Risotto

[JLam]

I know HOW to cook risotto, but I'm curious as to WHY it's cooked the way it's cooked (adding liquid a little bit at a time, rather than all at once.)

Guesses are nice, but if anyone knows the science behind it, I'd love to hear it.

[Gifted Gourmet]

This is the very best explanation that I have yet to read!

[doctortim]

What a great article! I've always managed to mess up risotto in the past, but maybe it's about time I give it another shot.

[Gifted Gourmet]

What a great article! I've always managed to mess up risotto in the past, but maybe it's about time I give it another shot.

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You are quite right about the article, doctortim ... I know that after reading it over, I have an uncontrollable desire to repair to my kitchen and mix up a pot of risotto myself!

[fifi]

Thanks for that article, Melissa. I just found some Arborio rice in the cupboard, I have some good chicken stock in the freezer, and I see some risotto in my future. That really is the best explanation of what to do and why you do it that I have seen.

[fatmat]

"Add the stock in small batches -- Rice loves to soak up liquid; it's the gradual addition of stock and slow cooking that gives you the creamy result unique to great risotto. Adding all the cooking liquid at once would be more like boiling or steaming the rice--which is okay, but it's not risotto."

The above is a quote from the article put forward by GG, to explain the reason for progressive addition of stock. However, it still does not really give an explanation.

Does anyone have any more ideas why??

[gsquared]

Rice used to make risotto (such as Arborio) is high in a starch type called amylopectin, as opposed to long grain rice which has less amylopectin and more amylose. Amylopectin glutenises well and amylose does not (that is, it is released into the cooking liquid fairly easily). If you cook rice high in amylopectin in a lot of liquid, some of the amylopectin will glutenise but more will simply stay on the rice grains. Adding liquid in batches and stirring well ensures that as much amylopectin as possible is released into the liquid, giving the creaminess of risotto.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Adding liquid in batches and stirring well ensures that as much amylopectin as possible is released into the liquid, giving the creaminess of risotto.

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Which is what I wanted to explain but I didn't have the word amylopectin in my vocabulary .. thank you for teaching me what I ought to have known, gsquared! It is precisely that creaminess that risotto lovers stand and stir for long periods to obtain ...

[fatmat]

Rice used to make risotto (such as Arborio) is high in a starch type called amylopectin, as opposed to long grain rice which has less amylopectin and more amylose. Amylopectin glutenises well and amylose does not (that is, it is released into the cooking liquid fairly easily). If you cook rice high in amylopectin in a lot of liquid, some of the amylopectin will glutenise but more will simply stay on the rice grains. Adding liquid in batches and stirring well ensures that as much amylopectin as possible is released into the liquid, giving the creaminess of risotto.

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Ah... I see the light... many thanks

[russ parsons]

that was a good article, but in a hurried reading, a couple of things occurred to me (maybe my misreadings): first, you should cook the vegetable base before you add the rice. this doesn't mean the vegetable garnish, but the onions, garlic, shallots, the flavoring soffrito. second, while it certainly isn't necessary to stir the rice constantly (that's culinary mythmaking), it is necessary to stir it occasionally and very roughly. that helps free some of the starch from the rice to thicken the stock. third (and in my opinion, one of the most important): the final addition of butter and cheese should be made off heat and should be stirred in very vigorously, to emulsify the fat into the thickened stock.

[divina]

Just to be different..

I have been living in Italy for 21 years...

I went to a rice producer, and he said....

DON'T STIR MY RICE...

I think most Americans use too low of a heat, stir too much and risotto turns into a hard to digest mush. ( egulleters excluded)

Since I tasted Gabrielle Ferron's risotto I am a convert!

he makes it like a pilaf, sauteeing his aromatic's veggies etc, Toasts the rice, adds double the liquid (hot) , salt.. cover and cook for 14 minutes.

NOW uncover and start to stir, add extra liquid if needed.

when the rice is done ( more al dente than you think).

Off the heat stir in hte butter and cheese...

ONe of the lightest risotto's.

The families company is Pila Vecia in Isola della Scala outside of Verona,

Edited January 10, 2006 by divina (log)

[lesanglierrouge]

So then it's a big no-no to rince the rice before hand right?

[Carlovski]

Just to be different..

I have been living in Italy for 21 years...

