The (hopefully) short question item.

   Ask here for the things that you might want in your kitchen, or
new foods you have questions about.

164 responses total.

   Laurel mentioned investing in a rice cooker--something I've wanted
for a while, but haven't gotten since I don't know much about them.
Ideally, I'd like a unit that could cook up to 10-12 cups of rice but
be able to cook smaller amounts too.
   Does such a beast exist?  If no then something in the 5 cup range
would be good.  (ps: anyone know of one that can use 12V?)

Check at Mana.  They should have mongo varieties.  Service Merchandise
or Best can probably sell you a rice cooker too.

Rice is so simple to cook, why do you want a special instrument to cook it in?

Well for one, getting consistant results has been the bane of lots
of cooks. Except for the need for standarization, there probably
isn't any special reason for a special cooker. but I guess those
have been big sellers. I was tempted to buy one a while back, but
soomehow the price was more than I was willing to pay at the time. 
  
Since I got the microwave, and figured outthe process, a rice steamer
became irrelevant. 
  there is another reason, such as the one glenda mentioned in the
previouss item, the desire to have rice cooked the way you +want+ it.
My dad, for example, won't eat rice if it's sticky, all the grains have
to be independant from each other. STeve won't eat it if it's crunchy,
glenda and the kids want it crunchy ..... If you want the totally
fluffy stuff, the special cooker would do that.
 
Btw, does anyone +have+ one of those rice steamers? If so, how do
you like it, operation and results? 

   I'd like specific recomendations.  I mean, I trust the people here
in this conference a couple orders of magnitude more than the typical
sales person and Service Merchandise...

    A rice cooker will do *all* the various necessary heat
adjustments necessary to get good Oriental style rice (sticky
rice).  And it shuts itself off.  Otherwise, you have to watch
the time and adjust the heat a couple of times yourself.

That's one style of rice, thankxx arthur, do you know whether or
not it'll also cook non-sticky rice? Or was that information in
your "Otherwise ... watch ..." statement?

I have a small Hitachi rice steamer that works very well. The woman who
got it for me is a Chinese-food aficionado (like, learning Chinese so
she can read the labels at the local Asian foods market). I think
they make a large variety, too.
 
headdoc, one of the reasons is that you can keep your rice warm for
you. Throw it in with some water, turn it on, and come back three or
four hours later to yummy rice.

In Asia, most kitchens have a rice cooker, same as in the US most
kitchens have a toaster.
(Toasters *are* pretty specialized).

My sister bought a rice cooker about a year ago after spending two or
three years wanting one but considering it a tad too frivolous.  She's
a believer now.

I have a foolproof recipe for long grained rice made in a standard pot and
it always turns out great.  Re #8 - I am trying to think of why I might want
to keep rice warm for three hours.  If its not finished imediately, I make
rice pudding and put it in the refrigerator.  Does anyone else love rice
pudding as much as I do?  How many for raisin
(time out while I look up how to spell. . .raisin. I cant believe I spelled
it right) and how many without?

couldja enter your rice pudding recipe?  thanks!!

Luann and I invested in a rice cooker about two years ago, and we're *very*
glad we did.  We go through about 15 lbs of rice a month, which is one 
reason.  The other reasons are ease-of-use and consistant results.

The ease-of-use for us is automatic switching from cooking to keeping warm,
so that the rice cooking doesn't have to be timed to match the rest of the
meal, and the ease of serving directly from the cooker at the table.

We use Kokuho Rose rice from California.

A friend of mine from China insists on Thai rice.  Apparently they all
vary somewhat.

   They indeedly do.  My favorite rice comes from the Southern
Brown Rice Company.  Their Basmati is really wonderful.
The Coop seels it for $1.39/lb.

yes yes yes!  organic brown basmati from the coop.   makes the apartment
smell wonderful!

Uncle Ben's from a 10# bag - What I've read about it is that it's about
the most nutritious, subject to recent, expert reports of course.
  
Is there some sort of publication I couldfind that "rates" rice varieties?

Try consumer reports, they've done pancake mixes and syrup.
It wouldn't suprise me if they have done rice.

I've never agreed with the CR taste tests.  I think their testers
have screwy taste buds (either that or I do  :)  ).

