Brown Rice - Help

Ray S. & Nayda Katzaman said:

What are some of the techniques you use to cook brown rice and have it
turn out smooth and

I soak it all day.

"Ray S. & Nayda Katzaman" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Hi y'all,
Quick question about cooking brown rice. No problem with the way our
white rice turns out, it's the brown rice that is giving us a
problem. We have tried two brands so far with the same results - same
instructions on both bags. The rice turns out kinda uncooked after
cooking upwards of 45 minutes and adding more water to the pot. Have
tried a pot over the stove and a rice cooker. What are some of the
techniques you use to cook brown rice and have it turn out smooth and
fully cooked?

Many thanks in advance,

Ray
Austin, TX

Ray,

If you have a Trader Joes nearby, look in the frozen section for their
box of organic brown rice.

Each box contains three packs of two cups each. The neatest thing is that
a single pack in the microwave cooks up in 3 minutes with a 3 minute
cool/steam downtime.

Most excellent, imho,

Andy

Ray S. & Nayda Katzaman said:

Hi y'all,
Quick question about cooking brown rice. No problem with the way our
white rice turns out, it's the brown rice that is giving us a
problem. We have tried two brands so far with the same results - same
instructions on both bags. The rice turns out kinda uncooked after
cooking upwards of 45 minutes and adding more water to the pot. Have
tried a pot over the stove and a rice cooker. What are some of the
techniques you use to cook brown rice and have it turn out smooth and
fully cooked?

Buy your brown rice somewhere with a high turnover. In my experience,
the longer it is stored, the longer it takes to cook. I buy mine from
the bulk section of the health food store.

Measure it; put it in a strainer and give it a good rinse. That's not
to say that rice is naturally dirty, but I always get better results
when I do that.

I used to measure the rice and water carefully. Now I don't bother. I
put in enough water to cover the rice by about an inch. The actual
water:rice ratio varies depending on the shape of the pot and how much
rice I'm making.

I put salt in at the beginning of the cooking. (That's never affected
how the rice cooks and softens, but you asked for my techniques, and
that's the way I do it.)

Bring the rice and water to a boil; cover; lower to a simmer. If I need
to add more water during the cooking time, I make sure I bring it all to
a boil again, then lower to a simmer and proceed. I'm pretty practiced
at this so once I've got the water at a simmer, I just set a timer and
check it again when the timer goes off, but when I'm working on a new
stove or haven't made it for a while, I check it often to make sure I
have simmer just right. My cooking time is 40 minutes at a simmer, but
you might want to play with that timing to find what works for you.

A trouble-shooting method is to go ahead and put in more than enough
water. Don't worry about getting a perfect simmer. Let it simmer
fairly rapidly. Just check it to make sure you don't run out of water
which scorches the pot. When the rice is soft, uncover and watch it as
you boil off the excess water.

Which two brands did you try?

--Lia

Ray S. & Nayda Katzaman said:

H
Quick question about cooking brown rice. No problem with the way our
white rice turns out, it's the brown rice that is giving us a
problem. We have tried two brands so far with the same results - same
instructions on both bags. The rice turns out kinda uncooked after
cooking upwards of 45 minutes and adding more water to the pot. Have
tried a pot over the stove and a rice cooker. What are some of the
techniques you use to cook brown rice and have it turn out smooth and
fully cooked?

Really no secret... use a heavy pot with a tight fitting lid, a pot
sized that when the rice is fully cooked there is 1/3 the volume in
head room (approximately two quarts of pot for each cup of rice).
Follow the cooking time given on the package but only shut off the
heat, do NOT open lid for a full 15 minutes... then immediately fluff
with fork and serve... the head room in the pot serves two purposes,
allows for sufficient vapor for even cooking
and to accommodate fluffing without overflowing the pot.

Sheldon

"Ray S. & Nayda Katzaman" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Hi y'all,
Quick question about cooking brown rice. No problem with the way our
white rice turns out, it's the brown rice that is giving us a
problem. We have tried two brands so far with the same results - same
instructions on both bags. The rice turns out kinda uncooked after
cooking upwards of 45 minutes and adding more water to the pot. Have
tried a pot over the stove and a rice cooker. What are some of the
techniques you use to cook brown rice and have it turn out smooth and
fully cooked?

Don't know what sort of 'rice' you use over there in Texas, but we
(Aussies) never seem to have a problem with our brown rice....... apart
from leaving it on too long and burning it!!

I've cooked brown rice on the stove top and in the microwave (in a rice
cooker) and it's always come out fine.

