CALASPARRA Rice (Paella Rice) - 1 bag, 1 Kg

I have been cooking for many years (and cooking paella for many more..). Truth told, you can use almost any rice IF you want to and IF you don't mind sacrificing originality and perfection. That said, Calasparra (Bomba..) rice is required for authentic paella. There are quite a few differences in rices... The ONE most important here is the ability of the rice to absorb liquid and still remain firm enough to exhibit a "tooth" (described as 'al punto' ..... should you care..!). This particular trait allows the rice to cook, remain firm and separate, absorb liquid (and flavor.!), and to casually and easily brown and form the perfect socaratt (sp..??). Bomba rice is specified for paella. Calasparra is the region where the highest quality Bomba is grown (according to convention and DOP ...). So if you are looking for authenticity AND quality, this one is hard to beat. Another fact that makes it particularly nice is the "value". Of the available Bomba rices this is one of the more favorably priced ones. It is hard to argue with quality and value. If you decide to use some of this rice for your paella, be sure to follow the directions for liquid amounts. It specifies four to one liquid to rice. I have used SLIGHTLY less than that, but not much less.! You really need the liquid because this rice is so "thirsty". It really drinks up the liquid. I typically use a meat stock for liquid unless I am preparing a seafood paella. Then I resort to vegetable stock with some added clam juice or shrimp stock. In any event grind up the saffron a little before soaking (mortar and pestle works good..) and try to use Spanish paprika, although you can certainly try out other types for slight flavor differences. Good luck with your paella.!! Excellent product at a great price. Tremendous value. HIGHLY recommended.!

Very good for paella. Follow the instructions and it's very easy

My go to paella rice. We’ve made paella several times and the Calasparra rice has never failed to please. The texture and taste are consistently good and the socoarrat is always the highlight of the meal. It costs more to get real Spanish rice but the end result makes it worth the price. If you’re going to make paella you have to use the best rice to make it worth the time to prepare it.

I love paella. There are few restaurants where I live that offer it and the ones that do charge a premium. So, cooking paella is one of my favorite things to do. There are a few MUSTS that go into a paella. All of them are from Spain and include the rice, saffron, chorizo and paprika. This rice was wonderful. With the paella pan on the hot grill it turned out a wonderful, plump, slightly crispy browned rice. It was to die for! Everyone loved it.

I was working on a recipe for a website and needed a more authentic type of rice. Bomba is recommended but was a little pricier than what I wanted to pay. I did a bit of research and this type of rice was listed as an acceptable variety due to its round shape and absorbency. In good paella you want the rice to absorb all the liquid and then form a crusty bottom called socrarrat. This rice was perfect! I have had paella at restaurants, and this was the first time making it at home and I could not have been happier with the results. I figure I will be able to make 3 pans of paella with this bag.

Made for a delicious paella but I wish I followed the directions more closely. You add in way more water than you usually do for normal rice but cook it with the lid off. As a result, when it was supposed to be done, the rice still seemed a tad hard but all the water was gone. So I added a bit more water and cooked a little longer. As a result, the bottom got burnt and the rice was a little mushy. It still tasted delicious but I think it would have been better if I hadn't tried to improve it.

While I realize the differences in cooking times, length of grain, tastes and aroma between various varieties of rice and the unique qualities of rices such as Arborio. I had never tried Calasparra or Bomba rice but as I was exploring Spanish cuisine and trying to make authentic paella I figured I had to try the correct rice. THIS IS PERFECT! Cooks quickly, absorbs an incredible amount of liquid well while retaining the distinct "al punto" (similar to al dente in Italian cuisine) bite. My only regret was this bag wasn't larger as my first seafood paella (serving 6) used 3 cups so I figure each of these bags will only make 2 average sized paella.

This rice is great for paella. It is a short grain rice imported from Spain that is unlike most varieties of rice available in the US. Each cup of rice absorbs 3 cups of water as advertised. This rice comes out nice and fluffy without sticking together. This is a must have for anyone interested in making authentic paella. I will definitely be purchasing this again in the future and recommend it to anyone looking for rice to make paella.

Muy bueno