I've always relied upon a rice cooker to cook rice. For whatever reason I
could never get it right - too gummy, too dry, etc. I blame the erratic
weather around here. Others blame me. Anyway, a Cajun cook insisted that
everything I knew about cooking rice was completely in error. Here's what
we did and I have repeated it several times with the same wonderful results.

Bring three cups of water for each cup of rice and a generous amount of salt
and butter to a boil and then cover. Let cook until the moisture is used up
and then rinse in the sink to get rid of extra salt. The proportions are
different from anything I have ever seen (3:1) but it is a very reliable
recipe.

j

Julianne wrote:

Bring three cups of water for each cup of rice and a generous amount of salt
and butter to a boil and then cover. Let cook until the moisture is used up
and then rinse in the sink to get rid of extra salt. The proportions are
different from anything I have ever seen (3:1) but it is a very reliable
recipe.

This sounds like *way* too much water, plus why add salt and
butter at the cooking stage? Most folks seem to recommend
a 2:1 water to rice ratio, but I find even that too much
water for me. Here is what I do: put 1 measure of rice
into a pan with 1.5 measure of water, mix them together to
get all the rice wetted (I use my fingers) and start heating.
When the water just starts to bubble reduce heat to simmer
and cover. Set timer for 12 or 13 minutes. When the timer
goes off, turn off the heat and reset the timer for another
12 minutes. DO NOT open the lid or move the pan.

After the second timing, it's done. Fluff it up and
serve. Works great with jasmine rice, "converted" rice,
and most any white rice I've tried. Add salt/butter/whatever
after the rice is cooked.

Bill Ranck
Blacksburg, Va.

In article Ch8sb.20356$j_4.14778@lakeread05, "Julianne"
writes:

I've always relied upon a rice cooker to cook rice. For whatever reason I
could never get it right - too gummy, too dry, etc. I blame the erratic
weather around here. Others blame me. Anyway, a Cajun cook insisted that
everything I knew about cooking rice was completely in error. Here's what
we did and I have repeated it several times with the same wonderful results.

Bring three cups of water for each cup of rice and a generous amount of salt
and butter to a boil and then cover. Let cook until the moisture is used up
and then rinse in the sink to get rid of extra salt. The proportions are
different from anything I have ever seen (3:1) but it is a very reliable
recipe.

Nothing inherently wrong with your method (there are many viable rice cooking
procedures) but if you're cooking enriched rice then essentially you're tossing
the baby out with the bath water... your method is tantamount to boiling ribs
before grilling.


---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =---
---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
Sheldon
````````````
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."

It seemed like way too much water to me, too!

I recently bought some new cookware so it could be that my old pots did not
seal correctly. I like the rice cooker which uses the 2:1 ratio but I don't
like the way it spits starchy water out of the little steam vent. I must
say that I am forever fascinated by how the rice cooker knows when it is
time to turn itself off. It seems to make adjustments for the amount of
rice and kind of rice. I amuse myself for hours contemplating the wisdom of
rice machines.

Anyway, for anyone else who is rice challenged, I have made rice like this
several times since learning this technique and it is without fail. I,
personally, don't eat a lot of rice so usually when it is served at my
house, it is because someone else will be eating here and mistakes always
seem to be more noticeable with an audience It tends to be fluffier than
the rice maker rice, as well.

j
wrote in message ...
Julianne wrote:

Bring three cups of water for each cup of rice and a generous amount of
salt
and butter to a boil and then cover. Let cook until the moisture is
used up
and then rinse in the sink to get rid of extra salt. The proportions
are
different from anything I have ever seen (3:1) but it is a very reliable
recipe.

This sounds like *way* too much water, plus why add salt and
butter at the cooking stage? Most folks seem to recommend
a 2:1 water to rice ratio, but I find even that too much
water for me. Here is what I do: put 1 measure of rice
into a pan with 1.5 measure of water, mix them together to
get all the rice wetted (I use my fingers) and start heating.
When the water just starts to bubble reduce heat to simmer
and cover. Set timer for 12 or 13 minutes. When the timer
goes off, turn off the heat and reset the timer for another
12 minutes. DO NOT open the lid or move the pan.

After the second timing, it's done. Fluff it up and
serve. Works great with jasmine rice, "converted" rice,
and most any white rice I've tried. Add salt/butter/whatever
after the rice is cooked.

Bill Ranck
Blacksburg, Va.

Nothing inherently wrong with your method (there are many viable rice
cooking
procedures) but if you're cooking enriched rice then essentially you're
tossing
the baby out with the bath water... your method is tantamount to boiling
ribs
before grilling.

I don't particularly care for babies

Just kidding. I know that I am probably washing away most of the vitamins,
etc. but I wonder if washing the excess starch is what makes this rather
fail proof? I don't eat rice as a staple like some southerner's so it isn't
a huge issue for me.

j

---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =---
---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
Sheldon
````````````
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."

