RICE

[oldcoot]

kris, on another thread, recommended a rice cooker. Our kitchen is so loaded with appliances, both on the counter and in the cabinets, we simply have no room for any more.

But even if we had the room - and the spare change - a rice cooker would be my last choice. Hey, not that they don't work fine - I'm sure they do. It's just that making excellent rice is so darned easy, why bother with a cooker?

Put a measured amount of raw rice in a opt with a fitted llid, add twice that amount of water, bring it to a boil, set a timer for 20 minutes, put the lid on, trun the heat as low as possible (or off!) and don't touch that lid until the timer goes off. Then fluff with a fork. Perfect, every time.

Yeah, you can add salt or most anything else - including green beans, kitchenshelf. Or you can add a little oil of butter to start with, even lightly sauteing the rice before adding the water if you like pilaf.

What works for you?

 

[kris]

I've always had trouble getting consistantly good results with the stovetop. I also like the keep warm feature of the rice cooker. It gets used often enough to justify its spot. It's also nice to have one more free element for some extra room to move on the stovetop. My girlfriend's bread maker on the other hand has been banished to the far reaches of that really deep cupboard that I should really do something about!

 

[RockAndFire]

Oldcoot, I agree with you 100%. However it sounds like we cook different types of rice. I only eat whole grain brown rice, so I prepare it much like you do. Except, I bring the water to a boil add a couple of dashes of salt, and then stir in the brown rice. I immediately reduce heat to low (on gas stove), cover and cook for exactly 45 min (20 min. wouldn't work for me). Comes out perfect each time. The only rice cooker I'll ever need are my 2 and 3qt. covered sauce pans :twisted:

 

[scott123]

Rice, like dried beans, loses moisture over time. This loss of moisture results in a need for differing amounts of water/cooking time. I buy my rice in a huge bag and store it carefully. When cooking it the first time, I use the traditional 1 cup water 2 cups rice - then if the result is soupy/dry, I adjust further batches appropriately. One I have the right proportion determined, I use that ratio until the entire bag of rice is gone. At which point I go buy more bulk rice and start the process all over.

I've also noticed that if I have a rice that works perfectly with a 1 cup rice 2 cups water ratio, if I double the rice (2 cups) and double the water (4 cups) the rice invariably ends up on the soupy side. So part of my batch to batch fine tuning involves documenting proportions for larger quantities of rice.

 

[ironchef]

a rice cooker is more consistent, leaves more burners open on your stove to cook other things with if you are cooking for a party, has a built in warmer which won't burn the rice, and makes a better quality sushi rice for those who have a hard time making it with a saucepan

 

[LMJ]

Not really true that it always works that way. The more rice you use, the less water you'll need in proportion.

I love my rice cooker. I could rarely make a decent batch on the stovetop. It's too unpredictable. This allows me to make a perfect batch every time, and I can make it as fluffy or sticky as I want (I like mine clumpy, but not at all soupy).

Besides, it doubles as a very good steamer for a dorm room. And I've even used it to boil ravioli on occaison.

 

[Barbara L]

I used to always cook my rice on the stove, with good results. A year or so ago, I bought a microwave rice/pasta cooker, and it works great. I have used it for both white and brown rice. I still do it on the stove sometimes, but the microwave cooker is especially handy if I need all my burners or if I want a cooler kitchen. I didn't pay a lot for it--I got it at WalMart. I have tried it for pasta, but I'd just as soon do that on the stove.

A tip for reheating rice: Just put it in a strainer and pour boiling water over it. (Yes, I know you probably all already do this, but it seems that the simplest ideas are often the ones that we don't think of!)

Barbara

 

[French fried]

you could just put the rice in a pot, I don`t even measure the water,and I boil it untill it is doneit comes out perfect, unless u dont watch it