Topic: CA's Perfect Pilau Rice - Every Time! (Illustrated!)

[chef1707]

What a gent,

I applaud you for taking the time and effort to do that as well as photos...I am gonna try this weekend and your step by step makes it easier for the lesser mortals  ;D

 a big thanks !

[haldi]

Through ignorance, I have never observed any extra care, with cooking/reheating rice.
I had no idea there was any danger.
Sometimes, I've not put the cooked rice into the fridge until the next day
Having said that, I have never had food poisoning either.
I've always taken great care with prawns,chicken and meat.
But vegetables and rice I have just used one safeguard.
And that is:- if it tastes and smells good, then it's ok

On a slightly different note, the worst rice I have ever bought is broken basmatti.
It slips through the seive and seems very sticky to cook.
Anyone else bought that?
I was lured by it's cheap price, but NEVER again!!

[Chilli Prawn]

It may be a bit anal, but here is some basic stuff from F&H sources

The Symptoms

Symptoms with the diarrhoeal toxin are nausea, cramplike abdominal pains and watery diarrhoea, beginning 8 to 16 hours after eating and are related to the lower intestine. With the emetic toxin the symptoms are more severe and acute and are nausea and vomiting beginning 1 to 6 hours after eating and are related mainly to the upper intestine.
The diagnosis is confirmed by a laboratory test on a faecal specimen.
The illness occurs when people swallow the bacteria or spores formed by them which then multiply and produce toxin in the intestine, or from eating the toxin already produced in food, e.g rice.

Reducing the Risk
Bacillus cereus exists in normal bacterial and spore forms in foods. The normal form is inactivated by cooking, but most illness is a result of the multiplication of spores during inadequate refrigeration of moist cooked protein foods and rice. Because cooking often kills competing bacteria and heat activates the Bacillus cereus spores, storing large masses of cooked food between 4 deg C and 60 deg C can allow the bacteria to multiply.

(Your fridge is probably operating at 8 degrees Celsius !!!!)

Preventive measures that can be taken to help avoid the illness include:

Ensuring adequate temperatures are reached during cooking of food mixes such as sauces, custards, and soups to inactivate the bacteria. (80 degrees C is the minimum, and take note this is for deactivation not killing the blighters)
Keeping cooked hot foods above 60 deg C (preferably 70 deg C) if not served immediately. (Health & Hygiene regulations state the maximum length of time that rice can be stored at this temperature is 4 hours)Ensuring the rapid cooling of cooked food by dividing into smaller lots and refrigerating in shallow containers (less than 10cm deep).
Storing cold foods at or below 4 deg C to prevent toxin being produced.
Avoiding storing protein-containing foods with cooked rice because this stimulates the growth of Bacillus cereus.
Reheating foods to 75 deg C or until steaming hot, as flash frying or brief rewarming is not adequate to destroy the toxin. (Please note)
Preventing cross-contamination from raw to cooked foods (by using separate preparation areas or sanitising between processes).
Thoroughly washing fruit and vegetables and rice with clean water of drinking standard (potable) before use.
Ensuring food handlers have good personal hygiene and adequate food safety training.

Try these links

Food Standards Agency (UK)
http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/asksam/keepingfoodsafe/asksamcooking/

http://www.food.gov.uk/ Just search on keywords Baccillus Cereus and Rice

quote: And that is:- if it tastes and smells good, then it's OK

A very dangerous assumption, you will not know in any way the rice is not fit for consumption.

Anyway I hope this clarifies.  And please everyone don't lets have another episode as before.    : :-[ ;D Everyone has a personal choice. 

I will say however that if you ever suffer from the effects of BC you will never take risks with cooking rice; I know I have been there and hospitalised  (not my cooking  :  I think it was that BIR in Bedford  ). 

One last point; if you are taking any medicines for reflux or severe indigestion (not Rennies and the like) you are at greater risk.

CP

[haldi]

Thanks CP.
I will take more care with rice.
I cook pillau rice quite a bit ,and have found myself, looking closely at the spices.
They don't always look that clean.
The bay leaves, for instance, look decidely dodgy.
They have bits missing, dark blotches, uneven colours with the underside coated with what might be mould.

