Rice Cookers

[sanrensho]

All rice I've been using seems to be from the US even the Japanese rice.

Well, Japanese rice is the wrong rice to be using if you want soft, "fall apart" rice. (I'm assuming that's what you mean when you say "separate grains". Although Japanese rice is sticky, the grains should still be distinct/separate.)

A long grain rice like basmati or jasmine is the way to go if you want rice that isn't sticky.

I haven't had any problems cooking long grain rice with "separate" grains in our rice cooker, but "fall apart" is a different matter. Are you looking for the type of "fall apart" texture like you would get with a wild rice?

EDITED TO ADD: I agree with Ben's comments above.

Edited January 19, 2006 by sanrensho (log)

[Marlene]

Ben, maybe it's because the fluffiness of Minute Rice is what I'm used to.

I understand that japanese rice isn't the same as long grain rice, but truly the texture is the same no matter which rice I make. I'm obviously rice cooker challenged.

I'm not at all sure I can capture what I mean in a picture, but I'll try:

No matter which rice I try, I could pick it up, form it into a ball and throw it. Not only would it stick to the wall, it probably wouldn't lose its shape either.

I don't mind some stickiness, but this is almost impossible to "fluff" in any way.

[Ben Hong]

Oh, I see. My diagnosis is way too much water. Try this, after rinsing the rice add cooking water to a depth of the first knuckle of your index finger above the rice, if you are long of finger, a little less. Rice is cheap, so go with trial and error.

Oh, another monkey wrench coming your way. The consistency of the cooked rice is sometimes affected by the age of the rice you buy. A lot of the Thai and finer rices come with the year of harvest noted on the bag. Buy the latest harvest, as rice dries out. New rice has better mouth feel and better taste.

One of my fondest food memories is the harvest time meals my mother would make using freshly husked rice two hours after harvest. There is absolutely nothing that tastes like it, at least to this old coolie.

[BCinBC]

One of my fondest food memories is the harvest time meals my mother would make using freshly husked rice two hours after harvest. There is absolutely nothing that tastes like it, at least to this old coolie.

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Very cool, I would love to try this sometime.

I agree tho, too much water in the photos above. The finger method aka the knuckle method - even my siblings can't figure out how the hell I do it, but it is the only way I know how to make rice. And it is impossible to explain to another person.

Like you said, Ben, I don't think there is a set ratio because so much depends on the actual rice you are cooking. Trial and error each time you start a new bag.

I went through two 8 kg bags recently that just would not turn out well, despite a very low water addition. It was the good stuff, too. But it was too mushy for my taste, so I switched back to a slightly cheaper brand.

[Marlene]

Ok, consider me mentally incapacitated with this and bear with me. Add cooking water to a depth of the first knuckle of your index finger above the rice, so, my fingertip should be resting on top of the rice, not on the bottom of the bowl? As you say, rice is cheap and I can eat fried rice for days.

[JohnnyH]

Okay; I have what I'm sure is a really, really stupid question but I'm going to ask it anyway. I've never used a rice cooker, and to the best of my knowledge I haven't missed it. My rice cooks on the stovetop. What difference does a rice cooker make? I'm not kidding here, actually looking to be enlightened.

[Marlene]

I love the cooker itself. I can make the rice ahead of time and the keep warm feature will hold it until I'm ready to serve, thus freeing up my time and an element on the stove if I need them.

[sanrensho]

BTW, if it's any consolation, this looks like perfectly cooked Japanese rice.

I know it's not what you are looking for, but Japanese rice should have some "bite" and not be soft.

[Ben Hong]

Marlene, yes the tip of your finger should just be touching the rice and the water should be at the crease of the first knuckle.

Johnny H, using a rice cooker is virtually foolproof (for some people) if you have already mastered cooking rice on the stovetop. Most rice cookers have a non stick pot, and the method does not give you a crust at the bottom, they are carefree (you don't have to anything after turning it on) and they eliminate the potential for burning the bottom of the rice. It took me 50 years, but 13 years ago, I switched and never looked back.

One thing that a rice cooker doesn't give is that toasted aroma of the stovetop cooked rice. And, another thing I miss is the crunchy, toasty bottom crust ("noong" in Chinese), one of life's simple pleasures.

[sanrensho]

I agree tho, too much water in the photos above.

I wonder about that. The sure signs of too much water are soft, soggy rice that lacks bite. I don't get that from the photos. It looks like the opposite to me (not enough water).

[BCinBC]

I agree tho, too much water in the photos above.

I wonder about that. The sure signs of too much water are soft, soggy rice that lacks bite. I don't get that from the photos. It looks like the opposite to me (not enough water).

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I see the rice glistening, which to me suggests it has released all of its starch (IMO overcooked). At about 6 and 8 o'clock it looks like it has almost developed that sheet of starch that you sometimes get. However Sanrensho I agree that the photo could also suggest that the rice just needs more time to rest and absorb that water.

So the question (for Marlene) is, was the rice too soggy or too "toothy"?

[Marlene]

My inclination is to say it was too soggy. But I have to tell you that I'm not 100% positive. I was focused far more on the stickiness. I'm going to be making rice for dinner tonight, so I'll do a little experimenting and see what happens.

