Glutinous Rice

Sticky rice goes by many names — waxy, sweet, and pearl among them — but the most confusing one is glutinous. Does glutinous rice actually contain gluten? The answer is no: glutinous rice is gluten-free. The misleading name simply comes from the fact that glutinous rice gets glue-like and sticky when cooked. Why is it so sticky? It all comes down to starch content: the starch in rice has two components, amylose and amylopectin. Medium and long-grain rices have a higher proportion of amylose, whereas the starch in short-grain glutinous rice is almost all amylopectin, contributing to its moist and stickier texture.

Medium and long-grain rices have a higher proportion of amylose, whereas the starch in short-grain glutinous rice is almost all amylopectin, contributing to its moist and stickier texture.