Basmati rice

Basmati is the customary name for selected rice varieties grown only in defined areas of the Indo-Gangetic Plain on both sides of the India–Pakistan border. India registered basmati as a geographical indication in 2016. The voluntary UK code of practice of the Rice Association and the British Retail Consortium (2022 version) lists the varieties that may be called basmati and allows no more than 7 % other rice.

The same code sets minimum characteristics: an average raw milled grain length of at least 6.5 mm, a length-to-width ratio above 3.5, cooking elongation of at least 1.7 times, an intermediate amylose content of 19–26 % and the typical aroma. The key aroma compound of fragrant rice is considered to be 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline; its accumulation is linked to a recessive allele of the BADH2 gene on chromosome 8.

In tropical Asia aged rice is generally preferred: changes during the first months after harvest make the grain expand more in cooking and turn out fluffier and more separate.