Restaurant Equipment: How to Cook Rice in a Rice Cooker

How to Cook Rice in a Rice Cooker

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit
Using a rice cooker is a simple and effective way to cook rice. Many rice cookers keep the rice warm after it’s made. There’s no need to watch the rice cooker since this appliance comes with an automatic timer that clicks when the rice is ready. This article will show you how to cook rice with a rice cooker so that you can say good-bye to burnt rice and ruined pots.

Steps

1. Measure the rice with a cup and put it into your cooking pot. Most of the time, rice cooker boxes will have a cup inside or you can use your own scooper for measurement.
   • One cup of uncooked rice will generate roughly one and a half cups of cooked rice.[1]
   • The measuring cup that comes with your rice cooker is not the same size as a standard US measuring cup (240 ml or 1 cup). It’s a cup by rice cooker industry standards (180 ml or about 3/4 cup). Unless the recipe calls specifically for rice cooker cup measurements, you’ll need to adjust your measurements accordingly.[2]
2. Rinse the rice. This is optional. Read the packaging, as some rice does not need washing and is enriched with iron, niacin, thiamin, and folic acid; rinsing may be unnecessary and will remove any water-soluble vitamins and minerals in the rice.[3]
   • Run tap water in the bowl. While the water is running, stir the rice. Continue stirring until the pot is full of water.
   • Tip the pot at an angle and drain the excess water out. Hold the bottom part with your hand so that you can grab any rice grains that may fall with the water.
   • Repeat until the water comes out clear.
   • Drain as much water as you can.
3. Soak the rice for thirty minutes, if desired. This is not required, but some people prefer it. It may result in stickier rice.
4. Measure the water. Most rice cooker instructions recommend cold water.[4] How much water you add depends on what kind of rice you’re cooking and how moist you prefer it. One rule of thumb is to fill the cooking pot with the same amount of cups of rice you used, with an additional 1/2 cup. For example, if you made 2 cups of rice, pour in 2 1/2 cups of water. There are also graduated marks on the inside of many rice cookers indicating how much rice and water should be added. The USA Rice Federation[3] recommends following the directions on the package that the rice came in, or using these guidelines in a pinch:
   • White, long grain – 1 3/4 cups of water per 1 cup of rice
   • White, medium grain – 1 1/2 cups of water per 1 cup of rice
   • White, short grain – 1 1/2 cups of water per 1 cup of rice
   • Brown, long grain – 2 1/4 cups of water per 1 cup of rice
   • Parboiled – 2 cups of water per 1 cup of rice
   • Still, you can’t really go wrong if you just add two or 2.5 cups of water to each cup of rice; you don’t want your rice too dry.
   • For Indian style rices like Basmati or Jasmine, less water is needed as a drier rice is desired, use no more than 1 1/2 cups of water per 1 cup of rice. Use only 1 to 1 if you washed the rice previously. It is ok to add bay leaves or cardimom pods directly to the rice cooker to enhance the flavor.
5. Add a little bit of salt, butter or oil at this time, if desired.
6. Try to get any rice grains around the pot back into the water and level out the rice. Wipe the outside of the pot with a cloth or rag.
7. Place the pot into the rice cooker. Cover it, plug the cooker in, and press the switch to turn it in. The switch will click, like a toaster, when the rice is done. In some cookers, the rice will be warmed until you unplug the cooker.
   • Don’t lift the lid to check on the rice. The cooking process depends on the development of steam inside the pot, so letting steam escape by opening the lid may result in improperly cooked rice.
   • The rice cooker automatically turns off when the temperature inside the pot reaches boiling point (212 degrees F or 100 degrees C at sea level), which happens when all the water has been absorbed by the rice.[5]
8. Allow the rice to “rest” for 10-15 minutes before removing the lid. This is not required but is commonly recommended in rice cooker instructions, and is automatic in some models.[4]

Tips

• If your rice cooker has a non-stick bowl, wash the rice (prior to cooking) in a colander with several washes/rinses/drains. Replacement non-stick bowls are very expensive. Even though the instructions indicate washing is not necessary, especially with a keisenmai/musenmai rice, a few wash cycles will promote a better finished consistency.
• Use a non-stick spoon that will not scratch the inside of the pot to stir and “fluff” the rice after it’s done. The best tool for this purpose is a plastic rice paddle that comes with most rice cookers. To keep the rice from sticking to the paddle, dampen the paddle with cold water (works for fingers, too).
• You may need to make adjustments if you’re using a rice cooker at a high altitude. Since the boiling point of water decreases by 1 degree F for every 540 feet of altitude (1 degrees C for every 300 meters), the rice cooker may turn off before the rice has been exposed to a high enough temperature to cook properly. You can compensate for this with extra water so the rice boils longer–at 5000 foot elevation, use 3 cups of water per cup rice instead of 2.5. Consult the rice cooker instructions and contact the manufacturer if you are experiencing problems with undercooked rice at high altitudes.
• When your rice is nearly done, quickly raise the lid and throw in some broccoli.
• Use your rice cooker for oatmeal! 1 cup of oatmeal to 2.5 or 3 cups of water. Add apple pie spice, dried cherries & pineapples (from bulk food section), and a capful of vanilla extract. After cooked, add sliced almonds and peanuts and bananna. Now pour in 12 ounces of water to which you have stirred in (with a chopstick or wand mixer) half a cup of protein powder. The 22 grams of protein plus the oatmeal make this a fast and tasty nutrition dish. Try the protein powder and you will never again use milk on your cereal. Use natural Xylipure to sweeten, rather than sugar. One protein powder drink (which tastes like a milkshake) will take care of your hunger for 8 hours and is especially good for older people with low blood sugar.