Where, exactly, does your brown rice come from?

--
Peter Lucas
Brisbane
Australia

'Enjoy today, it was paid for by a veteran'

Ray S. & Nayda Katzaman said:

Hi y'all,
Quick question about cooking brown rice. No problem with the way our
white rice turns out, it's the brown rice that is giving us a
problem. We have tried two brands so far with the same results - same
instructions on both bags. The rice turns out kinda uncooked after
cooking upwards of 45 minutes and adding more water to the pot. Have
tried a pot over the stove and a rice cooker. What are some of the
techniques you use to cook brown rice and have it turn out smooth and
fully cooked?

Many thanks in advance,

My brown rice never turns out smooth and I like it on the chewy side
🙂 But Julia is right; try another source. I found that I couldn't
make delicious brown rice with what I bought in the supermarkets, I
ended up with Japanese brown rice (eg. Nishiki) from an Asian store.

I use a rice cooker with the "brown rice" cycle and about 1-3/4 c
water per cup rice, no pre-soaking, no rinsing. It takes over 45 min.

For smooth rice, maybe you can find some converted brown rice.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

Ray S. & Nayda Katzaman wrote on MY 31, 2006:

<SNIP>

Quoted message said:

What are some of the techniques you use to cook brown rice and have it turn out >smooth and fully cooked?

I steam white rice. I boil brown rice.

Julia Altshuler said:

Quoted message said:

Buy your brown rice somewhere with a high turnover. In my experience,
the longer it is stored, the longer it takes to cook.

It's wise to buy the freshest brown rice you can find but not for the
reason you state... brown rice is like 100% whole wheat flour, both
contain the germ and associated oil, therefore both will go rancid, in
about 6 months. To extend the shelf life of brown rice, and 100% whole
wheat flour, store in an air tight container in the freezer. The age
of rice, brown or white, has no bearing on how long it takes to cook.

Sheldon

Ray S. & Nayda Katzaman said:

Hi y'all,
Quick question about cooking brown rice. No problem with the way our
white rice turns out, it's the brown rice that is giving us a
problem. We have tried two brands so far with the same results - same
instructions on both bags. The rice turns out kinda uncooked after
cooking upwards of 45 minutes and adding more water to the pot. Have
tried a pot over the stove and a rice cooker. What are some of the
techniques you use to cook brown rice and have it turn out smooth and
fully cooked?

Many thanks in advance,

Ray
Austin, TX
===

I cook it pretty much like I cook white rice, but with more water and
more time.

For 1 c brown rice, I add 3 c water, and about a teaspoon of salt.

I bring the pot to a boil, lower it to a simmer, and cover it.

Set the timer for an hour, and leave it alone. Sometimes around 45
minutes into cooking I reduce the heat to its lowest setting, so if all
the water is absorbed it won't burn, but it will still steam away
happily.

After an hour, I uncover it, fluff it up with a fork, and serve it. I
like to top it with scallions, sesame seeds, sesame oil, and cashew
nuts. It's divine that way with anything asian.

I also like to make it into a pilaf, using barley, stock, parsley, and
pice nuts.

But I digress. I never uncover it during cooking. I find, like with
white rice, that it gets gummy. Just be sure to keep the heat low
enough that in an hour's cooking it won't get dry.

I do know folks that cook it like pasta - that is to say, tons of
water, then strained when finished. But I don't find the texture is
right that way.

KevinS said:

Ray S. & Nayda Katzaman wrote on MY 31, 2006:

<SNIP>

Quoted message said:

What are some of the techniques you use to cook brown rice and have it turn out >smooth and fully cooked?

I steam white rice. I boil brown rice.

i bake my white rice as for the brown i always add and xtra cup or 2 of
water....or i just talk to my Uncle Ben

Grizzman

Jude wrote:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

I do know folks that cook it like pasta - that is to say, tons of
water, then strained when finished. But I don't find the texture is
right that way.

When I boil brown rice (like pasta, but without so much water), I can
stop cooking anywhere from al dente to fully cooked (overcooked, if
you prefer), but I do have to ckeck it after the first about fifteen
minutes
and every few minutes ( say five) thereafter.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Ray S. & Nayda Katzaman said:

Hi y'all,
Quick question about cooking brown rice. No problem with the way our
white rice turns out, it's the brown rice that is giving us a
problem. We have tried two brands so far with the same results - same
instructions on both bags. The rice turns out kinda uncooked after
cooking upwards of 45 minutes and adding more water to the pot. Have
tried a pot over the stove and a rice cooker. What are some of the
techniques you use to cook brown rice and have it turn out smooth and
fully cooked?