If you think about the origin of these spices, they can't be hygenic.
Birds live in bay leaf trees and they are dirty!
When we use cinnamon, that is the bark of a tree.
Who knows what has been on that!
Animals mark their territory, don't they?
I hope they use the bark from high up.
What about the cardamon pods, are they harvested from the tree or the ground?
How well are they cleaned?
All in all, we are doing very strange things, to some unusual ingredients!
Having said that, they do making very tasty meals.

[Chilli Prawn]

Absolutely and well thought out.  I am sorry to say this but pulses (dhall etc.,) are nearly as risky as rice (2nd on the H&H list of risks I think).  Spices are better bought whole and grind them yourself, but in the end as long as you cook your stuff at 80C or above you should be safe.  Anyway, many great minds on this Forum have debated this for long threads, and I respect their opinions; do your own thing just keep the risks in mind.

CP

[CurryLover_NZ]

Just thought I'd add that I cooked this rice last weekend as a trial for a Christmas Curry night for our 'pommy' friends. Fast froze it and blitzed it tonight in the microwave. It came out perfectly -
looked absolutely brill - and no stodge!

P.S. Ate it with Darth's Madras (again). Knocked up another huge batch of base too :-)

[Mark J]

I tried this recipe last night but by absorption, came out good.

If you want to try it by absorption I would suggest as the rice has been soaked thoroughly dont stick to the normal 2:1 water to rice, I would go 3:2.

I did 20 fl oz of rice with 40 fl oz of water and it was a bit too much water, dried off fine in the oven afterwards though.

Also I only used 0.5 tsp of salt and 1 dsp of sugar, as you arent pouring the water you need less salt and definitely less sugar I would say.

[Cory Ander]

Hi CLNZ and Mark, 

Thanks for taking the time and effort to try this recipe.  Glad to hear it came out fine for you!

I would just like to add/clarify a couple of points:

• the point of this method (i.e. cooking the rice in excess water and draining) is that is is far easier to control than the absorption method.  The absorption method is fundamentally different in that it requires a defined amount of water to be used and careful cooking....hence the difficulty some will experience with the method and the results
• in this method, the rice has been "RINSED" thoroughly rather than "SOAKED" thoroughly.  However, if I cook the rice by the absorption method, I use 500g of rice and 800ml of water.  Again, I think it is preferable to use too little water than too much water
• 0.5tsp of salt is twice the amount of salt that the recipe calls for...hence more rather than less salt
• I also reduce the amount of sugar to 2 tsp (i.e. 1 desertspoon), if I cook the rice by the absorption method

I will post the recipe, for cooking basmati rice by the absorption method, shortly

Happy Christmas and New Year to all! 

Oh! And Happy Birthday to cr0.co.uk too! 

[Mark J]

Hi Mate

Yes sorry meant rinsed, agree too little water is way preferable when doign absorption than too much. With regard salt I thoguht your recipe didnt have enough 

Absorption is definitely trickier until you have a tried and trusted method, but IMHO it is the only way to cook pilau rice as you dont lose flavour.

cheers and happy Xmas

• the point of this method (i.e. cooking the rice in excess water and draining) is that is is far easier to control than the absorption method.  The absorption method is fundamentally different in that it requires a defined amount of water to be used and careful cooking....hence the difficulty some will experience with the method and the results
• in this method, the rice has been "RINSED" thoroughly rather than "SOAKED" thoroughly.  However, if I cook the rice by the absorption method, I use 500g of rice and 800ml of water.  Again, I think it is preferable to use too little water than too much water
• 0.5tsp of salt is twice the amount of salt that the recipe calls for...hence more rather than less salt
• I also reduce the amount of sugar to 2 tsp (i.e. 1 desertspoon), if I cook the rice by the absorption method

I will post the recipe, for cooking basmati rice by the absorption method, shortly

Happy Christmas and New Year to all! 

Oh! And Happy Birthday to cr0.co.uk too! 

[Cory Ander]

Hi All,

I've now added instructions for making Plain Boiled Basmati Rice (see note 10) and Pilau Rice Cooked by Absorption (see note 11).

The absorption method should produce a slightly tastier rice but is more difficult to control.

Regards,