not stirring the rice?

Hi, on the packet of whole grain rice it says to add twice the quantity of
water as rice and simmer for 40 minutes without stirring. why would they
say without stirring? what difference would that make?

jw 1111 said:

Hi, on the packet of whole grain rice it says to add twice the
quantity of water as rice and simmer for 40 minutes without stirring.
why would they say without stirring? what difference would that make?

If you lift the lid to stir it or to take a peek, the rice cooks more slowly
since you just let all the heat out. It doesn't cook the way it should
wiithout the steam. #1 rule with rice is to just leave it alone; why the
heck do you want to stir it, anyway? You could go watch a sitcom or
something <G>

Jill

jw 1111 said:

Hi, on the packet of whole grain rice it says to add twice the quantity of
water as rice and simmer for 40 minutes without stirring. why would they
say without stirring? what difference would that make?

Once the rice starts cooking, the grains become softer, and will break
easier. This will make the rice very sticky. Also, keep the lid on.
Taking the lid off will release the heated vapor and steam and cause
the rice to cook slower, and perhaps even absorb less liquid.

The 40 minutes sounds like wild rice, as most other rices require less
time. I usually use basmati which takes about 20 minutes.

If it is plain rice, you can spice it up simply by tossing some spices
in the water. For a small coffe cup full of rice, I often add four or
five bruised cardamom seeds, a broken cinnamon stick, and three or four
cloves. Also, a bit of salt and maybe a tablespoon of butter. Butter
and salt can be added later, but it works fine this way too. If I'm
feeling festive, I might even add a bit of dried coconut and/or
substitute some coconut milk for some of the water.

Dean G.

"jw 1111" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi, on the packet of whole grain rice it says to add twice the quantity
of water as rice and simmer for 40 minutes without stirring. why would
they say without stirring? what difference would that make?

Whole grain rice is generally steamed. The recipe no doubt says to "cover."
That means that it will steam.
If you take the cover off, you will lose the steam. Here is another rule:
After you take it off the heat, let it set at least 5 minutes before
uncovering. Most recipes say to set for 10 minutes.

Here is a good hint for stirring AFTER it is all done. Stir with chop
sticks to break up the rice instead of a spoon or fork. It will remain
fluffier and not so many grains will break or be mashed together.
Dee Dee

In article <[email hidden]>,

jmcquown said:

jw 1111 said:

Hi, on the packet of whole grain rice it says to add twice the
quantity of water as rice and simmer for 40 minutes without stirring.
why would they say without stirring? what difference would that make?

If you lift the lid to stir it or to take a peek, the rice cooks more slowly
since you just let all the heat out. It doesn't cook the way it should
wiithout the steam. #1 rule with rice is to just leave it alone; why the
heck do you want to stir it, anyway? You could go watch a sitcom or
something <G>

Jill

Fear of sticking or burning, maybe. Especially if you don't have a
reliable "really low" heat setting. I do my white rice in the microwave
and don't fuss about sticking. Works great.
--
-Barb
<http://jamlady.eboard.com> Updated 4-2-06, Church review #11

"If it's not worth doing to excess, it's not worth doing at all."

"Dean G." <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

jw 1111 said:

Hi, on the packet of whole grain rice it says to add twice the
quantity of water as rice and simmer for 40 minutes without stirring.
why would they say without stirring? what difference would that
make?

Once the rice starts cooking, the grains become softer, and will break
easier. This will make the rice very sticky. Also, keep the lid on.
Taking the lid off will release the heated vapor and steam and cause
the rice to cook slower, and perhaps even absorb less liquid.

The 40 minutes sounds like wild rice, as most other rices require less
time. I usually use basmati which takes about 20 minutes.

If it is plain rice, you can spice it up simply by tossing some spices
in the water. For a small coffe cup full of rice, I often add four or
five bruised cardamom seeds, a broken cinnamon stick, and three or
four cloves. Also, a bit of salt and maybe a tablespoon of butter.
Butter and salt can be added later, but it works fine this way too. If
I'm feeling festive, I might even add a bit of dried coconut and/or
substitute some coconut milk for some of the water.

Dean G.

I never stir. I think Julia Child taught us this. It's a rainstorm
inside. After twenty five minutes when you uncover and remove from heat,
you'll notice all the holes where the steam constantly rises and falls
(if that's a fair explanation).

OH... "fluff and sever!" 😉

Andy

Dean G. said:

The 40 minutes sounds like wild rice, as most other rices require less
time. I usually use basmati which takes about 20 minutes.

Or possibly brown rice. I cook thzat from 45 mins to an hour.

"Jude" <[email hidden]> wrote in news:1144164812.088406.236860
@e56g2000cwe.googlegroups.com:

Quoted message said:

Dean G. said:

The 40 minutes sounds like wild rice, as most other rices require less
time. I usually use basmati which takes about 20 minutes.

Or possibly brown rice. I cook thzat from 45 mins to an hour.

Jude,

FYI: If you are near a Trader Joe's, in the frozen section they have a box
of organic brown rice. Three packets to a box. Two servings per packet.
Microwaves in three minutes, steam cools in three minutes. Delicious!

