For the zillionth time, I have ruined rice. I'm particularly bad at brown rice. Yesterday, it was $2 worth of rice - 3.5 cups + 6 cups of water. I can't seem to get it right. Its still sitting on the stove, a giant sticky mess.

Last time it was a lid that didn't seal right. Half of my (brand spankin new Calphalon) pans don't seal well.This time it was a burner losing its light halfway through. Even the pressure cooker doesn't seem to make it right - always a sticky glob. I've tried rinsing and not rinsing. Sauteeing and not sauteeing. The back of the package says cook for 20 minutes - but this is brown rice - c'mon. I've tried 20 minutes, I've tried 45. I ended up having couscous last night, because I know I can't mess that up. I'm about to go back to boil-in-a-bag white rice.

I finally got around to cooking brown rice, and it came out just the way I like it.

The directions say to cook it for 35-45 minutes, but 30 minutes produced my favorite rice texture - slightly al dente. I hate mushy rice.

The directions say 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water, but I used 2-1/2 cups of water. That way, the rice doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot, and a minor lid leak won't cause you to run out of water. The little bit of excess water is easily drained off, and doesn't cause the rice to become watery or mushy.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sheltieguy,

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Originally posted by Fer:
Ginger -

How do you eat your brown rice for breakfast? Do you sweeten it?

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Nope. I stir-fry it with a scrambled egg and top with cottage cheese. I like to add hot sauce.

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Pam, I have done the boiling the rice like pasta, and it does work pretty well.

I also have one of the Black & Decker steamers, and tried rice in it one time, but it overflowed everywhere and made a HUGE mess. HOw do you do yours?

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Lori - I just use the exact directions with the original manual. I fill the base to full (I have the smaller steamer). Then in the bowl I put 1/2 cup rice + 2/3 cup water and cook for 42-44 minutes for 1 1/2 cups rice
OR 1 cup rice + 1 1/4 cups water cook for 50-52 minutes for 3 cups rice
OR 1 1/2 cups rice + 1 2/3 cups water cook for 61-63 minutes for 4 1/2 cups rice.

The measurements for white rice are different. We have had great luck with this though.

Hope that helps!
Pam

Fer,

I have had problems cooking brown rice. I found brown rice product on the market. It's called Minute Brown Rice by Kraft. I tried it for the first time on Sunday. One can make it on the stove or in the microwave.

I purchase quite some time ago a heavy 3 quart pot. It has those rings on the botttom which help distribute the heat. I think that helped too.

It took about 10 minutes. The rice turned out very good. Plus it has 2g of fiber compared to the 1g or less that I have seen on most brands of rice.




Serene

I use a pot with a THICK bottom and a glass lid.

Put 2 c. cold water and 1 c. rice in pot.

Bring to boil. Lower heat to simmer and put lid on.

After 25-35 mins, I can see that all the water is absorbed (this is where the glass lid comes in - don't lift the lid to check).

Turn off stove and let sit covered for another 15 mins.

A pot with a thick bottom makes all the difference. My pot purchase made Emeril's wallet thicker, but nothing ever burns in it.

I have not had good luck making large quantities of rice. 2 c. rice and 4 c. of water is kind of the limit.

Cooked brown rice freezes REALLY well. Defrosts in 1.5 min. in the microwave. I think that freezing improves the texture...

Ginger -

How do you eat your brown rice for breakfast? Do you sweeten it?

If you can afford it, a fuzzy logic rice cooker is great. I bought one about 2 years ago and it's one gadget I don't regret. I got a small one (a Sanyo 3.5 cup) because it's just my husband and me. I use it a couple of times a week for brown rice, whole-grain/hulled barley, or wheat berries. You can put the rice in in the morning, set the timer, and have it done when you get home from work. I was really nervous about spending so much on another kitchen thing ($100), but this is one purchase I'm so glad I made. Anything that helps me eat healthy and take care of my body is worth it, especially since I have have brown rice most mornings for breakfast.

