Essential Kitchen Equipment - Rice Cookers

[shelley]

I find a good, small rice cooker (about 4 cups) is an essential kitchen tool. It's not easy to cook perfect rice on the stovetop, but a rice cooker does it right every time so long as you have the right amount of water.

The ratio of water to rice can be two to one (twice as much water as rice) but some people like a little more, some people a little less. What I do is measure with my little pinky finger. after I add water to the rice, it should cover the rice and rice above it a bit. I reach in with my pinky, touch the rice, and see if the water line hits the line on my finger caused by the first digit. That usually gets me perfect rice.

I don't do well with crock pots - don't like cooking things all darn day LOL! but a rice cooker always cooks things in 20 minutes, which is perfect for all kinds of rice, rice pilaf, quinoa, hot cereals, steel cut oatmeal, rolled oats, etc. And they're relatively cheap.

Be sure to wash your rice, especially non-basmati white rice like Jasmine, as it is often coated for protection.