Rice is a type of grass that is one of the most important foods in the whole world, and it feeds more people than any other grain! It loves to grow in very wet, warm places, often in special fields covered with water called rice paddies. In many countries in Asia, like China, India, and Japan, farmers build the paddies on the sides of hills in big, beautiful steps called terraces. Rice has been grown for about 9,000 years, and there are over 40,000 different types of rice, including white, brown, red, and even purple and black rice!
Each rice plant grows a cluster of tiny seeds at the top of its stalk. When the rice is ready to pick, farmers drain the water from the paddies and harvest the grain. The hard outer shell of each grain is removed, and then the rice is ready to cook. People eat rice in so many ways, like in sushi, fried rice, rice pudding, and rice cereal. In some countries, people eat rice at every single meal! Rice is so important that in many languages, the word for rice is the same as the word for food or for a meal.
