Along with a few other items, rice is considered to be one of the cheapest and best value foods available to buy in most stores and supermarkets.
Let’s be honest, it’s a staple for those who want to save money, no matter what walk of life. Most low income families have rice as a constant purchase on their weekly shopping list for the reasons mentioned.
Good value for money
It’s easy to see why this is the case given how filling this food can be in exchange for very little money. I always personally try to purchase and consume as much rice as I can purely for its cost effectiveness. This is especially relevant when you take the rise in the cost of living into account.
Comparing different kinds of rice
I think it’s fair to say that the majority of people would be right in considering the dried variety to be the cheapest choice compared to other types of rice. This is especially true when you hold it up against:
- basmati
- egg-fried
- black
- jasmine
- brown rice
- microwaveable options
Although, you are often sacrificing convenience when you think about the time that has to be spent:
- rinsing
- washing
- draining
- boiling
Experimenting with flavouring & storage
The hassle and pain of all this can be relieved a little if you are making a large batch to freeze. On top of this, I often like to season my rice with herbs, chillies and stock cubes (whether this be chicken, beef, vegetable or whatever flavour).
Fast Food
I believe microwave rice has a slight edge over dried rice, overall. It can be as simple as zapping the bag in a microwave oven for a couple of minutes and then you’re ready to tuck in. Interestingly, this particular product is a fairly new discovery for me and has vastly benefited my food preparation routines.
The microwave stuff is especially useful for entrepreneurs and business minded individuals. These people tend to lead busy lives and don’t have a lot of time to prepare food in their day to day routine.
Even though my opinion has swung back and forth on this topic, I confess that these points are mainly why microwaveable rice has won me over. This still remains true even though I have to fork out a little more cash, but you can always use coupons to lower the price.
Additionally, you could make the argument that the convenience and time saved here may indeed cancel out the extra money spent over the long term.
For me, buying rice in general is a great way to manage my finances particularly when grocery shopping. Do you eat a lot of rice in your diet? Which kind of rice do you prefer and why?
