Lotus Foods Announces Cookbook Celebrating the Flavors and Stories of Rice
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Carrie Kocik
PR for Lotus Foods
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carrie@soundpublicrelations.com
Lotus Foods Announces Cookbook Celebrating the Flavors and Stories of Rice, the World’s Most Important Staple Food
Richmond, CA – (July 15, 2021) – Lotus Foods, the leading heirloom and organic rice and rice noodle company, is excited to announce it will be publishing a cookbook with San Francisco-based independent publisher Chronicle Books and acclaimed cookbook writer Kristin Donnelly that will celebrate rice, the world’s most important staple food. Recipes will draw inspiration from the rice-growing world, including the United States, and will explore the cultural inspirations behind dishes, with some recipes provided by Lotus Foods’ longtime rice farmers from significant rice-growing regions and cultures. The cookbook, which will be published in 2022, will feature different varieties of rice including the company’s beloved Forbidden Rice®, and many delicious organic rice-based noodle products.
“At our many tastings across the country and through the comments on our social media, we hear that people are intimidated to cook rice. One of our objectives for this book is to help people become comfortable with cooking rice as well as rice noodles and to provide them with easy, inspiring recipes,” said Caryl Levine, Lotus Foods Co-Founder/Co-CEO.
While this is first and foremost a cookbook, it will encourage food-savvy consumers to discover more about the stories and people behind their food and how it is produced. “In a way, this cookbook has been 25 years in the making,” added Ken Lee, also Co-Founder/Co-CEO. “As pioneers in bringing pigmented rice to the United States, and after a quarter century of traveling through rice-growing regions of the world, engaging with farmers, NGO leaders, international rice experts, and thousands of consumers, we believe we have a great story to share.” A major part of the journey has been about preserving rice biodiversity, championing smallholder farmers, and promoting regenerative, water-saving methods for producing rice that contribute to a healthier planet.
“Caryl and Ken bring a unique perspective drawn from their deep knowledge of rice and rice cookery over the past two decades,” said Sarah Billingsley, Editorial Director of Food & Lifestyle at Chronicle Books. “This cookbook will be a beautiful exploration of the diversity and versatility of rice with 65 recipes emphasizing easy, weeknight cooking, and embracing a myriad of culinary traditions and new trends.”
About the Authors
Caryl Levine and Ken Lee are rice visionaries. Their pioneering introduction of Forbidden Rice®, Bhutanese Red Rice, and other specialty rices has fundamentally changed how Americans think about, cook, and eat rice, transforming it from a starchy white side dish to a center-of-the-plate ingredient. They also introduced a new paradigm, using market incentives for social change. By paying farmers premium prices to conserve rice biodiversity, they help improve incomes, protect the environment, and provide consumers with healthier rice.
About the Writer
Kristin Donnelly is the author of Modern Potluck (Clarkson Potter, 2016) and Cauliflower (Short Stack Editions, 2018). Modern Potluck was lauded in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Food & Wine, Epicurious and Design Sponge. She is also co-author of The Chef’s Garden (Avery, 2021), a book about vegetables by Farmer Lee Jones. For eight years, she was a food editor at Food & Wine, where she wrote about food, wine, design, and travel. Her articles have also appeared in Women’s Health, Better Homes and Gardens, Every Day with Rachael Ray, Cherry Bombe, Taste, and many other publications.
About Lotus Foods
Since 1995, Lotus Foods has partnered in direct and fair trade with small family farmers around the world who are growing rice more sustainably while preserving rice biodiversity. Lotus Foods’ product line includes pigmented heirloom and organic rice varieties such as Forbidden Rice®, Jade Pearl Rice™, Red Rice, traditional Basmati and Jasmine Rice and Tricolor Blend Rice, as well as Rice Ramen, Rice Noodles and Rice Ramen Noodle Soup Cups. Products are available at major retailers nationwide. As a certified B Corporation, Lotus Foods is committed to “Changing How Rice Is Grown around the World” by focusing on rice grown using the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), which we call More Crop Per Drop®. SRI minimizes water usage, empowers women, financially rewards farmers and reduces climate impact. As a business co-founded and co-owned by an Asian American, and with a global supply network encompassing family farmers throughout Asia, Lotus Foods stands with the AAPI community and condemns racial violence.