[fifi]

I have to say that I am baffled as to your problem. Again, I have this one from Williams-Sonoma. I use the measuring cup that comes with it, the lines for water on the bowl, all kinds of rice, and it comes out perfect (to me) every time. I cook long grain white rice most often (Mahatma) and short grain brown rice next most often. I have never done the rinsing routine. The only thing I had a problem with was some short grain brown rice I got at the Asian market that I now think was a sticky rice and probably old. When it beeps at me that it is done, I do fluff the rice with the paddle and close the lid for it to sit on "warm." What I call "perfect" is separate grains but they will stick together if you try. My avatar is some seafood gumbo with the rice in the center that I have molded in a small ramekin. It will stick together enough to hold its shape but falls apart easily when you nudge it with your spoon. It is not "wet looking" at all. This is what is known as "perfect rice" in south Louisiana where I learned to cook it.

You can see a bigger picture of the rice here.

[Marlene]

I have the same one fifi, and I aspire to your definition of perfect rice. I never got around to making rice last night since hubby brought home fish and chips, but I've got plans for that cooker on sunday.

[sanrensho]

I have the same one fifi, and I aspire to your definition of perfect rice.

I made basmati rice today in the rice cooker, paying attention to the details. 2 cups (standard US cup=250 ml) washed, rinsed until clear and soaked for 45 minutes in 3-1/4 cups water. Cooked on standard white rice setting.

Rice came out "perfectly" according to your preferences, not sticky/starchy at all and the grains easily "fell apart" when plated.

[Marlene]

By George, I think I've got it! Tonight's experiment was long grain rice. (can you hear my family? oh no, not rice again!) Fortunately I was eating alone tonight .

I used 1 1/2 rice cooker cups, then washed the rice and used 1 1/2 rice cooker cups of water. So basically equal proportions as suggested upthread. For the hell of it, I used my finger to do the knuckle measure thing to see if it was close. It was. Not quite, but almost. The water came to just below the first crease in my index finger.

What I got was pretty close to fifi's version of rice. It moulded nicely:

But fell apart easily when flaked with a fork:

The rice was somewhat sticky to the touch but I'm guessing its supposed to be.

All in all, I feel much better about this appliance, and it will be relieved to know Ive reconsidered pitching it out the window. My family will also be thrilled to discover we can have something else for dinner besides rice.

[Sam Salmon]

Great looking Basmati!

But as per Johnny's question it isn't any different than what I've been making in a cheap pot on top of my stove for almost 30 years.

The washing you can skip if you buy a quality brand.

[Marlene]

Twasn't basmati! lol.

[snowangel]

Beautiful, Marlene! That's what it should be like! And I do to the bottom of the first crease, too.

[fifi]

Marlene . . . You are going to a whole lot more trouble than I do. I don't rinse the rice. I don't mess with measuring anything. I have never checked with my knuckle. I use the little rice cup that came with the rice cooker and the water lines on the bowl.

Your rice came out just lovely. Looks perfect. But I wonder at the labor involved.

[Marlene]

Fifi, if I could have made it work like you say, I would have. So I'll go with the labour for now.

[fifi]

I'm not doubting you, Marlene. I am doubting your rice cooker. What I haven't said very well is that it should work perfectly with the cup and the water lines. I am beginning to wonder if something is haywire with the sensors and the control chips if it doesn't come out perfect with cups and lines. For that kind of money, I would call W-S.

[Sam Salmon]

Twasn't basmati!  lol.

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OK I admit to be a drunk and hungry when I posted

[Marlene]

This would have to be the one appliance I didn't buy at WS! But I will call the place I bought it from and talk to them. It just shouldn't be this dificult

[slowday]

This would have to be the one appliance I didn't buy at WS!  But I will call the place I bought it from and talk to them.  It just shouldn't be this dificult

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Well, rice cookers, advanced as they are, basically work by measuring the temperature inside the pot.

When you put the pot with the rice and the water in the cooker and press the cook button the round disc in the inside bottom of the cooker senses weight and starts the cooking process. Basically what happens after that, the sensors monitor the temperature. At 212 degrees water is still boiling away, higher than 212 all the water has boiled away and it stops cooking and switches to keep warm mode.

So if you have too much water at the start, the cooker will keep cooking past the point where the rice is done. It will keep cooking until all the water has evaporated, but since its cooked too long in too much water, it comes out mushy.

The more advanced models with the computer chip is capable of some pretty fancy moves. Instead of just turning the heat on or off in reaction to the temperature as in the basic cookers it makes adjustments in the temperature. So if you want hard rice for fried rice, or watery for congee, its able to adjust not only the internal temperature but also the cooking times to acheive those differences.

It will even reheat leftover rice from the fridge back to almost perfect cooked by slowly bringing the inside temperature up to the keep warm temp. Mine will even tell me when the reheat only has about ten minutes to go.

But the best thing the rice cooker makes is oatmeal. Every morning, Bob's Red Mill extra thick (1part oatmeal-2parts water) or Scotch cut (1 part oatmeal- 3 parts water). Takes a lot longer than on the stove top but its made flat out perfect.