Risotto is an Italian dish, whose name translates as "rice", so it’s easy to guess that the most important thing in its preparation is rice. It should be soft on the outside and hard on the inside.
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Rice for risotto
Only three varieties of rice are suitable for risotto: arborio, carnaroli and nialo vialone. These are Italian varieties. Unlike ordinary rice, they contain two types of starch: amylopectin, starch on the outside, and amylase - starch inside rice grain. It is thanks to the starch, which is located on the surface of rice grain, that the finished dish is creamy and soft on the outside. Therefore, before cooking, these types of rice should never be washed. And the starch inside the grain makes the finished dish "al dente", which means "by the tooth", that is, the finished rice remains a little hard inside.
Arborio is the most common and readily available rice variety. The grains of this rice are large, so it is easiest to make risotto from it. They also contain a very large amount of amylopectin. The only drawback of this rice is that after cooking it must be served immediately, since in a few minutes it will stick together and turn into porridge. Therefore, this rice variety is ideal for making classic risotto, without complex side dishes. For example, risotto with cheese or mushrooms.
Carnaroli - rice with large elongated grains that contain amylopectin and amylase. Of the three varieties, this is the most expensive, but at the same time it is the most versatile. Making risotto from this rice is more difficult. Cooked rice retains its appearance a little longer than arborio. Use it most often for cooking risotto with asparagus or game.
Vialone nano is the most inaccessible variety of rice. It is often used in restaurant practice, since the grains of this rice are smaller in size than that of arborio, and it has a low level of amylopectin. It is suitable for making any kind of risotto.
When buying rice, you need to pay attention to the date of packaging. If rice was packaged for a long time, then it is likely that the packaging was often transferred and the grains chopped and cracked in it. If the package says "rice for risotto", then this is most likely the sort of arborio.