Julianne wrote:

I know that I am probably washing away most of the vitamins, etc.


The only "vitamins" you are going to be washing away are minuscule
amounts of synthetic B-Vitamins... Milling rice strips off the bran
layer, leaving a nutritionally worthless core... In this bran layer
(that was just discarded) resides nutrients of vital importance in the
diet, making white rice a poor choice... Fiber is dramatically lower in
white rice, as are the essential oils (EFA's), most of the B vitamins,
and important minerals... So in a sense, by milling rice, you're
"throwing out the baby with the bath water"... Worry over whether or not
to rinse white rice is tantamount to adding extra lettuce to your Big
Mac in order to get that extra daily serving of vegetables...

~john!


....yeah I said "tantamount"...

"Julianne" wrote in message
news:9T9sb.20361$j_4.10371@lakeread05...
It seemed like way too much water to me, too!

I recently bought some new cookware so it could be that my old pots did
not
seal correctly. I like the rice cooker which uses the 2:1 ratio but I
don't
like the way it spits starchy water out of the little steam vent. I must
say that I am forever fascinated by how the rice cooker knows when it is
time to turn itself off. It seems to make adjustments for the amount of
rice and kind of rice. I amuse myself for hours contemplating the wisdom
of
rice machines.


Here's how it works - when the rice and water are boiling, the temp in the
rice cooker cannot go above the boiling point of water. Once the water is
all gone (absorbed or boiled off) the temp starts to rise - this is what the
cooker senses to shut itself off.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

You are so brilliant! I don't know whether to thank you or rue the fact
that hours of endless cheap entertainment has been brought to an abrupt
halt.

j
"Peter Aitken" wrote in message
.com...
"Julianne" wrote in message
news:9T9sb.20361$j_4.10371@lakeread05...
It seemed like way too much water to me, too!

I recently bought some new cookware so it could be that my old pots did
not
seal correctly. I like the rice cooker which uses the 2:1 ratio but I
don't
like the way it spits starchy water out of the little steam vent. I
must
say that I am forever fascinated by how the rice cooker knows when it is
time to turn itself off. It seems to make adjustments for the amount of
rice and kind of rice. I amuse myself for hours contemplating the
wisdom
of
rice machines.


Here's how it works - when the rice and water are boiling, the temp in the
rice cooker cannot go above the boiling point of water. Once the water is
all gone (absorbed or boiled off) the temp starts to rise - this is what
the
cooker senses to shut itself off.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

On Tue, 11 Nov 2003 10:39:55 -0600, Julianne wrote:

I've always relied upon a rice cooker to cook rice. For whatever reason I
could never get it right - too gummy, too dry, etc. I blame the erratic
weather around here. Others blame me. Anyway, a Cajun cook insisted that
everything I knew about cooking rice was completely in error. Here's what
we did and I have repeated it several times with the same wonderful results.

Bring three cups of water for each cup of rice and a generous amount of salt
and butter to a boil and then cover. Let cook until the moisture is used up
and then rinse in the sink to get rid of extra salt. The proportions are
different from anything I have ever seen (3:1) but it is a very reliable
recipe.

j

I usually sauté some onion and garlic and then add the rice and sauté it a
little to coat the grains of rice with oil. (This helps prevent the grains
from sticking together and gives the rices a little flavor. Various spices
can also be added at this point if desired.) The preceding step, of
course, can be skipped if you want plain white rice. I use 2:1 water (or
stock) to rice, but I live in a very dry climate and more water is lost to
evaporation than in most places. I also always keep a teakettle boiling on
the stove so that if the rice appears to be to dry I can add water.
Conversely if it seems like it is going to be too wet, I remove the cover
and turn up the heat to boil off some water. With a little practice you
can get it just right every time.

JakeInHartsel

On 11 Nov 2003 17:40:43 GMT, (PENMART01) wrote:

Nothing inherently wrong with your method (there are many viable rice cooking
procedures) but if you're cooking enriched rice then essentially you're tossing
the baby out with the bath water... your method is tantamount to boiling ribs
before grilling.

OK, I'll bite. Are you somehow claiming that the enrichment of rice
adds flavor?

I personally rinse all enriched rice before cooking - to get rid of
it.

-sw

Glenn Jacobs wrote:
On Tue, 11 Nov 2003 10:39:55 -0600, Julianne wrote:



SNIP

Bring three cups of water for each cup of rice and a generous amount of salt
and butter to a boil and then cover. Let cook until the moisture is used up
and then rinse in the sink to get rid of extra salt. The proportions are
different from anything I have ever seen (3:1) but it is a very reliable
recipe.



