Thai jasmine rice is also known as 'Thai Hom Mali rice' as well as 'Thai Jasmine Rice' and 'Thai Fragrance Rice'
Thailand has 5000 years agricultural history, which is also the pride of Thai Jasmine Rice's history. In 1945, KDML was discovered in Chonburi province. KDML is also known as 'White Jasmine' in Thai language. Ministry of Agriculture started to select and carry out experiments with this species of KDML rice in Lopburi province, and try to grow the selected rice in the northern and north eastern part of Thailand. On 25th May 1959, it was officially announced that this species of rice would be named 'Thai Hom Mali Rice' (or KDML 105), which also one of the most important consuming products in Thailand. Until recent day, there are KDML 105 and RD 15 in Thailand.
The best quality Thai Jasmine Rice are grown mainly in the north eastern provinces such as Roi Et, Ubon Ratchathani, Burirum, Sisaket, Surin and Yasothon. Due to the most suitable environment factors, such as the ample amount sunlight throughout the year, amount of rainfall, the best taste of Thai Fragrance Rice can only be grown in these provinces.
The mechanism of Thai jasmine rice
In 2007, Kasetsart University found out that KDML 105 jasmine rice contains a substance called 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (2-AP). Although the fragrance of jasmine rice was formed by 200 and more substances, 2-AP is the important factor for the formation of the fragrance.
The fragrance of 2-AP is similar to the smell of pandan leaves (Pandanus amaryllifolius). It is commonly used in cooking by the native Southeast Asians because of its sweet aroma.
Researchers from Kasetsart University had proved that by increasing gene of the combination of fungi and Pandan leaves. This is the unique 'aroma gene' and it was already registered Intellectual Property Rights.
DNA of jasmine rice is formed by more than 500 genes. By observing the map of the genome, there are 8 inactivated genes in the fragrance rice. From the research, Thai scientists found out that there are exactly 8 damaged genes which are located in the same position as the inactivated genes. By changing the status of the genes, it initiates the uniqueness of the fragrance. Similarly, by doing the same in genes of the corn, wheat, malt, legumes and coconuts, it enhances the charactheristics and quality of these agricultural products.
The basic development of Thai jasmine rice
Thailand is situated on latitude 6°-20° N which lies on the tropical region. It can be divided into 3 seasons, dry season is from March to May, rainy season is from June to October and cold season is from November to Febuary. The average monthly temperature is around 22°-25° and the average annual rainfall is about 1000 mm. There is a little change in the temperature throughout the year and the sunlight is ample. This is the best condition for growing rice.
Rice is the most important crop in Thailand. It is not only for the local consumption, rice is the one of the leading export products to all over the world. Thai rice occupies 10.93 million kilometer square, which is 52% of the total land. There are 4.06 million people growing rice which rice stands 77.5% of the total agriculture in Thailand. The total cultivated rice per year is about 18-26 million tons which worth 112.827 billion baht (23.5 billion RMB), and Thailand earns 80 billion baht from exporting rice each year. Rice is not only important in the agriculture aspect, it is also very important for Thailand's economy.
1) In 1983, Ministry of Agriculture set up a department which specially carries out researches on rice from all over the country. The rice research is divided out in 7 areas; every research center is responsible for the nearby research laboratories. There are altogether 23 research centers all over 76 provinces, creating a strong network for enhancing quality of Thai jasmine rice. The improvement of jasmine rice's quality is the most important mission. Research centers will provide the newly improved rice to the farmers and make sure the farmers change the type of rice grown every 2-3 years. This is to prevent Thai jasmine rice's gene from mutating.
2) Rice cultivation is the main agriculture in Thailand. Even though rice can be grow in the water-filled field, as well as on land. All of the rice fields in Thailand are water-filled. Accordingly to the geographical and agricultural aspects, rice plantation are carry out mainly in the north area, north eastern area, central area and southern area of Thailand. The conditions for growing rice in Thailand is bad, most of the area are considered 'look at the sky fields', because they mostly rely on the rainwater due to the bad piping system to the rural area.
3) The additional processes in rice industry is very advance in Thailand. When rice arrives at the factory, the humidity is measured, as well as its roughness, milled rate and nutritional values. These factors will determine the price of the rice. The rice then will be going through cleaning and drying process, and store under suitable condition. The automatic processes which are widely used include selecting, peeling, milling, filtering, color choosing, polishing, removing debris, classifying and packaging. The polishing process is very advanced in Thailand and the controlling of the moisture, as well as humidity, are very strict in Thailand.