I like Texmati Light, which is polished halfway between brown
rice and white rice (it's sort of tan).  I really dislike the
texture of straight brown rice, and this Texmati Light preserves
some of the fiber of brown, but keeps most of the texture of
white rice.  And it smells wonderful.

hm... never noticed a difference in texture between white and brown
rice.  but then again, for other purposes, i don't care about the
difference between cheap toilet paper and the fancy puffy perfumey
stuff, so i probably have an impaired sense of texture.
:)

 Or an insensitive booty.

When I've been able to make the comparisons, I've never agreed, in full, 
with the CR taste tests - actually, though, I was wondering abut
the nutrition content of various ans sundry rice varieties and processing
results.
  
<< Pink Panther music on radio is a REAL distraction ...>>
  
<<Blues Before Sunrise>>
  
Agreed with popcorn onthe T  variations. In two words, "so what?"

Another question:

What is the best way to season pans?  Are there particular kinds of oils
that work better than others?  And do ya just rub some on the inside
and just let it bake for a little while?

unless the pans are cast iron, they probably don't need seasoning.

i seasoned my cast iron dutch oven by washing it thorougly, scratching
over the inside with steel wool, drying it thoroughly, oiling the inside
and outside, and baking it in something like a 300 degree oven for a
couple of hours.  if i had it to do over, i wouldn't oil the outside
of the pot.  also, be sure you use a kind of oil with a high smoke point:
you don't want it bursting into flames in your oven.

they say you can also season cast iron by deep frying in it, but i've
never tried it; dunno if it works.

 Spring seasoning -- bounce it off the floor a few times.
 Summer seasoning -- Put some sand in it, & let it fry in the sun for a 
                     few hours.
 Fall seasoning --   Drop it off the roof as you clean the eavestroughs,
                     then boil some leaves in it.
 Winter seasoning -- Freeze it, then fry some snow. Add a pinch of salt.

um, yeah.  right.

What's taco bell putting into their refried beans these days?
Are they vegetarian?

Dave wanted a rice cooker for work, and I found one at a yard sale
last year.  He really likes being able to have fresh rice for lunch
sometimes, in an office where no stove is available.  I tried it out 
at home beforehand and found the results acceptable, not much different
from on-the-stove, but messier to clean.  Also this particular one
wasn't big enough for all the rice I often want to cook.
        Basmati rice makes me nervous -- it smells so *much* like 
popcorn, the stuff my husband and sons are all not supposed to be eating,
and I find it hard to believe that it really is safe and I won't have to
deal with menfolk bouncing off the walls after eating it.  Our personal
preference is for medium grain brown rice; when we first found it it
seemed to taste much nicer than long or short grain, a difference
not so obvious lately.

 You found a rice cooker at a yard sale, & hired her/him to cook rice in an
office, and have decided that the person isn't large enough to cook an adequate
amount of rice?!!

  No, I didn't hire him/her/it.  I bought it, body and soul (if any), for 
the princely sum of $7.  And it cooks internally, in its non-elastic body,  
so the quantity of rice cooked is limited by the dimensions of the
aforementioned body.  

(any info about refried beans at taco hell, in response 28?)

  Having once worked at Taco Bell, I can tell you that all of the shells are
fried on site in coconut oil. (the exact stuff that is in most if not all
heart patient's nightmares). I would suspect that there is no meat in the 
beans, because the basic recipe is to mash the beans, add a little lard and
cook. Perhaps the cheapest meal on the planet.
  TB used to have a soft shell salad, which came in an edible bowl. It was 
my job to fry these shells into thier shape. The one disgusting part of the
salad was a pocket of oil that formed while the frying process went on.
  I guess the only safe thing to consume is the burritos, but then again,
the makeup of the tortillas is basically lard, flour and water. Hardly a health
(healthy) choice. Tortillas can be made with veggie shortening, which is
much better. Overall, pass Taco Bell by.

re #33 -- except, Jim, that lard is animal fat. Unless you mean vegetable
shortning.

no. When I use shortening, I mean vegetable stuff,like Crisco. My mother
makes excellent tortillas with crisco. Some mexicans do use lard because
it does have better properties in cooking.

 I knew that lard is animal fat.

which means that taco bell's bean burritos are not vegetarian.

 No, it means you need to find out when he last worked there.

Has anyone actually found a reliable way to open pita pockets without
ripping them?

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