Southeast Asia somewhat later. A sister
species with a distinctive flavor and red bran,
Oryza glaberrima, has been grown in west
Africa for at least 1,500 years.
Rice found its way from Asia to Europe via
Persia, where the Arabs learned to grow and
cook it. The Moors first grew large quantities
in Spain in the 8th century, then somewhat
later in Sicily. The valley of the Po River and
the Lombardy plain in northern Italy, the
home of risotto, first produced rice in the 15th
century. The Spanish and Portuguese
introduced rice throughout the Americas in
the 16th and 17th centuries. South Carolina
was the location of the first commercial
American planting in 1685, where the rice-
growing expertise of African slaves was
important; today most U.S. rice comes from
Arkansas and the lower Mississippi region,
Texas, and California.
Kinds of Rice There are thought to be more