SNIP

I use 2:1 water (or
stock) to rice, but I live in a very dry climate and more water is lost to
evaporation than in most places.

SNIP

....and I use a different ratio again (1.5 water:1 rice) and I've tried
this method with a number of varieties with equal success.

put some rice in the pan
add 1.5 times its volume in cold water
bring to the boil
move the pan to the smallest ring on the hob
cover with a lid and continue to heat on the lowest heat possible for 10
minutes

Perfect rice every time and no need to have a kettle of spare water just
in case. If you're worried that the rice might burn, just turn the heat
off 2-3 minutes before the time is up but leave the lid firmly on the
pan - it will finish cooking in its own steam and be guaranteed never to
burn on the bottom.

Works best with gas hobs or quick cooling ceramic hobs - standard
electric hot plates just don't have the appropriate level of instant
heat control to get this right.

RM
--
unlocking Nokia and SonyEricsson phones in the Edinburgh area
email: reestit_mutton AT lauriem DOT plus DOT com

"Steve Wertz" wrote in message
...
On 11 Nov 2003 17:40:43 GMT, (PENMART01) wrote:

Nothing inherently wrong with your method (there are many viable rice
cooking
procedures) but if you're cooking enriched rice then essentially you're
tossing
the baby out with the bath water... your method is tantamount to boiling
ribs
before grilling.

OK, I'll bite. Are you somehow claiming that the enrichment of rice
adds flavor?

I personally rinse all enriched rice before cooking - to get rid of
it.

-sw

'enriched'. Isn't that kinda trying to put back what was taken out
originally but not quite??

Jack Minute

In article , "Jack Schidt®"
writes:

"Steve Wertz" wrote in message
...
On 11 Nov 2003 17:40:43 GMT, (PENMART01) wrote:

Nothing inherently wrong with your method (there are many viable rice
cooking
procedures) but if you're cooking enriched rice then essentially you're
tossing
the baby out with the bath water... your method is tantamount to boiling
ribs
before grilling.

OK, I'll bite. Are you somehow claiming that the enrichment of rice
adds flavor?

I personally rinse all enriched rice before cooking - to get rid of
it.

-sw

'enriched'. Isn't that kinda trying to put back what was taken out
originally but not quite??

Nope.

White rice has had the husk, bran and germ removed. Regular white rice is
sometimes referred to as polished rice.

For converted or parboiled white rice, the unhulled grain has been soaked,
pressure-steamed and dried before milling. This treatment gelatinizes the
starch in the grain (for fluffy, separated cooked rice) and infuses some of the
nutrients of the bran and germ into the kernel's heart. Converted rice has a
pale beige cast and takes slightly longer to cook than regular white rice.
Enriched or converted rice contains calcium, iron and many B-complex vitamins

© Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995
based on THE FOOD LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.


---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =---
---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
Sheldon
````````````
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."

I'm curious, what does adding salt to the water do....I never use it as I
try to limit salt intake. ???

I've always relied upon a rice cooker to cook rice. For whatever reason
I
could never get it right - too gummy, too dry, etc. I blame the erratic
weather around here. Others blame me. Anyway, a Cajun cook insisted
that
everything I knew about cooking rice was completely in error. Here's
what
we did and I have repeated it several times with the same wonderful
results.

Bring three cups of water for each cup of rice and a generous amount of
salt
and butter to a boil and then cover. Let cook until the moisture is used
up
and then rinse in the sink to get rid of extra salt. The proportions are
different from anything I have ever seen (3:1) but it is a very reliable
recipe.

Nothing inherently wrong with your method (there are many viable rice
cooking
procedures) but if you're cooking enriched rice then essentially you're
tossing
the baby out with the bath water... your method is tantamount to boiling
ribs
before grilling.


---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =---
---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
Sheldon
````````````
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."

"Aria" writes:

I'm curious, what does adding salt to the water do....I never use it as I
try to limit salt intake. ???

Some claim adding salt to the cooking water enhances the flavor of the rice.
I'd much rather salt the finished rice on my plate, same as I prefer a little
surface salt on a pretzel rather than adding extra salt to the pretzel dough.
There is no reason you can't omit salt from the cooking water of rice, or pasta
for that matter, the salted water essentially has no bearing whatsoever on how
the cooking proceeds... if for whatever reason (or for no reason at all) you
prefer to omit added salt from your diet then do so.... more often than not the
additions incorporated into rice (and pasta) dishes contain more than enough
salt, usually far more salt than any human requires. Of course there are some
six toed assholes about (you'll probably read their moronic comments shortly)
who maintain a communal salt lick in their feeding area.


---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =---
---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
Sheldon
````````````
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."