Andy

Dean G. said:

jw 1111 said:

Hi, on the packet of whole grain rice it says to add twice the quantity of
water as rice and simmer for 40 minutes without stirring. why would they
say without stirring? what difference would that make?

Once the rice starts cooking, the grains become softer, and will break
easier. This will make the rice very sticky. Also, keep the lid on.
Taking the lid off will release the heated vapor and steam and cause
the rice to cook slower, and perhaps even absorb less liquid.

The 40 minutes sounds like wild rice, as most other rices require less
time. I usually use basmati which takes about 20 minutes.

More likely brown rice.

Sheldon

Melba's Jammin said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

jmcquown said:

jw 1111 said:

Hi, on the packet of whole grain rice it says to add twice the
quantity of water as rice and simmer for 40 minutes without
stirring.
why would they say without stirring? what difference would that
make?

If you lift the lid to stir it or to take a peek, the rice cooks
more slowly since you just let all the heat out. It doesn't cook
the way it should wiithout the steam. #1 rule with rice is to just
leave it alone; why the heck do you want to stir it, anyway? You
could go watch a sitcom or something <G>

Jill

Fear of sticking or burning, maybe. Especially if you don't have a
reliable "really low" heat setting. I do my white rice in the
microwave
and don't fuss about sticking. Works great.

I do suppose you have to know and trust your stove, not to mention your
cookware. I've never had a problem with rice sticking or burning. I was
just taught not to take a peek 🙂

jmcquown wrote:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Fear of sticking or burning, maybe. Especially if you don't have a
reliable "really low" heat setting. I do my white rice in the
microwave
and don't fuss about sticking. Works great.

I do suppose you have to know and trust your stove, not to mention your
cookware. I've never had a problem with rice sticking or burning. I was
just taught not to take a peek 🙂

I've never been able to cook rice worth a toot by any other method than
the rice maker. The rice maker takes all the guess work out of cooking
rice with no sticking or burning. The rule about not peeking applies
too. I works well with wild, white, or brown rice. I just use the
appropriate 1/2 c measure per for the rice then fill to the desired line
with liquid. Example - 4 x 1/2 c rice fill to level 4 with fluid press
button and wait patiently for rice to cook. My trick with rice is to
always use a liquid with flavour if at all possible. There's very few
times that I will just use water.

--
Theft of someone's intellectual property including digital images is
copyright infringement contrary to DMCA of 1998. There is a two faced
thief here who likes to harass others. Sarah Bennett is another thief
on rfc but worse. She steals pics then tries to sell them as her own.
Some here condone this behaviour. Shame on you!

"Andy" <q> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Dean G." <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

jw 1111 said:

Hi, on the packet of whole grain rice it says to add twice the
quantity of water as rice and simmer for 40 minutes without stirring.
why would they say without stirring? what difference would that
make?

Once the rice starts cooking, the grains become softer, and will break
easier. This will make the rice very sticky. Also, keep the lid on.
Taking the lid off will release the heated vapor and steam and cause
the rice to cook slower, and perhaps even absorb less liquid.

The 40 minutes sounds like wild rice, as most other rices require less
time. I usually use basmati which takes about 20 minutes.

If it is plain rice, you can spice it up simply by tossing some spices
in the water. For a small coffe cup full of rice, I often add four or
five bruised cardamom seeds, a broken cinnamon stick, and three or
four cloves. Also, a bit of salt and maybe a tablespoon of butter.
Butter and salt can be added later, but it works fine this way too. If
I'm feeling festive, I might even add a bit of dried coconut and/or
substitute some coconut milk for some of the water.

Dean G.

Thanks, Dean G.
I just made a pot of rice using your suggestion of cardamom seeds and
cinnamon sticks and butter. Cloves don't agree with us except for once a
year pumpkin pie. I'm sure it will be good. Having with some leftover
chicken curry and beet greens.
I had plain jasmine rise with the curry, but since I don't have any rice
left, and not much juice/curry, this will make a nice substitution.
Yes, I love (canned) coconut milk in my rice, too.
Thanks so much.
Dee Dee

Melba's Jammin said:

I do my white rice in the microwave
and don't fuss about sticking. Works great.
--
-Barb

If I need to make a large quantity and have the time (with a roast or
something else already in the oven) I bake the rice using Paul
Proudhomme's family recipe. It takes a little over an hour, but you
put all the ingredients in a baking dish (rice, stock or water, minced
onion, celery, some herbs), seal it over with foil, and forget about
it. Comes out perfectly done, and the grains are separate, not
clinging together...just the way I like it.

Sandy

On Tue 04 Apr 2006 09:42:13a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it ~patches~?

Quoted message said:

jmcquown wrote:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Fear of sticking or burning, maybe. Especially if you don't have a
reliable "really low" heat setting. I do my white rice in the
microwave and don't fuss about sticking. Works great.

