So I inheritted a used rice cooker

[mandyky]

and am trying a batch of rice. I used 2 parts water to 1 part rice. Is that right? No instructions came with the cooker, so I am using stovetop recipe. Any other tips?

[Dora]

1. Plug and play.

We were given a rice cooker once. I'd never used one before and mistrusted it.

I did the same as you - followed my stovetop recipe, plugged it in, then walked away. It made spectacular rice: white, brown, red, mixed...

It finally broke (it was a cheapo). I should replace it. Thanks for the reminder!

[mandyky]

3. No kidding!

It works great and fast! This frees up a pot for me when I cook rice and other stuff. This is gonna make fried rice a lot easier and faster. I don't know why, I always get nervous when I cook rice, this thing makes it a sinch.

[Dora]

5. I also thought it would make a good tamale keeper,

but I never got around to testing it. Ours was small (1 qt), and it came with a little rack that sat in the bottom, presumably for steaming veggies.

Oh yes, I'm a full-on member of the rice-cooker fan club. My lone warning is this: don't try making oatmeal in it. :)

[politicat]

17. Let the rice cool before you make fried rice with it.

Otherwise, the starch in the rice will keep things sticky.

If you let it cool (overnight is fine; it's a left-overs dish, after all) there's a protein in the rice that forms a skin on the outside of the grains that lets the rice stay separate in the fried rice.

[politicat]

2. White rice is 1 part rice to 1.15 parts water.

So, 7 ounces of rice to 1 cup of water. But the ratio changes as the quantity of rice goes up.
Unless you're making industrial quantities, however, you don't need to worry about this.
Brown rice is 2 parts water to 1 part rice, always.

See if you can find the manual for your cooker at the manufacturer's website. They're often slightly different from standard recipes.

Mine is the 1:1.15 ratio.

[Stepup2]

4. Rinse the rice before cooking.

I am amazed at how much dirt is in rice, white or brown. I think this lessens the foaming too.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

6. Always, always, always

a good idea.

A lot of rice is coated with talc, and you have to rinse it until the water runs clear - sometimes ten rinsings.

It also just slightly soaks the rice, which helps it cook tender - or so I'm told.

[mandyky]

7. How do you rinse it?

It would go right through my collander.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

8. I use a strainer

I have big wire strainer, mesh, that I use. Just rinse it and rinse it, etc.

No, a colander wouldn't work.

[Tab]

9. Just put in a pot and fill with water.

Gets some of the excess starch off.

Changes the "stickiness".

[hvn_nbr_2]

13. Rinsing rice

I've seen a couple packages of rice recently that specifically say, don't rinse it. Of course, they don't say why. (I hate it when people tell me not to do something and don't tell me why or what the consequences would be.) Anyone have any ideas?

I wonder how much of the "dirt" you find on rice is really dirt and how much is just rice bits. I'd bet that if you rinsed rice thoroughly, then dried it instead of cooking it (dried thoroughly and quickly, to prevent mold and rot), put it back in the bag and kept it for a couple months, shaking, moving, carrying it around occasionally (as happens to it before you buy it), that you would then get a good amount of "dirt" that is really just the result of the grains rubbing against each other and bouncing around. Especially with brown rice which still has the bran on it. Kind of like the "dirt" in the bottom of a cereal box.

[Stepup2]

19. I'll bet you are on to something..

All that rice dust presenting as "dirt"...

I wonder if this dust is somehow starchier, thus contributing to the increase in foaming correlated with not rinsing?

[Tab]

10. I haven't had seen anything great about generic "rice cookers"

Nothing I couldn't do myself with a pot.

But I once worked for a company whose boss spent a year or two in Japan. He came back with a high-tech rice cooker by a generic name company (like "National" or something) that had "fuzzy logic" (all the rage, back in the early 90s).

It made great frickin' rice. You could load it up, forget about it, and it was always perfect, even two days later - it'd be kept warm and it was just right.

You can still get them under the National brand, and just search for "fuzzy logic" and you'll probably still find it.

After using it, I tried American "rice cookers" and they really weren't any different than a hot pan. Not close by a long shot.

- Tab

[Shakespeare]

11. There are 5 on eBay right now!

http://search-desc.ebay.com/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&fstype=1&from=R10&satitle=national+rice+cooker+fuzzy+logic&sacat=-1%26catref%3DC6&bs=Search&fts=2&fsop=1%26fsoo%3D1&coaction=compare&copagenum=1&coentrypage=search&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D2&sadis=200&fpos=95403&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=

Must....resist....gadget addiction....

[Tab]

12. That's the one!

[politicat]

15. Mine uses fuzzy logic.

Won't keep it hot for 3 days (which I think might be a food poisoning issue) but the rice is always perfect.

It's a couple years old, bought at Mervyn's or similar.

[NMDemDist2]

14. i love my steamer/rice cooker. i wasn't sure a veggie steamer would

do rice well, but it does! it's recipe is 1 cup rice to 1-2/3 cup water

i sub stock or broth for water and it's still great

the only rice i cook on the stove anymore is my "yellow rice" from Mahatma, but I doubt I'll use it much anymore, I can make yellow rice from scratch now!

[politicat]

16. What's your recipe?

I like yellow rice, but the recipes I've found haven't made me happy, and DH does not like the Mahatma blend.

Would you mind sharing?

[NMDemDist2]

18. i'm still tweaking it, stay tuned....... n/t