Brown rice usually refers to medium or long-grain whole, unpolished, unmilled rice, with only its tough outer husk removed, leaving the bran, a brown papery coating, in place on the rice grains. This gives the rice its characteristic light tan colour and nutty flavour. It is chewier and higher in fibre than white rice and needs twice as much cooking. It goes off quickly. This is because the germ, the brown coating of the rice grains, contains fats which can go rancid.
