What to look for when buying rice - any tips

[JerryM]

i spent probably a good 1 hr around the rice in the Asian Superstore in Bolton this week. after much discussion the Lubna was just pipped by Kohinoor.

the packet is much the same as most giving no usefull information. the grain size @almost 8mm confirms it to be super basmati. needless to say this was bought on the owner's recommendation (the lady who suggested the zebra being her No2) and it does not disappoint. at 16? per 10kg it's not cheap. the only problem is that i'll have to buy a bag of 2nd tier rice as the kohinoor is too good to waste.

[JerryM]

this kohinoor is so good i've had to buy a tier 2 to use when i don't need the top notch stuff.

this stuff is real good - quite amazing though the price difference between tier 1 and 2 - ~?16 for 10kg of the kohinoor and ?18 for 20kg of the Salaam.

been well impressed with the Salaam so far - made pillau rice with it - very nice.

[Malc.]

Jerry,

Have you had any experience with Kohinoor Gold XL Basmati? I have managed to get a 5kg from Tesco for 9.99.

It looks quite like the picture of the Shahmir you posted and says 'aged to perfection' on the front. I haven't tried it yet as I am still using up what I have left.

I would be very interested to hear on your opinion of the rice itself and the price I paid.

Cheers.

[Malc.]

Jerry, in the interim, I decided I couldn't wait and tried this rice tonight. I was surprised by the results which were mixed. I soaked the rice for an hour which is where I think I went wrong, but i'll come to this.

After the soak and rinse I then added it to a boiling pan of water. The packet says ten minutes on a medium heat, but I found the rice cooked in only 5. The grain wasn't starchy and didn't stick together but amazingly it had doubled in length. I certainly wasn't expecting this, they were huge.

The taste was a little bland and I love rice. It just seemed to miss that umph. That said, it was by far the lightest rice I have every tried and I mean light.

Overall, I think I killed it by soaking it too long. I will try again by paying more attention to the instruction given. :

I just hope it's ok as I have another 5 Kilos of it!! lol

[JerryM]

Axe,

i rate the Kohinoor v.much although i've not come across the gold u refer to. the cost is high. u need to drop tesco and go Asian store for purchasing rice.

i am convinced too that soaking is not a good idea. rinsing to remove the starch yes. on the kohinoor i actually don't bother to rinse - mine is good enough.

i aim for a uncooked grain length of >7mm - this ensures aroma is present. there are 3 types of the real good basmati of which one type IRRI-90 does not have aroma. the super basmati and PK385 do. the problem is that u can't cross match the variety to the brand.

i'd add that there is a tendency to become too obsessed with the quality and miss the obvious - the cooking - recently i've found by the rinsing the salaam (0.5 price of kohinoor) i'm getting perfectly acceptable quality.

[Malc.]

Thanks Jerry.

I still can't get over how much the grain actually increased in length, it quite literally doubled.

I will try as you suggest and simply rinse next time. It's almost like the flavour was washed out during the soak. Another thing I noticed is that the grain was soft after the soak.

[JerryM]

Thanks Jerry.

I still can't get over how much the grain actually increased in length,

Another thing I noticed is that the grain was soft after the soak.

Axe,

it's the characteristic of the top notch stuff - as u say quite amazing.

with this good stuff it don't need that much cooking and if u get it too soft then the eat quality deteriorates significantly - rice pud.

[Malc.]

Interesting and reassuring to hear it is the right calibre so to speak.

The packaging offers 3 cooking techniques which I shall try to start with and i'll go from there I think. All require the rice to be soaked for 20-30 mins but I will go with your advice and try simply washed.

Method 1 is open pan and is 10mins in boiling water.
Method 2 is closed pan with 1.75 the volume of water with low heat and rest
Method 3 is microwaved with 1.75 times the volume of water and 300g of the rice.

Should prove interesting.

How do you find the better quality rice holds up when making flavoured rice such as Pilau?

[JerryM]

Axe,

i use method 2 and 1.6 the volume for plain rice (for none curry).

i use method 1 and 3 to 4 mins for pilau. for pilau we use only cheap rice.

[Razor]

Hi Guy's.

Interesting reading.

I'll be completely honest, I will cook with any old rice, be-it Tilda, or Asda's own.

I always follow my trusted method:

1), Rinse rice really well, under warm running water, until the water runs clear.

2), Allow rice to dry completely (very important, if not, the rice will have too much water content, and the cooking times with be wrong.

3), If using my rice cooker, I use a 2:3 ratio, if using the boil method, I just add plenty of water and boil until, nearly done, drain, and put back in the pan, off the heat. The residual heat will finish the rice off perfect.

4), I sometimes add a small nob of butter and stir through with a fork.

I have used this method on really crap rice, and the good stuff too, with no real discernible differences.  As long as the "eat quality" is good, once its mixed up with the sauce, I can never really tell the difference!

Ray