Wear-Ever Rice Steamer

[tomturbomatic]

I guess this will mostly be for members in the south where rice was almost a staple. Does anyone remember or actually have one of these? There was an outer pot of maybe 4 quarts with a solid inset pan, like a double boiler except that around the top there was a modest rim with some holes in it. The cover sat in the rim of the outer pot. We used to sell these in the housewares dept. and older women thought that they were an indispensible cooking utensil. I have not seen one in decades and do not know if they are made any longer.

In 1955, our next door neighbor boiled rice in a large pot of water and drained it. When I finally switched mom from Minute rice to real rice, we just used the standard recipe of about 2 cups of water to one cup of rice, but we did not use any kind of steamer so I am curious about the use of this pan. I imagine that Hans knows of this.

 

[launderess]

Due To Recent Concerns Regarding Arsenic In Some Foods

Including apparently many brands of rice Consumer Reports recommends cooking rice via the boil and drain method. However no one we know including every single family member from the South cooks rice that way. Rather it is the standard 2:1 ratio of water to rice and cooked until water is absorbed.

Rice steamers apparently are very big in many Asian countries and the craze landed on US and other shores as immigration patterns and other factors spread the trend. One thing electric rice steams have over cooking on the range top is the best machines do a fairly accurate job of knowing when all the water is gone/rice is ready. One supposes this puts an end burnt rice with all the pot clean up problems that brings.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I guess over cooked/scorched rice is more of a problem with people who do not use minute timers in the kitchen to time cooking operations. One of my induction cookers has a shut off timer as do many others.

 

[kenb]

I've been using a rice cooker for 30+ years, it is one of the few near "unitask" appliances I have in my kitchen

 

[tomturbomatic]

A lot of domestic rice is grown in LA & TX. Arsenic was one of the components of the dispersant sprayed on the oil from the BP well explosion. There were warnings that it would contaminate sea creatures and crops. Looks like maybe that is happening. Maybe I will start boiling rice and rinsing it afterwards. When we poison the land and water we poison ourselves. What a mess.

 

[fester]

Rice doesn't grow well in salt water. It had to come from somewhere else. Fertilizer or pesticide? maybe. Something from the drying and storage process? Perhaps. But dispersant from Deepwater Horizon making it inland into rice fields? HMMMMMM. Doesn't sound right.

FEster

 

[akronman]

Here's one

Mine is a Comet Rice cooker, found at some estate sale years ago for maybe $1.
Before this, I never got rice right, now it's perfect every time.
It sounds just like your Wear-Ever, maybe same manufacturer but Comet was private labeled for the rice producer?

 

[akronman]

innards

it's very similar to a double boiler but has these holes for steam to get from the base into the cooking section. 2 cups water to one cup rice, about 50 minutes on low flame.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Mark, Thank you very much. So sorta like a double boiler. I was told that boiling water went in the top with the rice. Do you do that? That probably speeded up the cooking. When my mom made regular oatmeal, she used the pretty white porcelain double boiler and brought the oatmeal and water to a boil in the top and the water to a boil in the bottom before putting the pans together.

 

[washerboy]

rice is one our cash crops in arkansas...and yes if you're feeding a family you can expect rice or potatos to be on the table every dinner time.. my step mother still farms 1200 acres of rice..she makes things out of rice you wouldn't beleive.... nor do you want to eat..we used to get rice in 50 lb bags from the rice mill.. and it lasted for several months..now I just buy a bag at the grocery. I've never used a rice steamer and didn't know there was such a thing that could be used on the stove top. I don't know anyone who has the electric rice steamer. 2 parts water to 1 part rice..bring the water to a boil, add the rice, give a good stir, cover pot and turn to low heat..20 minutes latter perfect rice...no peaking..if you take the lid off before the 20 minutes is up you'll have gummy rice.

 

[appnut]

however no one we know including every single family member

That's basically how my mom cooked rice and so do I most of the time.  My mom may have learned that from my paternal grandmother who was from Louisiana. 

 

[akronman]

Comet rice cooker

I found Comet instructions on the web ages ago----2 cups tap water to one cup rice in the top, about a cup in the bottom, bring to a boil then reduce to low flame for 45 minutes to an hour. Maybe boiling water in the top would speed things up, true, but this recipe has worked for me for ages.

 

[tomturbomatic]

The arsenic sprayed in the dispersant was thought to migrate to the land through air currents and rainfall. The dispersant was volatile since it contained solvents and evaporated carrying the chemicals with it according to one school of thought. Thus the rice does not have to have contact with saltwater to pick up the arsenic.

 

[brisnat81]

We've given away the rice cooker. Our Panasonic Microwave has an auto rice program.

1 cup of rice to 1.5 cups of water.
Auto program 6 and you end up with perfect rice each time.

If I'm making big batches, I can do 5 cups of raw rice at a time and still get perfect results.

The best part is, a bowl (For small batches) fits much better in the dishwasher, than a bulky Rice cooker insert.

 

[Iowegian]

@washerboy:

"2 parts water to 1 part rice..bring the water to a boil, add the rice, give a good stir, cover pot and turn to low heat..20 minutes latter perfect rice...no peaking..if you take the lid off before the 20 minutes is up you'll have gummy rice."

Yep. No need for a fancy rice cooker, your method works every time.

Got any good pickle recipes? AR is pretty famous for pickling cucumbers...

 

[joe_in_philly]

I usually make 5 cups of rice 2 or 3 times a week, always in a rice cooker. It makes perfect rice every time. That is enough for dinner, and about 3 single serve containers of rice that are frozen. My partner, who would be happy eating rice at every meal, can just microwave the rice when he wants and it is as good as fresh made. Most of the time I make Haiga rice, which has the bran layer milled off, but retains the germ layer. It tastes similar to white rice, can be cooked on the faster white rice cycle, yet is more nutritious. I think it is a good compromise between the taste of white rice and the nutrition of brown rice.

I recently polled my Asian friends, and not one knew how to make rice on the stove, some arguing that it probably wasn't even possible. They all use rice cookers, and each grew up with a mother who used a rice cooker. To be fair, if you eat rice at all meals, a good rice cooker which can hold the cooked rice at the correct temperature and moisture level all day is pretty much a necessity.

I have an inexpensive Aroma 10 cup cooker, and it makes excellent rice. I have this exact model, and paid less than $40 for it at BJ's Club. It is computer controlled, and does a better job than the simpler mechanical/thermostat controlled single switch model it replaced.

http://www.amazon.com/Aroma-ARC-960SB-10-Cup-Sensor-Steamer/dp/B001A2E4YK