How to Cook Brown Rice in a Rice Cooker

Rice is a versatile grain that anyone can appreciate. It’s an essential food staple for more than half of the world’s population and is grown in more than 110 countries. Brown rice is the whole grain version of white rice, which is milled to remove the bran and germ from the kernel. It contains all parts of the grain, nutrient-rich bran, fiber-rich germ, and durable endosperm. The fiber in brown rice helps facilitate digestion so you experience a gradual release of energy and nutrients, making it easier to manage your weight. It is best enjoyed and easier to prepare if you know how to cook brown rice in a rice cooker.

Varieties Of Brown Rice

Brown rice earned its name from its medium brown outer color, but it can actually be a shade of tan or yellow too. It has about 50% more fiber than white rice, which means you’ll be fuller for a long time after eating a meal that includes it. This species of rice also contains vitamin B, as well as some vitamin E, magnesium, and selenium. All these nutrients are an integral part of optimal thyroid function helping to keep your metabolism functioning at maximum capacity.

The following are the varieties of brown rice:

Long Grain

The most common brown rice, long-grain, is characterized by its chewy texture, nutty flavor, and golden-brown color. Long-grain brown rice is commonly used in rice pilaf, stuffings, and stir fry. The standard time for long-grain rice is 45 minutes.

Short Grain

Short grain brown rice consists of small kernels and has a sticky texture when cooked. It is best suited for rice puddings, risotto, and similar desserts because of its texture. It takes 25 minutes to cook after being soaked throughout the night.

Light Brown Rice

Brown rice is created when the bran, or outer layer, of the rice kernel, is removed. The result is a rice kernel that is milled to a slightly brown color, with a nutty flavor, less fiber, and takes half the time to cook as long-grain brown rice.

Medium Grain Brown Rice

Medium grain brown rice is large and plump, but not as large as the long grain which when cooked becomes tender. It can be a part of the soup, salad, and side dishes. This brown rice is soaked for at least 4 hours and cooked for 15 to 20 minutes.

Can You Cook Brown Rice In A Rice Cooker?

A rice cooker is made for the purpose of cooking only rice and needs no supervision once it’s set. This handy device does everything from cooking to keeping your rice warm for when you’re ready to serve dinner. The rice cooker has completely changed the way of cooking brown rice. Brown rice can take hours to cook, but the rice cooker cooks up to two cups of brown rice perfectly in 18 minutes. Plus, it’s extremely easy to clean and quiet while cooking. One can enjoy eating brown rice several times a week without going through the stress of cooking it on the stove-top.

How To Cook Brown Rice In A Rice Cooker

First and foremost, it is critical to note that, unlike white rice where you’ll need to add equal amounts of both rice and water, brown rice is entirely different. Kindly use the various calculated quantities of both rice and water below.

  • One cup of rice, add 1.5 cups of water
  • Two cups of rice, add three cups of water
  • Three cups of rice, add 4.5 cups of water

Cooking Procedure

Rinse the brown rice under cool water

Put the rice in a fine-mesh strainer and thoroughly rinse it under the cold running water for thirty seconds. Your strainer should feature very fine mesh since the gaps between the wires are extra-large, you may lose an enormous amount of your rice. However, most cooking experts do not recommend the rinsing process since it is deemed to be an outdated practice. This is simply a cleaning process and necessary if you believe that your rice was mishandled during the bulk storage.

Next, soak your rice for about forty minutes in hot water

Transfer your brown rice to the cooker and add the ideal amount of water to the basin, allowing it to soak and soften to the desired level. If you didn’t know, soaking is extremely beneficial because it reduces the stickiness of the cooked rice. Besides, it allows the rice to expand into relatively longer and thinner grains. You can now add some salt and stir the resulting mixture using a wooden mixing spoon to help distribute the salt evenly.

