Milton Malek-Yonan
Encyclopedia
Milton Malek-Yonan was an Assyrian
entrepreneur and inventor.
, Iran
in 1904. He was a descendant of one of the oldest and most prominent Assyrian families, the Malek Family or Tribe that came from Assyrian village of Geogtapah, Urmi, a region in Northwestern Iran. The family dates back nearly eleven centuries. http://rosiemalek-yonan.com/familytree.html Malek-Yonan grew up in Richmond
, Virginia
and later moved to Oak Park
, Illinois
and finally retired and settled in Carmel, California
with his wife, Dr. Ingmar Malek-Yonan, a professor of German Studies at University of California at Berkeley and Stanford University
who died in 2007. Malek-Yonan died at his home in Carmel at the age of 98. His father, Rev. Isaac Malek-Yonan was a published author. Malek-Yonan had five siblings including a twin sister, Ann.
due to the embargo on Japan for attacking China
. The U.S. rice trade was in serious trouble. Being from the Middle-East, Malek-Yonan wondered why more Americans didn't use rice instead of allowing it to go to waste.
Malek-Yonan discovered that the problem was that the average American
was not accustomed to cooking rice in those days. When they did, it would come out sticky and messy. This gave Malek-Yonan the idea of canning the rice which proved to be quite a challenge. Working with a canning factory, Malek-Yonan began numerous experiments. But his efforts failed. Refusing to accept failure, he continued his research and soon discovered that there were about 2,000 varieties of rice. Malek-Yonan soon discovered that the natives of Assam
in India
grew a particular kind of rice called Patna
. Before milling it while still in its hulls, the Patna rice was boiled and spread to dry. What made this rice also distinct from rice of other regions was that it was virtually disease free. The combination of the boiling of the rice and the absence of disease intrigued Malek-Yonan enough to continue with his experiments.
Malek-Yonan contacted the Rice Experimental Station of the State Agriculture College at Biggs
in California's Sacramento Valley for paddies of rice with the husks intact. Then he persuaded a local hospital to allow him to use a sterilization vat to steam the rice in. The rice was then spread for several hours outdoors to dry before it was ready for milling. He borrowed a hand mill from a scientist who happened to own one from his Asia
n travels. The final step was to take the rice to the laboratory of a canning company to be canned. When he opened the cans several days later, he discovered that each kernel separated beautifully.
Malek-Yonan had discovered the secret of canning rice but after meeting with a patent attorney, he realized he didn't have the funding necessary for a chemical analysis that was required to register his invention. Malek-Yonan did not look at this as a setback, instead he found a chemist who agreed to do the rice analysis. In exchange Malek-Yonan took on the task of feeding the chemist's animals.
The chemical analysis revealed that the rice had retained its vitamins and after the Rice Growers Association did further official analysis for the next nine months, it was up to the public to accept the Malekized Rice which had been converted to a Dry Processed Rice. The rice retained up to 65 percent of the thiamine
(Vitamin B1) of raw brown rice and 80 percent of pantothenic acid
and more than double the vitamin content of ordinary Polished Rice. Malek-Yonan's process of Steam Pressure-Cooking Rice in its Husks forced the vitamins out of the bran and into the kernel itself. Most importantly, the germs in the end of the kernel that forced the rice to germinate were sterilized. Additionally, the bran oil disintegrated, hardening the kernel surface thus making it virtually disease proof since the weevils could no longer penetrate it.
When war broke out, Malek-Yonan quickly suggested his Malekized Rice to the army and 5,000 bags of processed rice were shipped to the Pacific
. To meet the army's demand for more Dry Processed Rice, Malek-Yonan convinced the General American Transportation Corporation
of Chicago
to design and build huge Pressure Steamers, Rotary Driers and Coolers needed to process the rice. A Processing Plant was built in Sacramento with the help of the California Rice Growers Association and by the end of the war the completed plant was operational.
Malek-Yonan licensed General American Transportation Corporation
and other agencies worldwide to manufacture processors and license mills everywhere under his patent as Uncle Bens Rice or Golden Pearl Rice.
Assyrian people
The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...
entrepreneur and inventor.
Biography
Milton Malek-Yonan was born to Assyrian parents in UrmiaUrmia
- Demographics :According to official census of 2006, the population of Urmia is about 871,204.- Language :The population of Urmia is mainly Azerbaijani people, with Kurdish, Assyrian Christian, and Armenian minorities...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
in 1904. He was a descendant of one of the oldest and most prominent Assyrian families, the Malek Family or Tribe that came from Assyrian village of Geogtapah, Urmi, a region in Northwestern Iran. The family dates back nearly eleven centuries. http://rosiemalek-yonan.com/familytree.html Malek-Yonan grew up in Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
and later moved to Oak Park
Oak Park, Illinois
Oak Park, Illinois is a suburb bordering the west side of the city of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is the twenty-fifth largest municipality in Illinois. Oak Park has easy access to downtown Chicago due to public transportation such as the Chicago 'L' Blue and Green lines,...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
and finally retired and settled in Carmel, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
with his wife, Dr. Ingmar Malek-Yonan, a professor of German Studies at University of California at Berkeley and Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
who died in 2007. Malek-Yonan died at his home in Carmel at the age of 98. His father, Rev. Isaac Malek-Yonan was a published author. Malek-Yonan had five siblings including a twin sister, Ann.