I do suppose you have to know and trust your stove, not to mention your
cookware. I've never had a problem with rice sticking or burning. I
was just taught not to take a peek 🙂

I've never been able to cook rice worth a toot by any other method than
the rice maker. The rice maker takes all the guess work out of cooking
rice with no sticking or burning. The rule about not peeking applies
too. I works well with wild, white, or brown rice. I just use the
appropriate 1/2 c measure per for the rice then fill to the desired line
with liquid. Example - 4 x 1/2 c rice fill to level 4 with fluid press
button and wait patiently for rice to cook. My trick with rice is to
always use a liquid with flavour if at all possible. There's very few
times that I will just use water.

Until recently I have always cooked rice on the stovetop with usually very
good results. However, i've been curious about rice cookers, and recently
bought a very inexpensive small unit. It produces excellent results, but
I found that I had to adjust the amount of liquid upward because the
prescribed amount left the rice much too "al dente", in fact quite hard,
even thought it was actually done. Once I established the needed amount,
it's perfect.

--
Wayne Boatwright Õ¿Õ¬
________________________________________

Okay, okay, I take it back! UnScrew you!

On Tue 04 Apr 2006 10:06:59a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Dee
Randall?

Quoted message said:

"Andy" <q> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Dean G." <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

jw 1111 wrote:
> Hi, on the packet of whole grain rice it says to add twice the
> quantity of water as rice and simmer for 40 minutes without stirring.
> why would they say without stirring? what difference would that
> make?

Once the rice starts cooking, the grains become softer, and will break
easier. This will make the rice very sticky. Also, keep the lid on.
Taking the lid off will release the heated vapor and steam and cause
the rice to cook slower, and perhaps even absorb less liquid.

The 40 minutes sounds like wild rice, as most other rices require less
time. I usually use basmati which takes about 20 minutes.

If it is plain rice, you can spice it up simply by tossing some spices
in the water. For a small coffe cup full of rice, I often add four or
five bruised cardamom seeds, a broken cinnamon stick, and three or
four cloves. Also, a bit of salt and maybe a tablespoon of butter.
Butter and salt can be added later, but it works fine this way too. If
I'm feeling festive, I might even add a bit of dried coconut and/or
substitute some coconut milk for some of the water.

Dean G.

Thanks, Dean G.
I just made a pot of rice using your suggestion of cardamom seeds and
cinnamon sticks and butter. Cloves don't agree with us except for once a
year pumpkin pie. I'm sure it will be good. Having with some leftover
chicken curry and beet greens.
I had plain jasmine rise with the curry, but since I don't have any rice
left, and not much juice/curry, this will make a nice substitution.
Yes, I love (canned) coconut milk in my rice, too.
Thanks so much.
Dee Dee

Next time thrown in a few raisins.

--
Wayne Boatwright Õ¿Õ¬
________________________________________

Okay, okay, I take it back! UnScrew you!

In article <[email hidden]>,
"jmcquown" <[email hidden]> wrote:
(snipped)

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Fear of sticking or burning, maybe. Especially if you don't have a
reliable "really low" heat setting. I do my white rice in the
microwave and don't fuss about sticking. Works great.

Quoted message said:

I do suppose you have to know and trust your stove,

I think that's a lot of it. I've got a new stove (~3 weeks in the
house) and am still figuring it out. I'll give the oven a dough-baking
run later in the week for some "bake sale" baking I need to do.

Melba's Jammin said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
"jmcquown" <[email hidden]> wrote:
(snipped)

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Fear of sticking or burning, maybe. Especially if you don't have a
reliable "really low" heat setting. I do my white rice in the
microwave and don't fuss about sticking. Works great.

Quoted message said:

I do suppose you have to know and trust your stove,

I think that's a lot of it. I've got a new stove (~3 weeks in the
house) and am still figuring it out. I'll give the oven a
dough-baking run later in the week for some "bake sale" baking I need
to do.

Rice is the first thing I ever cooked; I was 9 and lived in Thailand at the
time. I'd make rice for breakfast (in fact I still like rice for breakfast)
and somehow I managed to get it right 🙂 Never had a problem since,
regardless of the stove. Not sure but I think Mom packed her trusty Revere
Ware and that's probably the pot I used. We had to use water from a big
crock with a tap that had chlorine added to it to purify it, I remember
that, but other than that, just 3 parts water to 1 cup of rice... boil the
water, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Leave it alone and go
do something. Done! Stir and add salt, pepper and butter when served.

Jill

In article <[email hidden]>,

jmcquown said:

crock with a tap that had chlorine added to it to purify it, I remember
that, but other than that, just 3 parts water to 1 cup of rice.

3:1 ? I've always ever only used 2:1.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Wayne Boatwright wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com said:

Quoted message said:

I had plain jasmine rise with the curry, but since I don't have any rice
left, and not much juice/curry, this will make a nice substitution.

Quoted message said:

Next time thrown in a few raisins.

We like a hamburger curry dish that we've made for decades, stolen from
a restaurant (but we totally forgot to steal the picture, which isn't
surprising, since Al Gore hadn't invented the internet, and there was
certainly no WWW).

I like to put turmeric and a little curry powder in the rice that is
served with. If we have raisins and cashews, I put those in also.
Peanuts work if we have no cashews.

--
Dan Abel
[email hidden]
Petaluma, California, USA