Washing rice?

[Julio]

Hello,

Lately i have been washing my rice but i started thinking that washing my rice before cooking will loose it's vitamins and stuff like that.

Should i have my rice or not to preserve the vitamins?

[Andy M.]

When I use long grain rice in a dish where you want the grains to be separate and not sticking together, I rinse. e.g. pilaf, paella, etc.

Rinsing washes off the surface starch so the grains don't stick together. I'm not sure you use a lot of vitamins by rinsing. Those are in the rice not just sitting on the surface.

[Julio]

Thanks Andy,

Sorry i meant rinsing the rice. I thought that rice by rinsing it would loose vitamins. I didn't know it was only starch.

[Andy M.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Julio Thanks Andy, Sorry i meant rinsing the rice. I thought that rice by rinsing it would loose vitamins. I didn't know it was only starch.

Rinsing, washing. It's the same thing to me. I didn't even realize I had changed terms on you.

[suzyQ3]

I rinse only rice that includes that instruction on the package. I remember reading somewhere (might have been in The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook, but I'm not sure) that you should rinse any rice that is not from the U.S. So I do that as well. But otherwise, I do not rinse rice.

[Constance]

The first thing I was taught when I married that wild Cajun was to rinse the rice before I cooked it. As Andy says, it rinses off the starch so it won't stick.

[Uncle Bob]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Constance The first thing I was taught when I married that wild Cajun was to rinse the rice before I cooked it. As Andy says, it rinses off the starch so it won't stick.

Well ya did pick up a few good tip Miss Connie --------

Another one I do mostly ...Is "toasting" the rice in a skillet with a little oil. You have to keep moving it...stirring, flipping etc, so it want burn. It gives off the best aroma...Then cook it. It want be as white as snow, but it want stick either. Kinda gives the rice a nutty roasted flavor...Mmmmm good!!

[Scotch]

The practice of rinsing rice started primarily because talc or glucose had been added to the rice, ostensibly to preserve the rice and to prevent the grains from sticking together before it was cooked -- i.e., during processing, shipping, and storage.

However, talc hasn't been added to American- or European-produced rice for decades -- it's banned in this and many other countries because it's a health hazard as the talc may contain asbestos and has been linked to stomach cancer.

According to The New Food Lover's Companion, "Talc-coated rice is white rice that has a coating of talc and glucose, giving it a glossy appearance. The coating acts as a preservative and the practice was once widely used to protect rice during long sea voyages. Today coated rice (clearly labeled as such) is available only in a few markets, usually those specializing in South American foods. It must be thoroughly rinsed before cooking, as the talc can be contaminated with asbestos."

IMHO, there's really not much reason to rinse rice that hasn't been coated with talc or glucose. I never bother to rinse domestically produced rice. However, I do carefully wash anything from foreign sources, such as the Indian and Thai rices I buy at Trader Joe's, but only out of health concerns and to remove any impurities. (I prefer rice that is somewhat sticky in the Japanese style, such as Calrose -- I've never understood the preference for individual grains of cooked rice as it tastes no better and is harder to eat with a fork or chopsticks.)

Moreover, in some instances rinsing can remove nutrients. White rice is pretty much nothing but carbohydrates as the nutrients are in the outer brown husk that's removed to make the rice white. White rice is often "enriched" by the addition of vitamins and minerals to replace those missing nutrients. Wikipedia notes that "While the cheapest method of enriching involves adding a powdered blend of nutrients that will easily wash off (in the United States, rice which has been so treated requires a label warning against rinsing), more sophisticated methods apply nutrients directly to the grain, coating the grain with a water insoluble substance which is resistant to washing."

So whether to rinse or not boils down to the type of rice you have, where it came from, and whether you care about having individual grains of rice on your plate.

[GB]

I am with Scotch on this one. I prefer stickier types of rice. I am not one for individual grains. I have done blind taste tests at home with washing and not washing. Tasting the rice plain I was able to tell a difference even if it was somewhat subtle, but I never eat rice plain. It is always served with other food that generally has a sauce or somethng else. Once you combine the rice with sauce or whatever then I did not notice the difference anymore. So now I don't rince as it is an added step I don't find makes a difference for me.

[Wyogal]

How about sushi rice? I was taught to wash it well. A friend who has a Japanese grandmother was very familiar with the process, it was the job she did when helping her grandma. It wasn't just rinsed quickly, but washed, rubbing the grains lightly between the palms of one's hands, until the water runs clear.