# Cooking rice with less fuel



## hansonb4 (Aug 17, 2014)

This may sound like a dumb question, however I want to be able to reduce the amount propane used when cooking rice. I am not interested in minute rice, this is regular old white rice that generally requires 20 minutes to cook. Has anyone done a sort-of "par-soak" of the rice for say, an hour and then cooked it for less time? I think about how dried beans soak overnight to soften them up, then cook. I was wondering if the same principle applies to rice, or does it come out like some giant ball of goo.

Thanks,

hansonb4


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## oddapple (Dec 9, 2013)

Hey ~ the opposite. Cook for ten minutes, leave lid on and let sit hot 10 more...usually works for me. Altitude maybe affect a little?

Edit - It's twice the cups of water as rice - don't know why couldn't have just said that?


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## thepeartree (Aug 25, 2014)

Time is an issue. To cook rice (the usual kind), you need to be able to bring the correct amount of water to a boil, toss in the correct amount of rice, bring the pot back to a boil, then cover and let stand 10 minutes.

Now, only you can figure out how much rice you're going to cook and therefore how much water/propane you need.


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## James m (Mar 11, 2014)

Im not fibbing but white rice as required by the government is enriched with vitamins and minerals that were removed in the processing of the rice. Used to be called talc. Its the white powdery substance on your rice prior to cooking. It also causes the mirky water in a pot of rice before cooking. 

If you rinse the rice before cooking its going to remove govt approved substances. Just put water in and drain until the water is clear. 

Maybe they should keep the vitamins and minerals that were in the damn rice in the first place!  ?


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## Ralph Rotten (Jun 25, 2014)

Cant you soak rice to skip part of the cooking practice, or does that just work on beans?


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## oddapple (Dec 9, 2013)

Wheat you can soak. Pretty sure rice is too starchy...

"or does it come out like some giant ball of goo?"


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## SquirrelBait (Jun 6, 2014)

1. Heat a quantity of water to boiling.

2. Add the boiling water to a high quality insulated thermos.

3. Add rice.

4. Close thermos and wait several hours.

The only fuel energy consumed is that which is required to get your small pot of water to boil. That's it. Then shut off the heat.

Courtesy of These guys:How To Cook Rice With 80 Percent Less Fuel!


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## 1skrewsloose (Jun 3, 2013)

I'll have to watch this thread, We use a rice cooker, 2x water as rice. The cooker may be slow to heat up, takes 25 minutes to make 4 cups of rice. Might have to try in a pot of the bbq side burner.


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## oddapple (Dec 9, 2013)

James m said:


> Im not fibbing but white rice as required by the government is enriched with vitamins and minerals that were removed in the processing of the rice. Used to be called talc. Its the white powdery substance on your rice prior to cooking. It also causes the mirky water in a pot of rice before cooking.
> 
> If you rinse the rice before cooking its going to remove govt approved substances. Just put water in and drain until the water is clear.
> 
> Maybe they should keep the vitamins and minerals that were in the damn rice in the first place!  ?


You know james...that doesn't sound like a bad idea. You got me thinking about that...


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## 1skrewsloose (Jun 3, 2013)

With regard to nutrition and such, back in the days of slavery, the slaves got brown rice, the masters white. The masters got some illness the slaves did not. Turns out a lot of good stuff in brown/natural rice. Don't recall the ailment.


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## oddapple (Dec 9, 2013)

I suspect that beta-glucans in the brown rice bolstered their immune systems?
Most people in history have adopted something "refined" to prove their superiority that left peasants and slaves laughing at them? The emperor has gammy-brained kids?
Oatmeal will do the same.


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## 1skrewsloose (Jun 3, 2013)

Think I found a worth while link, Germinating Brown Rice | Humane Living Hope the link works.


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## Kahlan (Sep 16, 2014)

SquirrelBait said:


> 1. Heat a quantity of water to boiling.
> 
> 2. Add the boiling water to a high quality insulated thermos.
> 
> ...


Thanks for this!


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## SquirrelBait (Jun 6, 2014)

Kahlan said:


> Thanks for this!


My pleasure!


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## Ragnarök (Aug 4, 2014)

hansonb4 said:


> This may sound like a dumb question, however I want to be able to reduce the amount propane used when cooking rice. I am not interested in minute rice, this is regular old white rice that generally requires 20 minutes to cook. Has anyone done a sort-of "par-soak" of the rice for say, an hour and then cooked it for less time? I think about how dried beans soak overnight to soften them up, then cook. I was wondering if the same principle applies to rice, or does it come out like some giant ball of goo.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> hansonb4


That is a good question actually. One great way to reduce the amount of fuel is the change the shape and structure of what you are cooking. you can make flour out of rice and add water to form rice crackers, dumplings for example. it will take some elbow grease but this will definitely alter the cooking time. Another way to speed up the cooking process is to soak the rice for a short amount of time in a water and vinegar solution. the acid will break down the cell walls. when I cook white rice I do 1.5 water/1 rice ratio and I cover and cook on simmer for 13 minutes.


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## tirednurse (Oct 2, 2013)

have you thought about an alternate fuel source? Cooking on a wood stove is very similar to a stove top. cooking over an open fire a little different but you would just need to move your pot to a cooler area of the fire. also look into cooking in a dutch oven. once you figure out how to use one you will want to cook every thing out on the fire. Solar ovens work great if you have enough sun. you could also bring to a boil and then insulate your pot even with a bunch of towels or a sleeping bag to contain the heat and let it sit. It may take longer but it will continue to cook as long as it is still warm. this is kind of how a crock pot works.


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## AquaHull (Jun 10, 2012)

1skrewsloose said:


> With regard to nutrition and such, back in the days of slavery, the slaves got brown rice, the masters white. The masters got some illness the slaves did not. Turns out a lot of good stuff in brown/natural rice. Don't recall the ailment.


So much for living high on the hog


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