Tamanishiki Super Premium Short Grain Rice, 15-Pound

Tamanishiki rice is of excellent quality and is clean enough that it requries minimal washing. It is very tasty, especially when compared to calrose and other such medium grain rice, and is good for use in many rice dishes and for sushi. It is tasty even by itself. For best results, a "smart" rice cooker cannot be recommended highly enough. While it can be cooked on the stove top, the result seems to be inconsistent and often disappointing. Unfortunately, I can get it a bit more inconveniently within an hour's travel in unbroken bags at less than half the price.

This rice is amazing! Had it everywhere in Japan. Will continue buying this brand forever. Great rice-not gummy, grain holds up after cooking. Great flavor!

This rice is the best white rice I've ever tried. It has become the standard to which I compare all other white rices.I was never too into rice as a kid or teen. I thought that I simply didn't like rice. Then, I got into Japanese culture and saw how healthy they eat in comparison to Americans. So, I figured I'd start eating more rice. At first, it was hard because, as said, I didn't like American rice. I gave up until I did some research and found Nishiki and Sekka. They were delicious! But then, I started going to traditional Japanese restaurants, and was introduced to short grain white rice, which even blew the fantastic Nishiki and Sekka out of the water. That's when things really took off for me. I did my research and learned about Tamanishiki. After purchasing a rice cooker, I gave this rice a try, and haven't looked back since.There are definitely some pros and cons with Tamanishiki rice:Pros:- It's delicious. Comes out perfect every time with each of my 3 rice cookers. (The Takeru-kun portable lunch jar, an Aroma rice cooker, and a Panasonic)- Goes perfect with anything - The flavor complements any fish, meat, vegetable... It's just greatCons:- Once you eat this rice, you won't want to go back to whatever rice you've been eating. It's that good. I brought some to the office once for my coworkers, and they were hooked. One literally came back to me the next day telling me she'd pay me for some more of my rice and pay me to pick up more for her next time I went to Mitsuwa. She literally told me she didn't want to go back to her other rice. My whole family has experienced the same thing. We have a 10-pound bag of rice we had purchased before I brought in the Tamanishiki (over a year ago) and that other bag is still sitting there, unopened.- This rice is great, but it runs $2 per pound. Once you try this, it is so good you can say goodbye to the price you were paying for your riceAs you can tell, I highly recommend this rice. And, the better your rice cooker, the better it tastes.

When I started making sushi at home, it was difficult to get the rice to be as good as at my favorite sushi-ya. The flavor was not as good and was very inconsistent (mushy, sticky, etc). I knew that many sushi chefs spend years just learning to make good sushi rice, so I figured my rice would never be as good as theirs - no matter how hard I tried. But, I hoped to eventually make rice that was edible and close to what I could find at a restaurant. So, I got a $400 Zojirushi rice cooker (this fixed the consistency issue) and tried many different brands of premium sushi rice. So far, I like this rice the best. I rinse the rice some (although it doesn't need much rinsing), I am careful to measure the exact amount of rice & water, I add a little salt to the rice & cooking water although this may be frowned upon by traditionalists, and I sometimes add a few squares of Kombu. I have been working on the vinegar/sugar solution for my tastes. Now, I can honestly say that my rice is noticeably better in flavor than almost all sushi restaurants that I go to. This rice is flavorful and has a great firm texture (nice individual grains for nigiri). I wish it was organic (I am trying to reduce my GMO/herbicide/pesticide intake), but I think this is great rice. I also tried their Yuma and Nozomi but I think I liked this one the best (the Nozomi was close). Since the Japanese don't really allow their good rice to be exported (they are also anti-GMO), it is very difficult to find real Japanese rice here in the US. I believe this is one of the best sushi rices made in the US.

The rice cooked up very nicely but was probably old crop (it's dry.) I didn't presoak, did wash it well and used the correct amount of water for softer rice in my Zojirushi rice cooker. But it came out a bit dry with separated grains. Now, many people like rice that way, but I like it a bit sticky and stuck somewhat for chopstick eating.It rinsed up very clean. There was hardly any coating and it didn't take long to get the water clear in the rice sieve.The flavor wasn't like Nishiki brand, which I prefer. A bit plain with no overtones, absolutely neutral. I like some of the subtle tastes you get in rice and this was too neutral.This will work well for rice balls (onigiri), musubi (stuffed rice triangles) and for sushi because the grains separate well yet being short grain, it can press together, and the grains are not broken. With seasoning like vinegar or sesame oil (for gimbap Korean rice rolls) it's perfect.I give it four stars, because I didn't prefer it to Nishiki but there is nothing wrong with this rice and for sushi, it may be superior.

The only problem I see is that once you get used to this rice, you won’t want to eat any other rice. My whole family is addicted to it. Even the small children can tell the difference!

I love this rice, the flavor and texture is great. You might not think rice quality can differ much, but it can. I like it more than other short grain sushi rice, and compared to the medium grain calrose rice breeds that some places use to make sushi, it's much better. It's just expensive in comparison. But definitely worth it.