Turn your rice cooker on and set the timer

If your rice cooker has a brown rice setting, use that functionality. However, if it only has the timer, set it to thirty minutes. Close the cooker appropriately and check your rice after thirty minutes. If you realize that your rice still seems somehow tough, you can as well add little water and set the timer for another ten minutes.

Let your brown rice stand

After the timer shuts off, allow your cooked rice to settle for ten minutes. This helps the rice to absorb all the remaining moisture in the bowl and you can then serve your deliciously cooked brown rice.

The Bottom Line

This is the basic procedure of cooking brown rice using a rice cooker. However, it should be noted that rice cookers vary from model to model, and this implies that to prepare the best food, read and understand the instructions that come with your individual rice cooker.

What Is The Correct Brown Rice To Water Ratio For A Rice Cooker?

To properly cook brown rice, one must take cognizance of different measurements and weights for the variety of brown rice grains. It is required that one knows the ratio of water required in preparing any quantity of brown rice in order to achieve the best result. Most times, the scoop that comes with the rice cooker presents discrepancies in terms of size, posing a confusing measuring stand of about 14 grams if you run a test with two different scoops from different rice cookers.

Preferably, one can make use of the traditional dry scoop for measuring the rice and its equivalent water size. Also, you can make use of scale for the rice alone. This is when you are perfect with determining the quantity of water required.

  • 10 fluid ounces of water goes for every 1 dry cup of the short-grain variety of brown rice weighing (191 grams).
  • For every 10 fluid ounces of water, use it on 1 dry cup of the medium or long-grain variety of brown rice weighing (178 grams).

It is very important to note that the measurement above is based on 1 cup of the varieties of brown rice. Make your adjustments when adding to the quantity of the brown rice in order to achieve the same results.

Brown Rice To Rice Cooker Ratio: What Quantity Of Rice Do You Need For Your Size Of Rice Cooker?

Since there are different sizes of rice cookers, the brown rice to rice cooker ratio is determined by your need, the biggest size should be needful to large families. The Rice cooker comes in 10 cups, 7 cups, and 5 cups cooking capacity. Capacity is another important specification when considering a rice cooker. The size of the cooking pot that comes with a cooker can determine how much rice it can prepare at once. One cup capacity would be sufficient to cook only one cup, while a 10-cup capacity can produce about 10 cups of cooked rice.

Before getting ready to prepare your brown rice, always have in mind the quantity, take cognizance of the other parties that will join in the consumption, and measure with your measuring cup. This will give you better ground to decide the size of the rice cooker to go for.

How Long Does It Take To Cook Brown Rice In A Rice Cooker?

When using a standard rice cooker, turn the machine to normal and cook the brown rice for 45 minutes to an hour. This gives a soft and fluffy brown rice. Your machine’s manual may vary regarding cooking times, so you should follow the directions that come with it. Do not open your rice cooker during the cooking process. Only open it once the rice maker indicates that it is ready. Opening the lid will negatively affect the duration of cooking your brown rice.

After the brown rice has finished cooking in a rice cooker, let it sit for about five minutes before opening the lid. This will allow any excess moisture to absorb into the rice, giving you a plump, moist texture without having to drain off any of the flavored liquid.

Does The Time For Cooking Long Grain Brown Rice In A Rice Cooker Vary?

how to cook brown rice in a rice cooker

A lot of factors affect the time duration to prepare brown rice using a rice cooker. Some rice cooker models take a longer time than others. This may be as a result of the manufacturing process, while some model takes less than an hour and you have your brown rice ready. To some rice cookers, 2 cups of uncooked brown rice take approximately 30 minutes to get ready.

The best process is to make use of the normal standard cooking time specified in the rice cooker, to get your desired effect. It doesn’t work most times if one should reset the time for cooking the brown rice using the rice cooker.

How Long Does It Take To Cook Brown Basmati Rice In A Rice Cooker?