Many thanks in advance,

Ray
Austin, TX
===

I pressure cook it.
Same for any of the "wild" rice varieties.

25 to 30 minutes turned down to medium-low once the pot comes up to
pressure works for me.

I also always cook rice in stock, 2 parts stock to one part rice.

Use the trivet that comes with the cooker or the bottom nearly always
scorches slightly.

HTH? :-)
--
Peace!
Om

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a [censored]"
-- Jack Nicholson

Ray S. & Nayda Katzaman said:

Hi y'all,
Quick question about cooking brown rice. No problem with the way our
white rice turns out, it's the brown rice that is giving us a
problem. We have tried two brands so far with the same results - same
instructions on both bags. The rice turns out kinda uncooked after
cooking upwards of 45 minutes and adding more water to the pot. Have
tried a pot over the stove and a rice cooker. What are some of the
techniques you use to cook brown rice and have it turn out smooth and
fully cooked?

I use a rice cooker and add 3 cups of water per cup of rice, and it
turns out perfect.

Back in my younger, less busier days, I would put 2 x water and 1 x rice
in a heavy-bottomed pot, bring to boil, turn to simmer, cook for 30
minutes, turn off heat and let sit for 30 minutes, and it was perfect.

One key in cooking raw rice is to NEVER, EVER lift the lift after you
stir it once after it comes to a boil and then recover it.

Now, if you have really old rice, the stovetop method might not work,
but the rice cooker one should.

brown-rice has the peculiarety of staying fery ferm (kind of uncooked) its
the nature of the beast
2 cup rice 2 and1/2 cup water (stock) no salt. Salt is to be added later

--
Peace, and may the Blessing of the L'rd be upon You
have a good day
TONYC

Remove nospam from [email hidden]
"Ray S. & Nayda Katzaman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi y'all,
Quick question about cooking brown rice. No problem with the way our
white rice turns out, it's the brown rice that is giving us a
problem. We have tried two brands so far with the same results - same
instructions on both bags. The rice turns out kinda uncooked after
cooking upwards of 45 minutes and adding more water to the pot. Have
tried a pot over the stove and a rice cooker. What are some of the
techniques you use to cook brown rice and have it turn out smooth and
fully cooked?

Many thanks in advance,

Ray
Austin, TX
===

"Melinda Meahan - take out TRASH to send" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Ray S. & Nayda Katzaman said:

Hi y'all,
Quick question about cooking brown rice. No problem with the way our
white rice turns out, it's the brown rice that is giving us a
problem. We have tried two brands so far with the same results - same
instructions on both bags. The rice turns out kinda uncooked after
cooking upwards of 45 minutes and adding more water to the pot. Have
tried a pot over the stove and a rice cooker. What are some of the
techniques you use to cook brown rice and have it turn out smooth and
fully cooked?

I use a rice cooker and add 3 cups of water per cup of rice, and it turns
out perfect.

Back in my younger, less busier days, I would put 2 x water and 1 x rice
in a heavy-bottomed pot, bring to boil, turn to simmer, cook for 30
minutes, turn off heat and let sit for 30 minutes, and it was perfect.

One key in cooking raw rice is to NEVER, EVER lift the lift after you stir
it once after it comes to a boil and then recover it.

Now, if you have really old rice, the stovetop method might not work, but
the rice cooker one should.

I never use as much water cooking rice as others do. I would probably get
flamed if I said how little water I use.
I lift the lid when I want to find out if it is still simmering.

For brown rice on top of the stove, bring to boil, simmer 35-40 minutes, let
sit 10 minutes without lifting lid.
Dee Dee

William Sonoma sells a rice cooker that is flawless - it is a ball you
place into a seasoned liquid of your choice and it works great - white
or brown. Never saw it before and was given one as a gift. I do not
think I would ever had bought one. Good for new cooks.

Ray S. & Nayda Katzaman said:

Hi y'all,
Quick question about cooking brown rice. No problem with the way our
white rice turns out, it's the brown rice that is giving us a
problem. We have tried two brands so far with the same results - same
instructions on both bags. The rice turns out kinda uncooked after
cooking upwards of 45 minutes and adding more water to the pot. Have
tried a pot over the stove and a rice cooker. What are some of the
techniques you use to cook brown rice and have it turn out smooth and
fully cooked?

Many thanks in advance,

Ray
Austin, TX
===