Ordinary rice

Ippanmai (ordinary rice) refers to rice cultivated mainly for eating. It is typically used for everyday meals and home cooking, and representative varieties include Koshihikari and Sasanishiki. Unlike sake rice (sakamai), the rice grown as the raw material for brewing sake, ordinary rice does not have characteristics especially suited to sake brewing, and so it is not used to make sake. In general, it plays an important role in food culture, and its flavor and texture vary depending on the cultivation method and variety. Because sake rice is mainly used in sake production, ordinary rice has no direct involvement, but it remains indispensable for understanding the importance of rice as a whole.