Rice falls into four main categories, dependent upon the length of the grain and cooking qualities. The shortest grain rice in Italy is called riso comune followed by semifino, then fino and finally superfino. Short-grained rice originated in Japan, while long-grained rice varieties originated in India. Fino and superfino are particularly good for making risotti as they release their starch and absorb cooking liquid when stirred during cooking without breaking down or becoming too soft. This is because the grains are high in amylopectin, the starch that dissolves on cooking. At the same time they are low in amylose, the firm, internal starch. The rice grains are said to absorb as much as five times their volume of liquid during cooking. Within the superfine category are found arborio, carnaroli, baldo, volano grita, corallo and Razza 77.
