298974 Wed Oct 27 13:09:48 -0700 2004 12 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1654702 I have tried cooking brown basmati rice in a rice cooker and it came out unedible. Brown rice takes twice as long to cook as white if you cook it on the top of the store so I assume that the rice cooker can't adjust the time for the different type of rice used. Is it possible to cook brown basmati rice in a rice cooker? Wed Oct 27 13:09:48 -0700 2004 0 Bearzie 1 1654707 Yes - I have often done brown rice in the rice cooker. The only time I have gotten into trouble is when I mix rice varieties - they often don't cook evenly. Here are a few recipe resources http://www.mealsforyou.com/cgi-bin/recipeGadget?gadget.ricecooker http://www.sallyskitchen.com/html/cook_rice.html Wed Oct 27 13:41:33 -0700 2004 1654702 0 Aimee 2 1654773 I'm loving my "Fuzzy logic" rice cooker....perfect brown rice, perfect "mixed" rice...and my favorite (and the reason I bought the machine) ...JUK! porridge. Set it the night before, and its' ready in the morning! Great invention! Wed Oct 27 19:42:44 -0700 2004 1654707 0 ChowFun (derek) 1 1654709 Works perfectly fine in my Zoji, and prior rice cookers. In the fuzzy logic cookers, the machine can tell when the steaming is complete, so it automatically adjusts for brown rice. First, never add salt when cooking whole grains until they are finished steaming. It toughens the bran, and makes the steaming more uneven and patchy. Second, letting the rice soak in the water for half hour or ideally an hour makes for a much better brown rice product. More sophisticated cookers now have the soaking built into the normal cooking cycle, which you can omit (for white rice) by using a quick cook cycle. Third, you may need to adjust your water levels depending on the size of your cooker; the volume of the overall bowl makes a difference in how temperatures are reached and sensed. The average cooker from recipe perspectives is a 6-cup. You need a bit more water to cook brown rice than the same volume of white rice. Here is a guide for water volumes for three sizes of rice cookers (4-, 6- and 10-cup cookers); the measurements are in 8 oz U.S. cups (though this chart is easy to convert into Japanese 6 oz rice cups, which are meant for 2 servings each) Volume of uncooked rice......4-cup...6-cup...10-cup 0.75...............1.75....1.75....2.25 1.50...............2.50....2.50....3.33 2.25...............3.67....3.67....4.25 3.00...............----....4.67....5.33 3.75...............----....----....6.50 4.50...............----....----....7.50 Wed Oct 27 14:13:23 -0700 2004 1654702 0 Karl S. 2 1654723 Regarding your table of rice cooker rice-to-water ratios, this boy with Japanese DNA learned adding water until it reaches the first knuckle crease (nearest the nail) of your middle finger makes proper rice. Just an FYI. ;) For when you want that rice a little faster. Wed Oct 27 15:33:01 -0700 2004 1654709 0 mirror 3 1654726 I am well aware of that rule, but: That works (1) better for white than brown rice, and (2) reasonably well in small and regular size cookers, but is less reliable in large cookers, it would seem. Wed Oct 27 15:46:58 -0700 2004 1654723 0 Karl S. 4 1654730 IIRC, we used to use this rule of thumb (finger?) for a 40-cup cooker with no problems. Wed Oct 27 16:09:03 -0700 2004 1654726 0 ricepad 4 1654782 The geometry of the various rice cooker volumes seems an insignificant influence on the "finger" measurement. You are working with a wide surface, like a swimming pool, rather than a narrow one, like a test tube. So adding more grain does not swamp the rough accuracy of the measurement. I use a Zo to cook my brown rice and have swung between below the crease and above it to see how this influences how long the rice stays fairly moist in the refrigerator (seems it is always good to eat when it is fresh). The rice always turns out fine. It is a tolerant grain, as most grains are. But even with extra water, it still turns to pellets in roughly the same time. Actually, exactly the same time, measured by days. ;) But then this makes for great fried rice. Just make sure to use Kadoya sesame oil. The tastiest. Wed Oct 27 21:48:43 -0700 2004 1654726 0 mirror 1 1654733 Rice cookers don't work by time. Instead they somehow sense when the water has cooked away - the temperature must change slightly. Since brown rice uses a higher water to rice ratio, the cooking time will be longer. Wed Oct 27 16:17:48 -0700 2004 1654702 0 Nyleve 1 1654765 Karl S in particular, has given some extremely wise instructions in relation to pre-soaking and salt usage as well as the water ratio, though the rule of thumb in my view is quite adequate if used properly. I dont know about the middle finger (have not tried using it) but if you invert your thumb into the pan, water level for white rice must be within the first line of your thumb, and for brown rice, a bit over it (say 20 percent more) ? Try it and tell us if it works. Wed Oct 27 18:08:49 -0700 2004 1654702 0 Amin (London Foodie) 2 1654783 Pressing my thumb against my middle finger I see a few millimeters, not quite a quarter-inch, difference. So your rice is slightly moister on delivery. But given the release of moisture when you remove it from the cooker and turn it, I think it comes out even on balance. Perhaps people with longer fingers prefer marginally moister rice. Genetically. Or perhaps they turn it more to release more steam. Wed Oct 27 21:57:17 -0700 2004 1654765 0 mirror 1 1655084 Zoshi has a very expensive induction rice cooker that I purchased just for brown rice and the ability to extract lysene from brown rice. It actually has a different programmable seting for brown rice (and washed/unwashed rice, etc). http://www.zojirushi.com/ricecookers.html Fri Oct 29 21:57:55 -0700 2004 1654702 0 Jon martin 1 1658321 Try Nijiki Brown Rice -- I guess it's a new product -- made specifically for rice cookers. I bought some at an international food store and it came in a 5-lb foil bag. You let the rice soak 20 minutes in the cooker, then go ahead on its normal cycle (20 minutes) then give the rice 10 minutes to sit. It comes out perfect. I love brown rice and tend to be critical if it isn't right. You cannot tell that this rice is "partially milled" (that's what it says on the label; that must be how it was done). Now I can have brown rice every day, even using my cheap rice cooker (can't afford a Zojirushi). Don't hestitate to try it. Sun Dec 05 20:54:54 -0800 2004 1654702 0 Divinebunbun