tarom rice is the most well-known and widely used rice brand in Iran. This Iranian rice was initially planted and cultivated in Tarom, in the province of Zanjan, and then cultivated in the northern regions of the provinces of Mazandaran and Gilan. It’s now available in 13 distinct varieties on the market; the most notable of them are Tarom Mahali rice and Tarom Hashemi rice.
Persian cuisine demands high quality rice from northern country
Sadri
Sadri rice, grown in Gilan province, is one of the most fabulous Persian rice varieties. This rice has a pleasant scent and delicious flavor. Aside from that, the quantity of protein contained in each grain of this rice is relatively high, and the raw grain length of this rice is more than 7 mm, with a cooked grain length of 13 mm. Black tail rice, yellow tail rice, and red tail rice are the three types of Sadri rice available.
Related article: Persian Cuisine; What Iran is known for
Rice export
In 2020, Iran exported $2.72M in Rice, making it the 67th largest exporter of Rice in the world. At the same year, Rice was the 181st most exported product in Iran. The main destination of Rice exports from Iran are: Turkey, Canada ($638k), Germany, United Arab Emirates , and Australia.
High quality Iranina rice is exported to many countries
The fastest growing export markets for Rice of Iran between 2019 and 2020 were Turkey , Germany, and United Arab Emirates.
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