For a gas stove, try buying a heat diffuser. Its basically a "sandwich" of metal, and allows the heat to be a little more even.

Its wonderful for cooking rice.

Catherine

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Originally posted by Lori4squaremom:
What is a simmer burner? Are there different types of burners on a regular stove?

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My gas stove has 4 different types of burners. 1 is the simmer burner which allows for a very low flame/low heat perfect for simmering sauces and such (and making brown rice); a high output burner which puts out tons of heat and a high flame (great for stir frying/wok dishes) and then 2 medium output burners but one is slightly higher output than the other.

While having different output burners isn't a necessity, it's a really, really nice feature to have.

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Originally posted by Bee:
I had to do lots of experimenting with my brown rice too. They key for me was the heat. I've found that a ratio of 3:1 liquid to rice, on my simmer burner on "2", for 45 - 50 minutes works well. Any other burner on my stove cooks it too fast and it doesn't work.

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What is a simmer burner? Are there different types of burners on a regular stove?

quote:

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Originally posted by Bee:
I had to do lots of experimenting with my brown rice too. They key for me was the heat. I've found that a ratio of 3:1 liquid to rice, on my simmer burner on "2", for 45 - 50 minutes works well. Any other burner on my stove cooks it too fast and it doesn't work.

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My stove is about 30 years old I think. Plus I have no experience with what a gas flame should look like on "low."

I will try my Black & Decker steamer next.

I had to do lots of experimenting with my brown rice too. They key for me was the heat. I've found that a ratio of 3:1 liquid to rice, on my simmer burner on "2", for 45 - 50 minutes works well. Any other burner on my stove cooks it too fast and it doesn't work.

I use the boil in the bag brown rice..
comes out perfect. (2cups per bag)

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Originally posted by PamM:
I use a black & decker steamer to cook my rice. It is not specifically for rice but that is what we mostly use it for. It comes out perfect every time.

Also, one of KD's recipes in the 2nd book (I think) for school night burritos tells you how to boil the rice like pasta and it came out really well when I did that.

Pam

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Pam, I have done the boiling the rice like pasta, and it does work pretty well.

I also have one of the Black & Decker steamers, and tried rice in it one time, but it overflowed everywhere and made a HUGE mess. HOw do you do yours?

I use a black & decker steamer to cook my rice. It is not specifically for rice but that is what we mostly use it for. It comes out perfect every time.

Also, one of KD's recipes in the 2nd book (I think) for school night burritos tells you how to boil the rice like pasta and it came out really well when I did that.

Pam

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Originally posted by Lori4squaremom:
why not do boil in the bag brown rice instead of the BIB white rice?

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Maybe I'm just picky, but the instant brown rice is almost as bad as the stuff as I make.

My dad is rice-impaired as well. I can't remember a single time he's made it where it hasn't 1) burned 2) been undercooked or 3) tasted like the cat made it. That's even with the boil-in-bag kind

So now, when he wants rice, he stops at the chinese place near their house and picks up a container of it--apparently he's got a good one, because they have brown, white, brown fried, and white fried.

I wish I had better words of wisdom It's kinda easy down here. . .it's humid, and most of the time to cook rice, I cook it for the prescribed time, then turn off the burner, leave the lid on, and remove it from the heat. It just sits in the pot until the rest of dinner is ready, and it's fine every time. If I cook some this week, I'll note everything about what I do and post it.

D

Sara Moulton (FTV's "Sara's Secrets") cooks her white rice like pasta, because she states that she is too "rice impaired" to cook it the regular way. That probably produces bloated/soggy white rice, but it might <????> produce good results with brown rice. Try at your own risk.

Fer,
2 things. I have been eating precooked, frozen brown rice from Safeway. It is so easy...just nuke it for about 1 1/2 min. I've only seen it at Safeway but you might look around.

I also have had good luck baking brown rice. I got the directions from Cooks Illustrated. I can post the directions if you want when I'm at home.

Peg