Red yeast rice is produced by cultivating M purpureus on polished rice. The fully cultured rice is then either sold as the dried grain, or cooked and pasteurized to be sold as a wet paste, or dried and pulverized to be sold as a fine powder. China is the world’s largest producer of red yeast rice. It has been used for centuries by the Chinese as a spice. This is what gives Peking duck its red color. As well as its culinary uses it has been doc (more…)