I went to a rice producer, and he said....

DON'T STIR MY RICE...

I think most Americans use too low of a heat, stir too much and risotto turns into a hard to digest mush. ( egulleters excluded)

Since I tasted Gabrielle Ferron's risotto I am a convert!

he makes it like a pilaf, sauteeing his aromatic's veggies etc, Toasts the rice, adds double the liquid (hot) , salt.. cover and cook for 14 minutes.

NOW uncover and start to stir, add extra liquid if needed.

when the rice is done ( more al dente than you think).

Off the heat stir in hte butter and cheese...

ONe of the lightest risotto's.

The families company is Pila Vecia in Isola della Scala outside of Verona,

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Interesting - but I don't know about you people, but I don't really want my risotto to be light - If I want light I'll have a salad

[russ parsons]

this may be a matter of semantics. i think what she was trying to say was that it shouldn't be dense and clumpy, it should be creamy. that is probably not light, but it is right.

[Smithy]

From the same article linked by GG above:

"A wooden spoon works best for stirring risotto. It's gentler on the rice than a metal spoon, and it won't scratch the inside of your pan."

I understand the bit about a metal spoon scratching the pan, but the first part has me puzzled. What do you suppose "gentler on the rice" means, in the context of using a wooden spoon rather than metal?

[CaliPoutine]

I myself have made an "oven baked" risotto a few times in order to compare, and honestly, there wasnt that much difference.

I used a recipe from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food Magazine called "oven baked" risotto.

[cakewalk]

From the same article linked by GG above:

"A wooden spoon works best for stirring risotto. It's gentler on the rice than a metal spoon, and it won't scratch the inside of your pan."

I understand the bit about a metal spoon scratching the pan, but the first part has me puzzled.  What do you suppose "gentler on the rice" means, in the context of using a wooden spoon rather than metal?

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Well, would you rather walk into a tree or a lamppost?

(Sorry, but I'm feeling silly today. It's a Friday thing.)

I think the wooden spoon is actually gentler on the hand that does the stirring. I mean, metal gets hot, y'know? And moving right along with that idea, maybe it has something to do with how the heat of the spoon -- or lack thereof -- effects the rice.

(I keep trying to convince my boss that I should only work Monday through Thursday because I am useless on Fridays, but so far no luck. )

[russ parsons]

it's all bs. a wooden spoon is certainly pleasanter to stir with, because it doesn't make the scratching sound on the bottom of the pan. but stirring with a metal spoon will not destroy your risotto. many years ago i did a piece collecting myths about risotto. some people said wooden spoons, some said wooden forks! quite a few very sternly advised to only stir in one direction. and a very disturbing number recommended uncle ben's as a substitution! (these were different days, when arborio wasn't on supermarket shelves, but still ... if you don't have the right rice, make a pilaf or something else).

[chef koo]

about why you add stock in batches, when i was in school my teacher was an italian born and raised. he said it's not anything about the final product. it's just the way the recipe came about. some italian a while back decided to cook arborio with stock. noticed it wasn't enough so they added more and more and more. although i can't vouch for the validity of this i can say that it makes sense to add stock a little at a time. to add the stock all at once you wouldn't no if it was too much. you could have the grains al dente but swimming in a pool of stock. which wouldn't be all bad (rice soup) but it's like comparing the diffence between mashed potatoes and roasted potatoes. you do it that way because you want a specific product

[russ parsons]

about why you add stock in batches, when i was in school my teacher was an italian born and raised. he said it's not anything about the final product. it's just the way the recipe came about. some italian a while back decided to cook arborio with stock. noticed it wasn't enough so they added more and more and more.

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hmmm, that's a pretty good example of why we shouldn't take chef explanations at face value. it simply makes no sense that over hundreds of years, cooks would follow a more complicated procedure for making a dish simply because one time some guy made a mistake. you'd think somebody might have noticed, right?

the reason the liquid is added in portions is because that allows the amylopectin within the kernal to partially cook and break free, then become absorbed in the next addition of stock, which is what makes risotto creamy.

[maggiethecat]

I enjoy the stirring and the fussing that are part of making risotto. But when laziness strikes, the only shortcut method (oh my, it's a no-brainer) that produces something close to Nonna's risott' is Barbara Kafka's microwave method in Microwave Gourmet.