I have read a couple of entries now on THR about using “White Rice” as a tumbling media. My first shock was the obvious insensitivity to those who may not have access to pigment challenged grains. Do you realize that “White” is not the only rice out there? While “White Rice” may be the dominate rice in the tumbling media domain, it is certainly no better than other rices, or more appropriately, ‘rice types’.
It should be noted that there are an estimated 40,000 different varieties of rice grown throughout the world, but only a handful are grown for commercial use in the United States. The U.S. rices are dived into the major divisions of short, medium and long grain. Additionally there are aromatic, waxy and arborio plus a few specialty rices as well. I could drone on for paragraphs about the textures, weights and resilience of each individual variety, but what good would that do any of us? So to be more useful, I’ll to get down to the nit of it.
Using rice as a tumbling media requires a bit more finesse than say, corn cob, walnut shell, kitty litter (fresh), lizard litter (fresh too) or peruvian marmoset nail clippings. Timing is everything when it comes to using rice. If you stop too soon, the results are less than acceptable, a bit underdone as it were. Too long and you have brass goulash; it’s just not that pleasant to think about. And what about additives when using rice? I’ve read of Turtle Wax, Nu Finish, rouge compounds, as well as commercial tumbling media additives by a multitude of vendors. Personally, I find that a pinch of salt, a dash of pepper and a pat of butter give rice that yip that makes it so special. If you want to get a little more adventurous, add a splash or two of soy sauce, low sodium is best. Let’s watch those arteries men! Bottom line? Get out there and tumble your brass off!
It should be noted that there are an estimated 40,000 different varieties of rice grown throughout the world, but only a handful are grown for commercial use in the United States. The U.S. rices are dived into the major divisions of short, medium and long grain. Additionally there are aromatic, waxy and arborio plus a few specialty rices as well. I could drone on for paragraphs about the textures, weights and resilience of each individual variety, but what good would that do any of us? So to be more useful, I’ll to get down to the nit of it.
Using rice as a tumbling media requires a bit more finesse than say, corn cob, walnut shell, kitty litter (fresh), lizard litter (fresh too) or peruvian marmoset nail clippings. Timing is everything when it comes to using rice. If you stop too soon, the results are less than acceptable, a bit underdone as it were. Too long and you have brass goulash; it’s just not that pleasant to think about. And what about additives when using rice? I’ve read of Turtle Wax, Nu Finish, rouge compounds, as well as commercial tumbling media additives by a multitude of vendors. Personally, I find that a pinch of salt, a dash of pepper and a pat of butter give rice that yip that makes it so special. If you want to get a little more adventurous, add a splash or two of soy sauce, low sodium is best. Let’s watch those arteries men! Bottom line? Get out there and tumble your brass off!
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