Rice milk is a nondairy alternative to cow's milk.
Rice milk is a dairy-free beverage that is most commonly used by those who are lactose-intolerant or those who wish to avoid consuming dairy products. There are a variety of different brands and flavors available in most health food stores. Rice milk can also be made in your own kitchen. When you're comparing brown rice milk to regular rice milk, the main ingredient to compare is the type of rice each one incorporates. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Rice Milk Ingredients
In order to understand the differences between brown rice milk and other variations of rice milk, it helps to know how all rice milks are made. There are variations on any recipe, but the basics ingredients include a mixture of rice and water. Some variations of rice milk include a type of sweetener, such as brown rice syrup or sugar. Additionally, some recipes call for oil or an alternative emulsifier to thicken the rice milk. Since the base of rice milk is water, it can be thinner than cow's milk. Brown rice milk is made like all other rice milks, except that brown rice is used in place of the more commonly used white rice.
Brown Rice vs White Rice
Rice milks are made using white or brown rice. The difference between these types of rice lies in the processing that happens to the rice after it has been harvested. When rice is first harvested, it goes through a process to remove its outer husks. Brown rice is what is created after the first outer husk layer is removed. To create the white rice more commonly consumed in the United States, the processing goes further to remove additional layers called the germ and the inner husk.
Health Benefits of Brown Rice
Since white rice is essentially the stripped-down version of brown rice, it contains many less nutrients than brown rice. In fact, removing the extra layers also removes the fiber, calcium, potassium, thiamine, proteins and magnesium. Brown rice naturally retains these nutrients, which are beneficial to your health. Consumption of too many white grains, including white rice, is thought to be a cause of diabetes. However, brown rice actually releases sugar slowly, which can help stabilize blood sugar levels and is known to lower risks of developing diabetes.
Considerations
If you are concerned about the level of nutrients contained in your rice milk, you may want to consider searching for rice milk that is made with brown rice. However, you may also want to read the label for a list of other ingredients that may make any variety of your rice milk unhealthy. The addition of sweeteners and emulsifiers varies between products, and some of these may not be something you would normally have as part of your diet. Be sure to read all labels carefully on products you buy in a store. Making rice milk at home can be a great way to save money, and you can rest assured at what ingredients it will contain.
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