History of rice in Iran
Iranians dedicate at least one meal a day to rice. Despite all the diets, this delicious food can not be missed. Rice is rich in vitamins and minerals that provide a lot of energy to the body. Have you ever thought about the history of rice in Iran? How did rice seeds first enter Iran?
The method of cooking Iranian rice has become world famous due to its unique aroma and taste. There is no exact information about the history of rice in Iran, but the evidence shows that Iranians have been cultivating and producing various types of Iranian rice for centuries.
It is noteworthy that rice cultivation in Iran has started from the northern provinces of the country near the Caspian Sea and the provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran are the first producers of this product.
Since when has the history of rice in Iran been formed?
No exact date has been written about how rice cultivation began in Iran; However, in some old books and surviving documents from the history of rice in Iran, it shows that rice cultivation was common in northern Iran around 200 AH.
What is certain is that the starting point of rice production in a large area of Tabarestan has been reported and still the two provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran are the main producers of rice in the country. Iran has mass-produced fragrant and high quality rice and one of the ways to distinguish Iranian rice from foreign ones is the same quality and special aroma of Iranian rice.
Which provinces are involved in recording the history of rice in Iran?
You must have heard that Iran has four seasons of climate and this God-given blessing causes the prosperity of rice cultivation. This diversity is so high that sometimes in a province we see complex atmospheric diversity. In the meantime, do you know in which provinces different types of Iranian rice are produced? Rice history in Iran has been proven in which provinces of the country?
The history of rice in Iran shows that Iran has agriculture active in rice production in more than 18 provinces. The following is a list of provinces involved in rice production.
Rice production hub in the north of the country
In the north of Iran, three provinces of Mazandaran, Gilan and Golestan are considered as powerful rice producers. A high percentage of quality rice consumed in the country is provided by paddy farmers in these three provinces. About 100 different varieties of rice are produced in the northern green zone of the country. Rice planting in the north of the country begins at the beginning of the year and is harvested in mid-summer.
Rice farmers in the north of the country classify rice into three main types, which are:
Long grain rice that is sold in the market under the name of Sadri.
Medium grain rice, known as anonymous type.
Short grain rice called Champa also has its own fans.
With the advancement of technology and breeding of rice and changes in seeds, every year we see new types of rice, each of which falls into the field and the three main groups mentioned. Some of the most important rice cultivated in the north of the country include the following:
Hashemi, Hassan Sarai, Khazar, Neda, Tarom, Sadri, Binam, and Champa rice, some of which contain a subset of rice.
Rice production hub in the south of the country
In Khuzestan, Fars and Isfahan provinces, rice cultivation is also pursued. These three provinces are among the prominent producers in the history of rice in Iran. The famous rice fields in these three provinces are as follows:
Isfahan province has high quality rice called Lenjan.
Farmers in Khuzestan province are engaged in cultivating amber rice.
In Fars province, Qasrdasht champagne rice is a well-known and popular rice.
The history of rice in Iran is not limited to the North and South Poles. In addition to the six provinces mentioned, the rest of the following provinces account for an acceptable percentage of the rice produced in the country.
Other rice producing provinces
The following provinces have made a part of the history of rice in Iran by producing quality rice, which are:
Kohkiluyeh, Boyer-Ahmad, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari provinces have mass-produced two Koohrang and Champa rice.
In Ilam province, three types of amber, pollen and champa are cultivated.
Zanjan province produces rice of the same name in Tarom section. In this city and Mahneshan city, two rice plants, “Hashemi” and “Ali Kazemi”, which are specific to the northern provinces of the country, have been tested and are being cultivated and produced.
Sistan and Baluchestan Province has hardworking farmers in Sarbaz and Nikshahr who cultivate high-yield rice.
In the west of the country, the provinces of Kurdistan and Kermanshah cultivate pollen and sword rice.
The northwestern provinces of Ardabil and East Azerbaijan have produced chestnut seeds from the northern part of the country in their fields.
In the northeast of the country, North and South Khorasan provinces, and especially the city of Tabas, produce rice called Azmighan.
Area under rice cultivation in Iran and annual production
At best, the area under rice cultivation in the country is about 630,000 hectares and an average of 3 million tons of Iranian rice is produced every year. Iranian paddy farmers are able to cover even more; But rice cultivation needs proper water, which is not possible every year. This statistic varies according to the amount of annual rainfall and water shortage in the country. Rice requires a lot of water for cultivation, and in some years due to drought, farmers prefer to devote farms to growing other crops.
The history of rice cultivation in Iran shows that the variety of rice in different provinces that are engaged in rice production is very wide. It is interesting to know that each province has a percentage of production of this product, which according to the approximate statistics provided, the share of production of each province is as follows: Mazandaran province 38%, Gilan 35%, Khuzestan 11%, Fars and Golestan 4% each and the rest Producing provinces control 11% of the country’s rice production.
The history of rice cultivation in the world goes back to Asian countries and still 90% of the world’s rice is supplied from Asia. Some historians believe that the history of rice in Iran has flourished since the Sassanid period and some consider the early first century AD as a turning point in recording the history of rice in Iran and Iranian rice cultivation.
It is written in historical writings that the history of rice cultivation in Iran is after the transfer of rice seeds from India and the sowing, holding and harvesting operations have improved to the present time and now Iran is one of the professional producers of this product.
Today, rice is one of the Majlisi foods on the Iranian table. The method of cooking rice or keteh rice with a variety of excellent stews and kebabs has become world famous. In addition, it is prepared with different types of Iranian rice: ash, halva, meatballs, yellow rice, rice milk, porridge, various sweets and cookies and they are very popular.