Harvard Encyclopedia
According to the Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups (page 160): M. Malek Yonan…who invented a widely used process for converting rice and is now working to promote fortified adobe as an inexpensive replacement for cement in developing countries.Malekized Rice aka converted rice
In 1938 Malek-Yonan discovered that millions of pounds of rice was being wasted in California's Sacramento Valley because the U.S. was no longer exporting rice to JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
due to the embargo on Japan for attacking China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. The U.S. rice trade was in serious trouble. Being from the Middle-East, Malek-Yonan wondered why more Americans didn't use rice instead of allowing it to go to waste.
Malek-Yonan discovered that the problem was that the average American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
was not accustomed to cooking rice in those days. When they did, it would come out sticky and messy. This gave Malek-Yonan the idea of canning the rice which proved to be quite a challenge. Working with a canning factory, Malek-Yonan began numerous experiments. But his efforts failed. Refusing to accept failure, he continued his research and soon discovered that there were about 2,000 varieties of rice. Malek-Yonan soon discovered that the natives of Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
grew a particular kind of rice called Patna
Patna
Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...
. Before milling it while still in its hulls, the Patna rice was boiled and spread to dry. What made this rice also distinct from rice of other regions was that it was virtually disease free. The combination of the boiling of the rice and the absence of disease intrigued Malek-Yonan enough to continue with his experiments.
Malek-Yonan contacted the Rice Experimental Station of the State Agriculture College at Biggs
Biggs, California
Biggs is a city in Butte County, California, United States. The population was 1,707 at the 2010 census, down from 1,793 at the 2000 census.- Geography :Biggs is located at ....
in California's Sacramento Valley for paddies of rice with the husks intact. Then he persuaded a local hospital to allow him to use a sterilization vat to steam the rice in. The rice was then spread for several hours outdoors to dry before it was ready for milling. He borrowed a hand mill from a scientist who happened to own one from his Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n travels. The final step was to take the rice to the laboratory of a canning company to be canned. When he opened the cans several days later, he discovered that each kernel separated beautifully.
Malek-Yonan had discovered the secret of canning rice but after meeting with a patent attorney, he realized he didn't have the funding necessary for a chemical analysis that was required to register his invention. Malek-Yonan did not look at this as a setback, instead he found a chemist who agreed to do the rice analysis. In exchange Malek-Yonan took on the task of feeding the chemist's animals.
The chemical analysis revealed that the rice had retained its vitamins and after the Rice Growers Association did further official analysis for the next nine months, it was up to the public to accept the Malekized Rice which had been converted to a Dry Processed Rice. The rice retained up to 65 percent of the thiamine
Thiamine
Thiamine or thiamin or vitamin B1 , named as the "thio-vitamine" is a water-soluble vitamin of the B complex. First named aneurin for the detrimental neurological effects if not present in the diet, it was eventually assigned the generic descriptor name vitamin B1. Its phosphate derivatives are...
(Vitamin B1) of raw brown rice and 80 percent of pantothenic acid
Pantothenic acid
Pantothenic acid, also called pantothenate or vitamin B5 , is a water-soluble vitamin. For many animals, pantothenic acid is an essential nutrient. Animals require pantothenic acid to synthesize coenzyme-A , as well as to synthesize and metabolize proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.Pantothenic acid...
and more than double the vitamin content of ordinary Polished Rice. Malek-Yonan's process of Steam Pressure-Cooking Rice in its Husks forced the vitamins out of the bran and into the kernel itself. Most importantly, the germs in the end of the kernel that forced the rice to germinate were sterilized. Additionally, the bran oil disintegrated, hardening the kernel surface thus making it virtually disease proof since the weevils could no longer penetrate it.
When war broke out, Malek-Yonan quickly suggested his Malekized Rice to the army and 5,000 bags of processed rice were shipped to the Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. To meet the army's demand for more Dry Processed Rice, Malek-Yonan convinced the General American Transportation Corporation
General American Transportation Corporation
GATX Corporation is an equipment finance company based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1898, GATX's primary activities consist of railcar operating leasing in North America and Europe...
of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
to design and build huge Pressure Steamers, Rotary Driers and Coolers needed to process the rice. A Processing Plant was built in Sacramento with the help of the California Rice Growers Association and by the end of the war the completed plant was operational.
Malek-Yonan licensed General American Transportation Corporation
General American Transportation Corporation
GATX Corporation is an equipment finance company based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1898, GATX's primary activities consist of railcar operating leasing in North America and Europe...
and other agencies worldwide to manufacture processors and license mills everywhere under his patent as Uncle Bens Rice or Golden Pearl Rice.