One of the most common culinary debates has finally found an answer in the scientific world. For many, Wash rice before cooking or not Depending on the recipe, it’s an essential ritual. While others argue that this step is unnecessary. It is believed among chefs that when looking for loose rice, it is better to wash it, otherwise the starch will be lost.
Now a study by the “Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health” has clarified the problem. Have you ever noticed that the cloudy water dissolves when you rinse the rice? According to science, this is due to the elimination of materials stuck to the grain surface, not starch.
In countries like India or Pakistan It is common practice to wash basmati rice up to five times before cooking.. In countries such as China and Japan, low amylose rice is washed two to three times. In Spain the bomb rice for paella or in Italy the tree rice for risotto is not washed. It seems that it all depends on the recipe and the type of rice or texture you are looking for.
But, Does this process really affect the texture of the rice after cooking? The cited study, published in ScienceDirectpoints out that “the washing process does not significantly affect the hardness or stickiness of the cooked rice.”
In short, Washing rice does not change its consistency when cooking. Therefore, given two identical paellas, one made with washed rice and the other with unwashed rice, it would not be possible to distinguish which paella is which in terms of texture, regardless of the starch in the grain.
Washing the rice is useful to avoid grease and residue, but does not affect the cooking time.
Well, well, well The washing process can remove up to 80% of the fats stuck to the surface of the rice.. In fact, “materials that adhere to the surface of the raw rice grain do not contribute to the texture of cooked rice,” the study says.
So, There are other reasons besides texture why some people prefer to wash rice. B. reducing free fatty acids or avoiding unpleasant aromas. However, science has decided between loose and sticky rice only from the point of view: it is not necessary to wash the rice before cooking if you want to influence its texture.
