Washing Rice

[Trymester]

Rice like Canilla, Carolina, etc. shouldn't be washed becuase it lessens the nutrients, OR, it should be washed in hopes it gets rid of some of the possible cross contamination. Which of these sounds right?

[Jestgar]

Nutrients should be in the grain, not sitting on top......

[detritus]

Rice like Canilla, Carolina, etc. shouldn't be washed becuase it lessens the nutrients, OR, it should be washed in hopes it gets rid of some of the possible cross contamination. Which of these sounds right?

Rice is generally washed or even soaked to remove some of the starch. This gives you nice, separated grains when you cook it. Also, if you soak white rice and then drain it and let it sit for awhile, the grains become much longer when you cook it. This is often done in Middle Eastern cooking. I generally rinse my white rice until the water runs clear. As for nutrients, there aren't a lot in white rice, but I don't believe washing the rice removes what's there.

[Monklady123]

I've never in my life rinsed rice. Seems like just one more thing to do, and I hate to cook. lol..

[Emilushka]

I usually don't bother rinsing rice, but I always rinse quinoa.

Brown rice is healthier than white rice. White rice is pretty much like white bread.

[tarnalberry]

Check the bag. In the US, many brands of rice are enriched (usually with folic acid) because "they" thought it would be a good idea to do this with such a common, low nutrition food. If you rinse these rices, you lose the added enrichment, but not all rices are enriched.

[Emilushka]

Check the bag. In the US, many brands of rice are enriched (usually with folic acid) because "they" thought it would be a good idea to do this with such a common, low nutrition food. If you rinse these rices, you lose the added enrichment, but not all rices are enriched.

The folic acid thing is actually a public health measure (the same is done with bread and cereals) that was put in place to help protect babies before the moms know they're pregnant. Most of the spinal cord and central nervous system in a fetus is formed before a woman would know she was pregnant (unless she was consistently taking pregnancy tests every single month at the appropriate time). Many women don't get enough folate in their diets without the supplementation and the babies would be born with malformed spinal cords and brains because nobody knew the woman was pregnant until it was too late. Folate in breads and rice has actually helped to decrease the rate of neural tube defects significantly. It's not just "they" - this is actually something that does make a difference.

ETA: I just wanted to add that the spinal cord and brain are BEGUN and you can't go back and fix it once they're messed up. so folate later in pregnancy can't replace folate within the first 8 weeks of pregnancy.

[tarnalberry]

You're right - it does make a difference. I just have a general frustration at medicating society because people don't choose healthy foods. This is one of the few fortifications that has documented, real, and significant impact.

[sb2178]

White rice is often enriched with other B vitamins (to prevent beri-beri); so again, if it is either fortified or enriched, do not rinse. Otherwise, do whatever you want for your recipe. Brown rice can be rinsed or not as you like without and major nutrient losses.

[Skylark]

After seeing dirt and bits of stems rinsed off some brands of rice, I always rinse it well. I do buy a lot of imported rice as well as domestic, like red rices and black rice, so this may be why I tend to find more dirt and whatnot. California rice is usually pretty clean.

[WheatChef]

As long as the rice isn't a significant source of your intake during the day then washing it would not have the hugest effect. The problem with rice is that it is basically devoid of any nutrients besides carbs (if you count that as a nutrient). White rice is normally enriched by spraying vitamins onto the surface of if and if you rinse it then you'll lose all of the nutrients. Foreign rice however is often times not enriched and as such often recommended to be rinse ahead of time. An easy way to check for enrichment would be to just look at the ingredients label.

[Trymester]

As long as the rice isn't a significant source of your intake during the day then washing it would not have the hugest effect. The problem with rice is that it is basically devoid of any nutrients besides carbs (if you count that as a nutrient). White rice is normally enriched by spraying vitamins onto the surface of if and if you rinse it then you'll lose all of the nutrients. Foreign rice however is often times not enriched and as such often recommended to be rinse ahead of time. An easy way to check for enrichment would be to just look at the ingredients label.

So, in closing, if its enriched, don't wash it?

But what about if it may be dirty?

Or what about can it be enriched, but also it may have cross contamination from gluten. What happens then? Wash or not wash?

[Trymester]

Any new opinions on this? Rice will now be my main grain.

[okieinalaska]

Any new opinions on this? Rice will now be my main grain.

I don't rinse. Pretty much the only rice I use is Tsurumai Brown Rice, usually in the asian food section. Even my 8 year old picky eater loves this rice, I can't recommend it enough. : ) I put it in chili, in soup, eat plain etc.

[Emilushka]

I don't rinse. Pretty much the only rice I use is Tsurumai Brown Rice, usually in the asian food section. Even my 8 year old picky eater loves this rice, I can't recommend it enough. : ) I put it in chili, in soup, eat plain etc.

Do you do short, medium, or long grain brown rice? I'm trying to get my husband to convert over to brown rice from the traditional white rice.

[kareng]

Do you do short, medium, or long grain brown rice? I'm trying to get my husband to convert over to brown rice from the traditional white rice.

Have you tried the Lundberg wild rice blends? We really like them. They have a nutty flavor. Really good with a stir fry or by it's self. Sprinkle a little Parm on it. Not so good for soup because it's hearty and flavorful.

[Eri82]

As an American wife to a native Japanese husband, ABSOLUTELY rice should be washed. It is not dirty, it has too much starch to it. It will make the rice taste overcooked, mushy, and powdery. Here is the way to do it in the japanese way:

(This is regarding short grain rice-I am not sure measuring is the same, but the washing is the same)

2 cups rice

Pour into pot or cooking bowl

Fill halfway with water, give it several swishes.

dump out as much water as you can, SLOWLY so you dont take half the rice with it.

Rub the rice together. The best way is to push the rice with your fist or heel of your hand in a kneading motion. Do this step for 2-3 minutes.

fill half way with water, dump water. do this step until the water is almost clear (4-6 times)

Remove as much water as you can. And to 2 cups of water* (purified for best taste)

Add to cooker (*if using cooker, fill water to 2 cup line)

Stovetop: set pot to HIGH. DONT LEAVE UNTIL YOU PUT THE LID ON!!!!! Wait until it is staring to boil, put lid on, reduce to LOW. After 20-25 mins, rice is ready to eat. Fluff with fork or rice paddle if you have one. Enjoy!!!

[okieinalaska]

Have you tried the Lundberg wild rice blends? We really like them. They have a nutty flavor. Really good with a stir fry or by it's self. Sprinkle a little Parm on it. Not so good for soup because it's hearty and flavorful.

I tried one of these, they weren't my favorite. Not sure which blend I tried I think it had black rice in it?