Kinmemai Premium – The World’s Most Expensive Rice

Kinmemai Premium is a selection of hand-picked artisanal rice that holds the Guinness World Record for the world’s most expensive rice ($109 per kilogram).

Rice is one of the most nutritious yet affordable foods on Earth, but if you’re looking for an exceptional selection of some of the world’s best rice varieties, look no further than Kinmemai Premium. Produced by Japan’s Toyo Rice Corporation, this exclusive rice selection features hand-picked grains from five varieties of award-winning Japanese rice varieties flavor-aged for six months using the company’s proprietary rice-buffing technology developed over 17 years ago. Kinmemay Premium rice is said to have superior nutritional values compared to conventional rice, as well as a delicious nutty flavor. The grains themselves also look like tiny diamonds thanks to the patented polishing process that removes only the inedible wax layer.

Photo: Mgg Vitchakorn/Unsplash

Kinmemai Premium “boasts unparalleled nutritious value, containing 6 times more lipopolysaccharides (LPS)—a natural immune system booster that helps maintain good health and fight illnesses – than conventional white rice,” as well as 1.8 times more fiber and seven times more Vitamin B1. It is rinse-free, meaning it does not need to be washed before cooking, and has a unique aroma and sweet taste.

Featuring prized rice varieties like Koshihikari and Pikamaru, Kinmemai Premium rice grains are hand-picked by Toyo Corporation’s specialists, and growers are paid about eight times the regular price for only the best grains. This partly explains the insanely high price of the world’s most expensive rice.

Advertised as the “world’s best rice,” Kinmemai Premium is sold in 140-gram packets, at a price of about $120 per kilogram. It set the world record for the ‘most expensive rice’ in 2016, with a price of $109 per kilo, but inflation has bumped up the price even more since. Originally available only for the Japanese market, Kinmemai Premium is now also sold in Singapore.

Kinmemai Premium rice is not suitable for sushi, as it lacks the needed starch. To fully appreciate its sweet, nutty flavor, it is recommended for simple Japanese dishes like ochazuke and Tamago kake gohan.