Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Rice Cooker and freezing rice

For those of you who don't have a rice cooker I would highly recommend it.  I got mine as a wedding gift.  My Mom never had one, so I thought...that's silly, who needs a separate appliance to cook rice?  Just use a pan.

I was unable to find the store where it was purchased to return it, so I ended up keeping it and trying it.  Now I love it.  I never do rice any other way!

Mine is about the size of a 5 qt crock pot.  It has an insert that slides in (like a crock pot does).  You measure the rice and water, stir, and press the cook button.  It takes about 20-25 minutes to cook.  It senses when it is done and switches from cook to warm.  Mine suggests letting it sit on warm for 5 minutes before serving.

It cooks the rice perfectly every time.  You can also do brown rice or other varieties.  Although I usually do my brown rice in a pressure cooker because it is so much faster.  (brown rice seems to take a lot longer to cook than white).

My rice cooker is an Aroma brand.  But I'm sure other brands are just as great.  Mine also came with 2 trays I can fit on top to steam things.  So I could cook the rice and have veggies steaming on top.  But I have never used them.

When the rice is done cooking you pull the insert out and clean it in soap and water.  Easy Peasy!

The one complaint I have is that the very bottom layer of rice does seem to scorch a bit, so I just scoop right above it and leave a layer of rice in the bottom each time.

I always make extra rice and either refrigerate or freeze the extra.

To freeze it I just put the extra in a ziploc, then throw it in the freezer.  Sometimes I do individual portion sizes, and sometimes I do family size portions.  When I am ready to use it I pull it out push the frozen blob out of the baggie into a bowl.  Start microwaving, stirring every few minutes.  Within a few minutes I have hot cooked rice.  I find it especially helpful for brown rice.

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