Do you wash your rice?

[Anonymous]

You guys are nasty.

I wash rice to get rid of surface grime and dust from storage in a warehouse. I also wash apples and grapes from the grocery store.

You guys are gross.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve always been told to but recently watched a video on making Mexican rice and the lady said she has never washed rice.

I do not, but I think my personal chef does. I can ask him.

[Anonymous]

I don’t think rinsing rice does much of anything to reduce arsenic in the rice. Arsenic is in the soil the rice is grown in and is contained within the rice.

[Anonymous]

I always wash it except for one recipe I make a lot that specifies to not wash because the starch adds to the creaminess of the dish (made with jasmine rice).

[Anonymous]

My family in Asia own a machine that remove husks. Afterwards we put the in the street to dry. Sometimes cars, bicycles drive over it and people walked on it as it dried.

Yes you wash rice til it’s clear.

[Anonymous]

I am Japanese and all the Asians I know (from Malaysia, Vietnam, Korea, etc) rinse out their rice. It's very important, because rice comes with rice dust and other minuscule contaminants. Also it has arsenic. My husband goes so far as to let it sit overnight, then rinses out the water and cooks it in fresh, to get rid of most of the arsenic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I find this very confusing and little to no difference in final product. I grew up not washing. I try washing it now but at this point it seems a waste of time.

I feel the same way. I don’t notice a difference in taste or texture when I wash it, so I have stopped doing so.

You wash it to remove dust, contaminants, and reduce (naturally occurring) arsenic levels.

Consider: you wash fruit from the supermarket before eating it, right? And not to improve its taste. Same thing with rice.

Lindberg suggests rinsing it to remove starch and improve the texture when cooked. Since I have tried it both ways (I diligently rinsed rice for years) and find the final product the same, I’ll choose not to rinse.

So again, rinsing it removes dust and surface contaminants, just like you are rinsing off your supermarket grapes and strawberries.

Do you also eat supermarket fruit and veg without rinsing them, since rinsing those doesn't have any impact on their taste either?

Gross.

I’m confused. Do you rinse dry pasta before cooking, too? Isn’t that more analagous to rice than strawberries?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No. I don’t think I have the right kind of colander to do it.

You don't use a colander, that's messy and ineffective. You just use the bowl that goes directly in the rice cooker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. I don’t think I have the right kind of colander to do it.

You don't use a colander, that's messy and ineffective. You just use the bowl that goes directly in the rice cooker.

You can use the rice cooker bowl, but I suggest using a different bowl because most rice cooker bowls are nonstick and you want to avoid scraping the bowl too much while you wash the rice. I use a stainless steel bowl.

For the benefit of non rice rinsers who think they need a special colander, if you wait a bit, the rice settles, and you can pour most of the water out. They also make special rice strainers - either plastic bowls with tiny holes and larger holes near the top, or a set of nesting bowls, one colander and one bowl to catch stray grains. I have had both, but it’s just easier to use a regular stainless steel mixing bowl.

And the PP who said the rice cooker bubbles more if you don’t rinse the rice, that is true! Most rice cookers have an inner lid and condensation trap that has to be cleaned out, and it definitely gets dirtier faster with unrinsed starchy rice. And I’ll note that this is for for medium grain Asian rice. When I cook basmati, I rinse out of habit, but only once, since it doesn’t have the same starchy coat that Asian rice has.

[Anonymous]

I've never done it but this thread is making me want to try it to see if it improves taste or texture. I'm not opposed to it, it just didn't seem necessary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I find this very confusing and little to no difference in final product. I grew up not washing. I try washing it now but at this point it seems a waste of time.

I feel the same way. I don’t notice a difference in taste or texture when I wash it, so I have stopped doing so.

You wash it to remove dust, contaminants, and reduce (naturally occurring) arsenic levels.

Consider: you wash fruit from the supermarket before eating it, right? And not to improve its taste. Same thing with rice.

Lindberg suggests rinsing it to remove starch and improve the texture when cooked. Since I have tried it both ways (I diligently rinsed rice for years) and find the final product the same, I’ll choose not to rinse.

So again, rinsing it removes dust and surface contaminants, just like you are rinsing off your supermarket grapes and strawberries.

Do you also eat supermarket fruit and veg without rinsing them, since rinsing those doesn't have any impact on their taste either?

Gross.

I’m confused. Do you rinse dry pasta before cooking, too? Isn’t that more analagous to rice than strawberries?

omg what.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Always wash it. Helps reduce arsenic & other heavy metal content too.

This. Also microplastics. Some places intentionally add microplastic coatings to the rice to prevent sticking together in storage if gets humid.

But you know there are also microplastics in the water you're rinsing it with.

Nevertheless, I do always rinse rice til the water runs clear. I like the cooking result and think it also does get rid of some larger particles like dirt, metals, etc. that are in there.

Depends on your water source obviously.
Lake/river sources that have populations upstream, then yes.
Well water or other sources, not so much if at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Always wash it. Helps reduce arsenic & other heavy metal content too.

This. Also microplastics. Some places intentionally add microplastic coatings to the rice to prevent sticking together in storage if gets humid.

Wait, what?!?

Oh lordy, you are in for a rabbit hole of information if you go down that road. There are TONS of toxins put into processed foods, both intentionally, and "accidentally" by coming off the processing machines, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Always wash it. Helps reduce arsenic & other heavy metal content too.

This. Also microplastics. Some places intentionally add microplastic coatings to the rice to prevent sticking together in storage if gets humid.

Wait, what?!?

What nothing - it’s a totally bogus claim poster probably learned from some self-designated health expert influencer’s podcast.

Hello big corporation shill science denier! You probably call germ-theory bogus and think the Earth is flat also eh?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I find this very confusing and little to no difference in final product. I grew up not washing. I try washing it now but at this point it seems a waste of time.

I feel the same way. I don’t notice a difference in taste or texture when I wash it, so I have stopped doing so.

You wash it to remove dust, contaminants, and reduce (naturally occurring) arsenic levels.

Consider: you wash fruit from the supermarket before eating it, right? And not to improve its taste. Same thing with rice.

Lindberg suggests rinsing it to remove starch and improve the texture when cooked. Since I have tried it both ways (I diligently rinsed rice for years) and find the final product the same, I’ll choose not to rinse.

So again, rinsing it removes dust and surface contaminants, just like you are rinsing off your supermarket grapes and strawberries.

Do you also eat supermarket fruit and veg without rinsing them, since rinsing those doesn't have any impact on their taste either?

Gross.

I’m confused. Do you rinse dry pasta before cooking, too? Isn’t that more analagous to rice than strawberries?

omg what.

the prior poster said you should rinse your rice like you do your fruits and vegetables. i am asking why boxed rice is more akin to fresh fruits and vegetables than it is to boxed pasta, which pasta i am guessing the poster does not rinse before cooking (and before you say that lasta water gets drained, some gets absorbed into the pasta and many of us use some of the pasta cooking water for the sauces).