The Ultimate Rice Cooker Read Online Free
rice, because rice absorbs some water during washing. This rice tastes delicious, but some cooks we know still can’t resist giving it a quick rinse anyway. Old habits die hard.
Soaking the Rice
Soaking white rice for about an hour before cooking allows moisture to get to the center of the kernel, reduces cooking time, and improves the final texture. During the boiling phase, the heat will transfer quicker to the center and the rice will be done six to eight minutes faster, causing the least amount of damage to the outside of the delicate kernels. Soaking can be done outside the cooker, or in the rice cooker bowl with the cover closed before turning on the machine. In fuzzy logic machines, a short soak period is automatically timed in all but the Quick Cook cycle.
Boiling the Rice
Rice needs to cook in hot water in order to get additional moisture into the rice and transfer the heat necessary to gelatinize the starch in rice. When you turn on your rice cooker, it begins to slowly heat the contents of the rice bowl. Soon the water boils and the grains of rice begin absorbing water; you will hear the rice and water start to bubble in the machine. (In fuzzy logic rice cookers, there is a built-in Soak cycle for the rice, designed to help it absorb water better. In that case, it may appear to take a long time for the water to boil. Don’t worry. When the time is right, the cooker will kick into high gear and boil the water.)
It takes about 15 minutes in boiling water to get water and heat absorbed into the center of the rice kernel. If you look inside the cooker during this period, you will see semi-cooked rice with steam holes over the surface. These are caused by pockets of water vapor that were formed on the pan bottom and have risen to the surface. The water bubbles in the cooker until the temperature exceeds 212ºF, then the cooker shuts off. The temperature of water cannot exceed 212ºF, so the cooker knows all the water is gone when the temperature hits a few degrees higher. (This is the secret to how the cooker knows the rice is ready.) Do not remove the cover at this time.
Steaming the Rice
In the new on/off and fuzzy logic cookers, the steaming period is built into the regular cooking cycle, and the Keep Warm cycle is an extended low-heat steaming period. In simpler models, you set a timer or note the time. The rice cooker switches from the cooking cycle to the Keep Warm cycle (or, in simple on/off machines, simply shuts off). But your rice isn’t finished yet. Now is when the steaming process takes place.
Steaming is a key part of the cooking process. It allows further cooking of the rice without any swelling damage to the starch inside the grain. Ten minutes of steaming is adequate for most models of rice cooker and most rices; if your rice still seems wet at the end of 10 minutes, wait and check at 5-minute intervals. When the steaming period ends, uncover the rice cooker and stir or fluff the rice thoroughly but gently with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. Replace the cover if you are not serving the rice immediately. Rice is not done until the center of each grain is completely cooked, which is achieved during the final steaming period. The result: perfectly cooked rice. Most rice is perfectly cooked when its moisture content is between 58 and 64 percent, though the final moisture content is a matter of preference and differs with every type of rice. Some fuzzy logic machines have a setting for regular, soft, and firm textures, varying the amount of moisture in the rice. The more water per cup of rice, the longer the machine will cook the rice.
Machines without a Keep Warm cycle just turn off when the regular cycle is finished. You let the rice steam for the specified time after the machine shuts off. There is enough retained heat to accomplish the steaming. You can hold the rice in the machine for as long as it stays warm, certainly for an hour, but the exact time depends on the
Soaking the Rice
Soaking white rice for about an hour before cooking allows moisture to get to the center of the kernel, reduces cooking time, and improves the final texture. During the boiling phase, the heat will transfer quicker to the center and the rice will be done six to eight minutes faster, causing the least amount of damage to the outside of the delicate kernels. Soaking can be done outside the cooker, or in the rice cooker bowl with the cover closed before turning on the machine. In fuzzy logic machines, a short soak period is automatically timed in all but the Quick Cook cycle.
Boiling the Rice
Rice needs to cook in hot water in order to get additional moisture into the rice and transfer the heat necessary to gelatinize the starch in rice. When you turn on your rice cooker, it begins to slowly heat the contents of the rice bowl. Soon the water boils and the grains of rice begin absorbing water; you will hear the rice and water start to bubble in the machine. (In fuzzy logic rice cookers, there is a built-in Soak cycle for the rice, designed to help it absorb water better. In that case, it may appear to take a long time for the water to boil. Don’t worry. When the time is right, the cooker will kick into high gear and boil the water.)
It takes about 15 minutes in boiling water to get water and heat absorbed into the center of the rice kernel. If you look inside the cooker during this period, you will see semi-cooked rice with steam holes over the surface. These are caused by pockets of water vapor that were formed on the pan bottom and have risen to the surface. The water bubbles in the cooker until the temperature exceeds 212ºF, then the cooker shuts off. The temperature of water cannot exceed 212ºF, so the cooker knows all the water is gone when the temperature hits a few degrees higher. (This is the secret to how the cooker knows the rice is ready.) Do not remove the cover at this time.
Steaming the Rice
In the new on/off and fuzzy logic cookers, the steaming period is built into the regular cooking cycle, and the Keep Warm cycle is an extended low-heat steaming period. In simpler models, you set a timer or note the time. The rice cooker switches from the cooking cycle to the Keep Warm cycle (or, in simple on/off machines, simply shuts off). But your rice isn’t finished yet. Now is when the steaming process takes place.
Steaming is a key part of the cooking process. It allows further cooking of the rice without any swelling damage to the starch inside the grain. Ten minutes of steaming is adequate for most models of rice cooker and most rices; if your rice still seems wet at the end of 10 minutes, wait and check at 5-minute intervals. When the steaming period ends, uncover the rice cooker and stir or fluff the rice thoroughly but gently with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. Replace the cover if you are not serving the rice immediately. Rice is not done until the center of each grain is completely cooked, which is achieved during the final steaming period. The result: perfectly cooked rice. Most rice is perfectly cooked when its moisture content is between 58 and 64 percent, though the final moisture content is a matter of preference and differs with every type of rice. Some fuzzy logic machines have a setting for regular, soft, and firm textures, varying the amount of moisture in the rice. The more water per cup of rice, the longer the machine will cook the rice.
Machines without a Keep Warm cycle just turn off when the regular cycle is finished. You let the rice steam for the specified time after the machine shuts off. There is enough retained heat to accomplish the steaming. You can hold the rice in the machine for as long as it stays warm, certainly for an hour, but the exact time depends on the
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