Warnings

• Children can help clean the rice, but leave the rice cooker handling to the adults.
• Don’t overfill the rice cooker or else it will boil over and make a mess.
• If the rice cooker does not automatically keep the rice warm after it’s done cooking, you should consume or refrigerate it all as soon as it’s done to avoid food poisoning due to Bacillus cereus.[6]

Things You’ll Need

• Rice
• Rice cooker
• Water
• Measuring cup
• Spoon or paddle

Related wikiHows

• How to Cook Rice in a Microwave
• How to Cook Low Carb White Rice Without a Rice Cooker
• How to Microwave Refrigerated Rice
• How to Make Rice Cooker Bread
• How to Make Steamed Rice
• How to Make Indian Style Basmati Rice
• How to Make Fried Rice
• How to Make Spanish Rice

Sources and Citations

1. ↑ http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/howtoselectaricecooker.htm
2. ↑ http://www.usarice.com/consumer/ricecookers.html
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://www.usarice.com/consumer/prep.html
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 http://www.zojirushi.com/user/scripts/user/recipe.php?recipe_id=23
5. ↑ http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/question35.htm
6. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacillus_cereus

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How to Clean and Disinfect Wooden Cooking Utensils

How to Clean and Disinfect Wooden Cooking Utensils

Wooden spoons by the dozen.

Ever dig up an old wooden spoon from the backyard and say to yourself, “I wish I could clean this baby up and stir some soup with it? Sure, we all have. Well, don’t worry, these simple steps and tips will give you the ability to clean and disinfect just about any wooden cooking utensil. Warning to heavy-handed grandmothers: While wooden spoons are great for thumping kids, these steps are so easy that grandchildren will be too busy cleaning wooden utensils to get in trouble. One, two, here we go 

Steps

1. Analyze just what kind of dirty your utensil is. If you find a wooden spoon floating down the street during a flood, burn that spoon. There is no process of cleaning that will remove deadly toxins from this utensil. This type of wooden utensil should be considered dangerous.
2. Prepare for disinfecting your wooden utensil. When cleaning wood, remember that washing by hand is most thorough and that bleach is your friend.
3. Place some bleach into a soaking tub (sink, large bowl, dish pan) and fill the remainder with hot water. A good ratio is one part bleach to 20 parts water. Place the utensil in the water.
4. Allow your utensil to soak for at least an hour. As a rule, you do not want to soak wooden utensils often, but periodically it is important to thoroughly disinfect a utensil, and the initial disinfecting is critical.
5. Remove the bleach solution and fill the same tub with a mixture of mild detergent, such as dish soap, and hot water.
6. Wash the utensil by hand, and then allow it to sit in the soapy water for 15 minutes or so. Allow sufficient soaking time to remove any bleach smell on the utensil.
7. Feel the utensil. If it feels fuzzy, it is probably because the grain of the wood has been raised from the soaking. Simply take a fine grit sandpaper (or even steel wool) and gently smooth the utensil.
8. Rinse the utensil off again. This time, you can wash it like you would any other utensil in your kitchen. Only follow the above steps if you need to thoroughly disinfect a utensil. Otherwise, wash wood with a gentle detergent and dry it off quickly.
9. Renew and retain the vibrancy of the wood in your utensil by periodically oiling it. You can use a paper towel or a small piece of clean cloth to administer the oil to the utensil. Use mineral oil, a food safe oil that is commonly used by restaurants to increase the longevity of wooden utensils. Mineral oil is a minor laxative, but even regular use of such small quantities will cause no adverse effects. If you are worried, you can simply allow the oil to soak in and then re-wash the utensil. 

 Tips

• If a spoon is rancid, don’t try too hard to disinfect it. The cost of a new utensil is generally less than the possible adverse affects of using a contaminated kitchen tool when preparing food.
• Taking care of your wooden utensils will pay off in the long run. Wooden utensils are among the first cooking utensils, and with proper care they can last a lifetime.
• Don’t be afraid to allow your utensil to soak for a spell. Because wood is porous, it may take a while for your cleaning solution to thoroughly sanitize the utensil. Do not, however, make a habit of soaking wood utensils, as soaking can shorten their useful lives.
• Some say that lemon juice is a great way to keep your wooden utensil constantly fresh and sanitized. Use this method only after thoroughly sanitizing with bleach, though.
• Hard wood utensils are the easiest to sanitize, and they also last the longest. The tight grains in the wood make for a less porous and more rigid construction.
• Consider using a microwave to both dry out and sanitize a wooden utensil. You can also place a wooden utensil in boiling water to help in the disinfecting process.

 Warnings

• Wooden utensils are more porous than their plastic or metal counterparts. They are therefore more susceptible to carrying germs and bacteria.
• Don’t put wooden spoons in the dishwasher, especially not on a regular basis. They may crack. They are also a fire hazard if they fall on the heating element during the drying cycle.
• Do not use a wooden utensil if any part of the wood is soft or dark and mushy. These characteristics are often associated with rotten wood, and wood in this state will attract and retain germs and bacteria.