Kinmemai Premium – The most expensive rice in the world

Kinmemai Premium is a hand-harvested rice that holds the Guinness Record as the most expensive rice in the world at $109/kg (nearly VND 2.7 million).

Rice is one of the most nutritious yet affordable foods in the world. But if you're looking for a special option among the world's best rice, nothing beats Kinmemai Premium.

Kinmemai Premium Rice. (Photo: OC).

Produced by Japan's Toyo Rice Corporation, this exclusive rice is hand-harvested from five award-winning Japanese rice varieties. The rice is then flavored for six months using a proprietary rice polishing technology developed over 17 years ago.

Kinmemay Premium rice has superior nutritional value compared to regular rice, as well as a delicious nutty taste. The rice grains themselves look like tiny diamonds thanks to a patented polishing process that only removes the inedible bran layer.

Kinmemai Premium boasts a nutritional value that is unmatched by any other rice. It contains 6 times more lipopolysaccharides (LPS) - a natural immune system booster that helps maintain good health and fight disease - than regular white rice. It also has 1.8 times more fiber and 7 times more Vitamin B1 than regular rice. The rice does not need to be rinsed, but still has a unique aroma and sweetness.

Compared to other premium rice varieties such as Koshihikari and Pikamaru, Kinmemai Premium rice is more special because it is hand-harvested by experts at Toyo Corporation. Growers of this rice variety are paid about eight times the usual price for the best rice. This partly explains why the world's most expensive rice is so expensive.

Rice also has 1.8 times more fiber and 7 times more Vitamin B1 than regular rice. (Illustration: OC).

Billed as the 'world's best rice', Kinmemai Premium is sold in 140-gram packs, priced at around $120/kg . It set a world record for 'most expensive rice' in 2016, at $109/kg, but inflation has pushed prices even higher since then. Initially only available in Japan, Kinmemai Premium has since been made available in Singapore.

However, Kinmemai Premium rice is not suitable for making sushi because it lacks the necessary starch . To fully enjoy the sweet, fatty taste of this rice, the manufacturer recommends customers use the rice to prepare simple Japanese dishes - such as ochazuke (rice with tea) and Tamago kake gohan (rice mixed with raw egg).