White Gold

Call it farm-to-chopstick. Not only does nearly every bite of sushi rice in the United States come from California, but almost all of it—97 percent, to be exact—comes from the Sacramento Valley. And when it comes to ultra-premium Japanese-style rice (yep, there’s a difference), Yuba City’s Montna Farms is the American gold standard. Just ask chef Nobu Matsuhisa, who uses Montna-grown rice in his celebrated restaurants from L.A. to New York. Here’s the story of the tiny grain that’s making it big.