How to Choose Good Green Rice Flakes Without Artificial Coloring

Colored com (young sticky rice) is often bright green or deep green, eye-catching, lacking the natural chewiness and fragrance of young rice.

Autumn is the season of the sky and earth in Hanoi. As Hanoi begins to transition into autumn, street vendors appear with a simple yet pure gift from the countryside: com.

Com is the essence of young sticky rice grains, fragrant with a milky aroma, typically available from July to October. The grains of com are chewy, soft, fragrant, and mildly sweet, capable of creating exquisite and appealing dishes. Therefore, every autumn, people strive to select the freshest com.

Nutritional Benefits of Com

According to ThS.BS Doan Thi Tuong Vi (Former Head of the Nutrition Department at 198 Hospital), com contains a lot of starch, protein, vitamins, calcium, and more. The plant protein, starch, water, lipids, carbohydrates, calcium, and phosphorus in com help prevent high blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases while supporting height growth.

In particular, the fiber and vitamin content is very beneficial for digestion, alleviating bloating and constipation if consumed in moderation, reducing blood fat, and preventing heart disease. Additionally, the fats and lipids enhance skin beauty, keeping the skin hydrated and preventing dryness. This is a significant advantage of com when consumed during the dry autumn season when skin dryness starts to show.

The chewy, soft, fragrant, and mildly sweet com can create incredibly exquisite and appealing dishes. (Image source: Internet).

Concerns About Colored Com

The most delicious and well-known com is com Vong, a famous specialty from Vong Village, Hanoi. However, alongside many households selling clean com made using traditional methods, there are many types of com dyed with artificial colors widely sold to consumers.

Typically, to create a green color for com, people pound young rice leaves and mix them with com to achieve a light green hue. However, to save time and effort, and to make the com more visually appealing, sellers have resorted to using artificial colors. The substances used to dye com are not considered safe for health, according to experts. Therefore, to choose the freshest early-season com, you need to rely on several identifying signs:

How to Identify Dyed Com

Color: Natural com has a light green, slightly yellow color. In contrast, dyed com has a very dark or bright green color, looking more eye-catching.
Taste: Natural com has thin grains, is chewy, and has the fragrant aroma of young rice. Dyed com, on the other hand, lacks chewiness and the characteristic fragrance of com.
Soaking in warm water: Natural com, which is light green and slightly yellow, when soaked in water for about 30 minutes, the soaking water remains clear. Meanwhile, brightly colored dyed com will turn the soaking water light green, and the com grains will turn slightly white.

Natural com has a light green, slightly yellow color. (Image source: Internet)

Notes

There are many types of com, but you should choose leaf com as it is thin, very fragrant, and has excellent chewiness. When buying, you should taste a few grains; if they are slightly chewy, fragrant, and nutty, they are good. Good com usually has the characteristic aroma of young rice. Dyed or inferior com lacks chewiness and the distinctive fragrance of com.
When buying com, it is best to purchase in the early morning. This is usually fresh com, not hard or spoiled, and has a captivating aroma. If you buy in the afternoon, it is often leftover from the morning, and the flavor will not be as delightful as fresh morning com.
After purchasing com, store it in a dry place to avoid moisture, which can diminish the characteristic flavor of com. You should ideally consume com on the same day, not leaving it too long in the refrigerator or at room temperature. This will cause the com to become harder and lose its flavor.
When buying com, check the origin and source carefully to avoid purchasing dyed com or chemically sweetened com. When buying different types of com, keep them stored separately.
Store different types separately: There are various types of com, such as fried com, flat com, round com, etc. When buying different types, you need to keep each package separate to avoid confusion, which can compromise the unique aroma of each type of com. Additionally, consuming them separately helps better absorb the nutrients in com.