What Is Parboiled Rice?
Parboiled rice is not a type of rice. It is ordinary rice that was soaked, steamed and dried while still in its husk before being milled — which is also where the other common name, converted rice, comes from. That single extra step is what makes the grain firmer, less sticky, faintly yellow, and keeps more of the bran’s minerals and B vitamins in the part you actually eat.
It is a process, not a plant
This is the thing most descriptions get wrong, and it explains everything else about the rice. Parboiled rice is not a variety grown in a particular field; it is a treatment applied to rice after harvest. Any grain length can be put through it — extra long, long, medium or short — which is why you find parboiled rice sold in several lengths rather than as one particular kind.
That is also why it behaves oddly in recipes. Two bags labelled parboiled can cook differently because their grain lengths differ, and the water they want differs along with it.
How it is made
The grain is processed in three stages, and all three happen before the rice is milled:
- Soaking. The harvested rice, still in its inedible husk, is soaked in water.
- Steaming. It is then steamed. This is the stage that matters: the heat and moisture drive nutrients from the husk and bran layer inward, into the grain itself.
- Drying. Finally it is dried back down so it can be milled and stored like any other rice.
The consequence is the whole point of the exercise. In ordinary white rice, milling strips away the bran and the germ, and everything they contained leaves with them. In parboiled rice, a good part of that has already been moved inside the grain, so it survives the milling that would otherwise have removed it.
Two side effects are worth knowing. The grain ends up harder and less likely to break, which is why cooked parboiled rice stays separate rather than clumping. And the movement of material from the husk and bran inward gives the rice its faintly yellow tint and slightly nutty flavour — this is the product side’s account of where those come from, and it fits what you see in the bag.
Why it is also called converted rice
The two names describe the same thing from different angles. Parboiled describes the method: partly boiled. Converted is the name that stuck commercially, and it refers to the same partial boiling — carried out with the grain still inside its husk. Historically the treatment made husks easier to remove by hand; today the reason it continues is that it keeps more of the grain’s nutritional value through milling.
So there is no difference to look for on the shelf. If a bag says converted rice, it is parboiled rice.
What is actually in it
The figures below are from the USDA’s national food database, for cooked rice, per 100 g. Both entries are the enriched long-grain kind, cooked, so the two columns are directly comparable.
| Per 100 g, cooked | Parboiled, long-grain, enriched, cooked | White rice, long-grain, regular, enriched, cooked |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 513 kJ | 544 kJ |
| Protein | 2.91 g | 2.69 g |
| Fat | 0.37 g | 0.28 g |
| Carbohydrate | 26.0 g | 28.2 g |
| Fibre | 0.9 g | 0.4 g |
| Calcium | 19.0 mg | 10.0 mg |
| Iron | 1.81 mg | 1.2 mg |
| Magnesium | 9.0 mg | 12.0 mg |
| Potassium | 56.0 mg | 35.0 mg |
| Sodium | 2.0 mg | 1.0 mg |
| Zinc | 0.37 mg | 0.49 mg |
| Thiamin (B1) | 0.212 mg | 0.163 mg |
| Niacin (B3) | 2.31 mg | 1.48 mg |
| Folate | 81.0 µg | 58.0 µg |
| Manganese | 0.354 mg | 0.472 mg |
| Selenium | 9.3 µg | 7.5 µg |
Read the whole table, not just the bold rows. Parboiled comes out ahead on fibre, calcium, iron, potassium, thiamin, niacin and folate — which is the real payoff of the process, since those are the things the bran held. But it is lower in magnesium and manganese than ordinary enriched white rice. On balance parboiled is the more nutrient-dense of the two, but it is not better at everything.
One thing to be careful about when reading figures for this rice elsewhere: they are often for the uncooked grain. The USDA database lists packaged parboiled rice at roughly 360–380 kcal per 100 g, against the far lower cooked figures above. Uncooked and cooked columns are not interchangeable.
Parboiled rice is not brown rice. Brown rice keeps its bran layer and takes much longer to cook; parboiled rice has had that layer’s contents driven inward during processing and cooks on roughly a white-rice timescale. They look a little alike and they are often described as nutritional equivalents, but they are not interchangeable in a recipe, and the timings are not the same. See brown rice and how to cook parboiled rice.
How it cooks, in short
The treatment leaves the grain needing slightly more water and slightly longer than untreated white rice of the same length — about 2 cups of water per cup of rice, simmered covered for 20 to 25 minutes, with extra long grain wanting closer to 2¼. (Published timings do not all agree — a national rice industry body gives 25 to 30 minutes, so anywhere between 20 and 30 is in range; judge the end by the rice, not the clock.) It is also more forgiving than most rice: if a batch comes out soft, drop to 1¾ next time; if it comes out firm, go up to 2¼. The full method, including what to do when a recipe tells you to parboil the rice, is on how to cook parboiled rice.
For where this sits among the other grains, see the rice to water ratio page.
FAQ
Is parboiled rice the same as converted rice?
Yes. Two names for the same treated rice — parboiled describes the method, converted is the commercial name. If a bag says converted rice, it is parboiled rice.
Is parboiled rice a variety of rice?
No. It is a process applied after harvest. Extra long, long, medium and short grain rice can all be parboiled, which is why it is sold in several grain lengths.
Why is parboiled rice yellow?
Material from the husk and bran moves slightly toward the centre of the grain during the steaming stage, which tints it and gives it a mildly nutty flavour. That is the product side's account of it.
Is parboiled rice healthier than white rice?
It is more nutrient-dense on the whole — higher in fibre, calcium, iron, potassium, thiamin, niacin and folate — but lower in magnesium and manganese. It wins on more counts than it loses, not on all of them.
Is parboiled rice the same as brown rice?
No. Brown rice keeps its bran and needs much longer to cook. Parboiled rice has had the bran's contents driven into the grain during processing, and cooks on roughly a white-rice timescale.
Does parboiled rice take longer to cook?
A little longer, and a little more water, than untreated white rice of the same grain length. The drying step means the grain has to take back water that was driven out of it.
Why is it less sticky?
The treatment hardens the grain so it is less likely to break and release starch during cooking. Separate grains rather than clumps is the normal result.