The brown basmati rice takes almost the normal time like brown rice only that the brown basmati rice needs to be soaked in water for 15 to 30 minutes before cooking with the rice cooker. The total cooking time for brown basmati rice is in the range of 15 to 40 minutes, with the soaking time inclusive. If one fails to soak the brown basmati rice in the water before cooking, it will take a longer time to cook, maybe about an hour and 30 minutes.

How Long Does It Take To Cook Brown Jasmine Rice In A Rice Cooker?

Jasmine rice doesn’t take much time to cook in the rice cooker like other varieties of rice. After washing with water, jasmine rice takes about 10 to 20 minutes to be ready. For some rice cookers, it can take a longer time. But in general terms, it doesn’t take Jasmine rice more than 25 minutes to be ready using the rice cooker.

How To Cook Short Grain Brown Rice In A Rice Cooker

The short-grain brown rice doesn’t take much time to be prepared using the rice cooker. The steps below can give you the perfect short grain brown rice prepared in a rice cooker.

  • Wash the rice with water to make sure all the starch and fiber are softened. It is advised to rinse out the water used in washing the rice in case it’s not handled in a hygienic manner before you bought it.
  • Pour the rice in the rice cooker and make sure to follow the normal water quantity depending on the quantity of rice you are cooking. For every 2 cups make use of 3 cups of water. This will be enough until the rice is fluffy enough. But if your rice quantity increase, know that 1 cup of rice means 1 and a half cups of water.
  • Press the cook button and allow it to cook for like 20 minutes to cook.
  • The rice will remain warm until you are ready to dish it out.

Is A Rice Cooker The Best Way To Cook Brown Rice or Are There Better Methods?

The rice cooker is a good way of cooking brown rice as it is very stress-free and fast. But some people are of the opinion that the rice cooker is not the best way of cooking brown rice to give the fluffy look and the required taste.

Below are other methods of cooking brown rice aside from the rice cooker:

Cooking Brown Rice With Stove

  • Add enough water to fill the pot an inch above the level of the brown rice, let it soak for at least 20 minutes, preferably 90 minutes or even all through the night.
  • After the first stage, pour out the water and have the rice in the cooking pot. Add fresh water to the rice and maintain the ratio of 2:2 which is for every 2 cups of rice add 2 cups of water. Or use the traditional method of adding water to be at the same level as the rice.
  • Close the pot with its cover and on the stove to a high degree. As the water starts boiling, reduce the heating level to a normal setting and always monitor the level of the water in the pot. Around 15 to 20 minutes will be perfect for the heat to absorb the water and get the rice ready.

Slow Cooker Method Of Cooking Brown Rice

  • Consider coating the bottom of the slow cooker with cooking spray. This prevents the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot. It is particularly an issue if your slow cooker pot is made of ceramic.
  • Now add your rice with the required water level, add salt, and cover with the pot lid.
  • After 2 hours, check the rice. Most of the water should be absorbed by now. Uncover the lid and give the rice a good stir. Cover the lid again and cook for another 30 minutes. This method ensures that the rice under and the ones on top get equal cooking levels.

Does Brown Rice Take Longer To Cook?

how to cook brown rice in a rice cooker

It is very clear that brown rice takes a long time to cook when you compare it with white rice or other varieties of rice. This is because of the fiber-coated body which is removed to have the white rice. This bran layer will have to undergo a heating process with water to soften it into the rice itself in order to get the brownish color.

How Long Does Cooked Brown Rice Last?

The extent to which cooked brown rice can stay depends on what one used in preserving the rice. Cooked brown rice can be preserved for four days in a refrigerator, as long as it is covered in a transparent container. With a freezer temperature of 0 degrees F or less, cooked brown rice can last indefinitely. Note, rice shouldn’t be allowed to stay at a room temperature longer than two hours.

Alexander Brown
Alexander Brown
Alexander Brown is an avid reader and aspiring writer who loves exploring the world of entertainment and lifestyle through her writing.

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