Whats Cookin: Rice - Transcript

DISCLAIMER: This is NOT a certified or verbatim transcript, but rather represents only the context of the class or meeting, subject to the inherent limitations of real-time captioning. The primary focus of real-time captioning is general communication access and as such this document is not suitable, acceptable, nor is it intended for use in any type of legal proceeding.

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JOIE: We are Joie Solano, Fariha Karim and Samantha Peruch at the library. This is LAPL’s Canoga Park branch collaborating with ConnectoPod, working on a nutrition series called What’s Cooking.

This segment is about rice.

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JOIE: Rice has fed more people over a longer period of time than any other crop. Rice is regarded as one of the first cultivated crops in Asia. Preserved rice grains were first discovered in China around to 800 BCE. Its cultivation had then spread out later to Sri Lanka and India it was passed on to Greece in the Mediterranean. From there and it spread throughout Southern Europe, North Africa and through Spain. Ultimately it was finally spread from Spain to Central and South America.

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JOIE: I'm Joie and at a young age I learned that rice is a staple to Filipino cuisine. It comes with every meal we eat—breakfast, lunch and dinner. There's a Filipino word called Ulam (sp?) which means, a meal you have with rice. Rice is in some of my favorite Filipino desserts such as Bico or Rice cake that my mom occasionally makes.When I was seven years old, my brother taught me how to cook rice, because he said it was an important part of our meals. Rice has also been a big part of my life since my dad is a sushi chef. I believe rice is and will always be a big part of my life since it's a huge part of my Filipino cuisine.

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JOIE: Rice is a member of the Oryza family, one of the three leading crops in the world. People have used rice to make snacks, desserts, main meals, and special foods for religious ceremonies over time. Rice domesticated from wild grasses about 10 thousand years ago. As a result there are over 120,000 different varieties of rice including black, red streams and white.

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FARIHA: I'm Fariha and I eat rice every day. I eat it with heavily seasoned proteins such as meat and eggs. My mom makes rice with several spices making the rice so flavorful on its own. This type of rice is called Biryani, when cooked with chicken. It's always comforting to eat it. All the flavors never get old. Eating dishes with rice provides a feeling of comfort. The immense flavor and portions satisfy both my hunger and contentment. Rice is known to be a cheap and accessible crop. On its own it already has so much to offer. I just love how rice can be easily elevated. I appreciate the presence rice has in my life and many others.

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FARIHA: Rice has the ability to grow almost anywhere. For example, it's grown on the flood plains of Bangladesh, the terraced countryside of Northern Japan, and even in the deserts of Egypt and Australia. Throughout history, rice has been the chief source of food for about 3 million people, and claims 20% of all the calories that mankind consumes. It has also been known as the first cross-cultural food throughout the many years of its own domestication.

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SAMANTHA: I am Samantha, and rice has always been an important aspect within my Hispanic, Guatemalan cultural background. For example, rice is cooked almost every day in my own household. My family and I love to eat rice as a big portion of our nutritious meals, as we include it in our foods oftenly. Some examples of the foods that I love to include it in are rice and beans, white rice and chicken, brown rice within beef stew, and even carne asada, accompanied to the side of rice. I've grown up eating a lot of rice in my childhood which has been an essential aspect of my own Hispanic traditions. In addition, rice has been a fun task of learning how to cook along with my mom, teaching me how. Therefore, it's brought our family's culture, out, with the unique ways that we incorporate rice, into our delicious dishes. Furthermore, rice has always been a typical portion of the meals that us Hispanic cultures feast on. With our culture, rice has always made an appearance in family parties, traditional feasts, and even family gatherings.

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JOIE: This series was made possible by...Bro you don’t gotta laugh!...[laughter]

FARIHA: This series was made possible by the California Library Association and special thanks to librarian Marcia Melkonian.

[Music]

[END OF RECORDING]

DISCLAIMER: This is NOT a certified or verbatim transcript, but rather represents only the context of the class or meeting, subject to the inherent limitations of real-time captioning. The primary focus of real-time captioning is general communication access and as such this document is not suitable, acceptable, nor is it intended for use in any type of legal proceeding.

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