Cooking With Rice
from Italian Traditional Food

Different ways of cooking with rice

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Improve your cooking with rice skills by reading the following tips. Rice is the most versatile of cereals and perhaps the most popular. It lends itself to many recipes, both sweet and savoury, and is ideal for a quick, nourishing dish.

There are several different types of rice, which can be divided into three main categories: long grain, medium grain and short, or thick, grain. Each type of grain carries a name, such as Patna or Carolina, which once used to indicate from where it came.

Processed, or partly-cooked, rice is sold under brand names; it can also be bought flavoured. These rices are good but more expensive than the ordinary kinds.

Uses of rice

Brown rice (long grain type, husked only): has a nutty flavour and more chewy texture than white rice, but has the disadvantage of smelling while cooking.

White rice has less nutritive value because it has been milled, a process removing the hulls, germ and vitamin-filled bran layers. Polished rice is treated with coatings or polishing powders after milling.

Busmatti (thin, short grain): has similar qualities to the Patna type; used in pilafs when a dry, flaky rice is called for.

Carolina (medium grain: for sweet dishes and puddings.

Creme de riz very fine, is used for thickening soups, sauces or puddings, and for some biscuits.

Ground rice is used for puddings.

Italian Arborio (white, short grain): used in dishes where the maximum amount of liquid must be absorbed, eg. in rice creams and risottos.

Patna (long grain): for pilafs, curries, salads and wherever boiled rice is called for.

Rice flour, also fine in texture, is used for cakes, buns and rice creams.

Spanish, Jap or Java (short or thick, grain): can be used for puddings instead of Carolina rice; also used for risottos.

Wild rice: the seeds of a wild aquatic grass; needs lomg boiling; is often served with game.

To boil rice

Most people have their own favourite method of boling rice. That recommended by Asians is to cook the rice in a small quantity of boiling water until this is absorbed, when rice is soft. The amount of water varies according to the quality of the rice. This method is good but can present problems. Really the simplest way is to cook the rice (2 oz washed rice per person) in plenty of boilin, well-salted water (3 quarts per 8 oz rice) for about 12 minutes. You can add a slice of lemon for flavour. Stir with a fork to prevent rice sticking while boiling, and watch that it does not overcook.

To stop rice cooking, either tip it quickly into a colander and drain, or pour 1/2 cup cold water into the pan and then drain. Pour over a jug of hot water to wash away the remaining starch, making several holes through the rice with the handle of a wooden spoon to help it drain more quickly.

To reheat: spoon into a buttered ovenproof dish, cover with buttered paper, put it in oven at 350F (175C) Mark 4 for 30 minutes.

With a pilaf, the rice is cooked in stock until it has been absorbed and the rice is dry and flaky. Though this can be done over a flame, it is best to put the pan or casserole in the oven to get both top and bottom heat.

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