How do you cook converted rice

For one, it has a longer cooking time than ordinary white rice, which makes it preferable for slow cooking as the rice won't turn soggy as quickly. It's also known for not sticking together quite as much as other types of rice. But perhaps even more enticing are the nutritional benefits of converted rice: Parboiling rice causes some of the nutrients normally found just in the bran, including several B vitamins and certain plant compounds with antioxidant properties, to absorb into the kernel so these nutrients don't go to waste.

Converted rice comes in a number of varieties including white rice, brown rice, and Basmati rice. But even white converted rice will look slightly brown in appearance, as it has absorbed some of the outer layer. You can find converted rice at most major supermarkets. It's also available online from popular producers like Uncle Ben's and Zatarain's.

Cooking parboiled rice is essentially the same as cooking most other types of rice. Use a water to rice ratio, just as you would other long-grain rice. You can easily substitute regular brown or white rice for converted rice, just keep in mind if you use white rice you won't be getting all the nutrients that you do with converted rice.

Couscous , farro , and quinoa all make excellent substitutes for converted rice as well. This rice is a great happy medium between different varieties because it offers a more subtle flavor than white rice as well as more of the original vitamins and minerals found in rice grains without the nutty flavor of whole grain brown rice.

While brown rice has a chewier texture, parboiled rice is firmer , but not as mild and delicate as white rice. So, now that you know all about this rice, how can you cook with it? Just like most other rice varieties, it can be cooked over the stove, in a rice cooker, Instant Pot or even in a microwave!

Poblano Strips with Cream and Parboiled Rice. Microwave ovens vary so cook times are approximate. When it's first harvested, the rice seed consists of four parts: the germ, which is the reproductive part of the plant, and the part with the most nutrients; the endosperm, or starchy portion, which comprises the white rice granule; the bran , which is the edible outer covering of the white rice; and the husk or hull, which is inedible, and is considered part of the chaff.

Usually when processing rice, after harvesting and drying, the rice has its hulls or husks removed. In this form, with its bran and germ still intact, it becomes brown rice. To make white rice requires additional steps: the brown rice is milled, to grind away the bran and the germ. It's then polished and packaged, sometimes after undergoing an enriching process which replaces some, though not all, of the nutrients, like iron and B vitamins, that were lost during the milling process.

Converted rice is made in a slightly different way. After drying, the whole rice grains are pressure cooked, with their hulls still on. This process forces some of the vitamins and minerals from the bran and germ, along with some of its color, into the starchy portion of the rice. The hulls are then removed and the grains are milled and polished in the usual way. The result is a slightly darker grain of rice, with more nutrients than normal white rice but fewer than brown rice.

It also has significantly less fiber than brown rice, since the fiber is derived mostly from the bran. Cooking converted rice is a matter of simmering it in a covered pot for 20 to 25 minutes, which is a bit longer than ordinary white rice, but much quicker than brown rice, which can take up to 40 minutes.

You'll notice that when cooked, converted rice grains remain quite separated from each other, with less stickiness than ordinary white rice. It has a slightly sharp aftertaste, and the grains are firmer, less fluffy, than ordinary white rice.