Cooking rice

Rice is the most familiar grain to Americans and the most commonly consumed food in the world.

Notes

• Brown Rice or White Rice - Which is Healthier?- Thomas DeLauer. Neither. Better to ferment or sprout the rice and then cook it. Soak the (brown) rice in unchlorinated water for 24 hours at room temperature. Retain half a cup of the water for the next batch and put it in the refrigerator. The half glass of water that you retain will have very strong enzymes for breaking down rice on subsequent batches. This process reduces over 90% of the phytic acid and therefore digests easier in the body. If you are not cooking for quite a while, put the retained water in the freezer and naturally defrost later without heat (heat will kill the enzymes). See also: How to soak brown rice.
• How to Sprout Brown Rice. You can sprout rice in a mason jar in one to two days. Sprouted rice cooks in about 10-15 minutes versus an hour with regular unsprouted rice.
• Phytic Acid: The Anti-Nutrient or Healthy Phytochemical. Phytic acid has been a hot topic in the nutrition world with arguments going back and forth on whether or not it is beneficial. One major drawback is that it can limit the absorption of certain beneficial minerals in the body, while a major benefit is that the foods containing it have a large role in decreasing risks of cancer, controlling diabetes, and even possibly helping with HIV/AIDs (1).
• How to cook rice to remove the most arsenic. Here are the steps for a reduction from 100% to 18%: (1) Soak your rice overnight – this opens up the grain and allows the arsenic to escape. (2) Drain the rice and rinse thoroughly with fresh water.(3) For every part rice add 5 parts water and cook until the rice is tender – do not allow it to boil dry. (4) Drain the rice and rinse again with hot water to get rid of the last of the cooking water.

Various grains

A large variety of whole grains are available to choose from in natural food stores. Experimenting with these different grains will pay off, because you will discover new favorite foods that rate high on both the taste and the nutrition scale.

• Cooking times: Boiling is the usual way to cook these grains. Bring water to a boil in a sauce pan. Slowly add the grain, return water to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low, and cook until the water has been absorbed. Do not stir. For fluffier texture, allow grain to rest uncovered for 15 minutes after cooking. This helps dry the grain.

• Rice (1 cup)	Water	Time (min)	Yield
  Barley	2c	60	3c
  Buckwheat/Bulgur wheat	2c	15	2.5c
  Cornmeal	4c	30	3c
  Millet	3c	45	3.5c
  Quinoa	2c	15	3c
  Rice (brown)	2c	60	3c
  Rye	2c	60	2.5c
  Wheat berries	3c	120	3c

• For variation, try a mix of two or more grains, or use a vegetable stock instead of water. Grains can be cooked easier and more reliably in a rice cooker. Unfortunately, many brands of rice cookers have aluminum insert bowls. National (made by Panasonic) and Hitachi make rice cookers with a nonstick coating and stainless steel covers, protecting your food from exposure to aluminum. There are several more varieties on the market with non-stick bowls.

Five Grain Rice Recipe:

Use this mixture in place of plain rice for variety.

2 cups brown rice
1/4 cups barley
1/4 cup millet
1/4 cup wheat berries
1/4 whole rye or wild rice

Baked Brown Rice (recipe courtesy of Alton Brown)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups brown rice, medium or short grain
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
• Bring all above ingredients (except the rice) to a boil.
• Pour boiling liquid over rice in a baking dish and cover with heavy-duty aluminum foil
• Bake for 1 hour.
• After 1 hour, remove cover and fluff the rice with a fork.