How Long To Cook Brown Rice (And Why)?

 Exact Answer: 45 minutes

The time taken to completely cook brown rice if the appropriate water to rice ratio, such as 2 cups of water for one cup of brown rice will be 45 minutes. Brown rice grains have a tough shell that provides nourishment (the bran layer that is removed for white rice). This is more difficult to cook and takes longer.

First of all, boil the water under a high flame. After the water gets boiled completely lower the heat and close the lid. Then cook the rice for around 45 minutes till it softens and the whole water is absorbed.

How Long To Cook Brown Rice?

One cup of brown rice would be enough for a regular serving. To cook this much rice, a saucepan of medium size with a heavy and bulky bottom is required. It should also have a tight and fitting lid over the top.

The appropriate amount of water to be added is 1 3/4 cups. Bring the liquid to a boil, then mix with a wooden spoon to combine everything, then cover the pot securely and decrease the heat to avoid overheating and boiling. Preheat oven to 400°F and cook for 40 to 50 minutes.

Cooking time varies depending on the type of rice you’re using, the weight of your cover, and other factors. A thicker cover traps more liquid, lengthening the cooking time.

Brown rice is more prone to burning at the bottom of the pan because it spends a long time over the heat. Cooking it in the oven rather than on the stovetop is one way to avoid this.

A pot that can be used in the oven as well as on the cooktop is required for this method. The rice and water or stock (1 and 1 3/4 cups respectively) amounts remain the same—Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Because the heat is distributed throughout the pot rather than coming directly from below, the rice cooks more evenly and doesn’t burn or stick to the bottom.

As you can cook brown rice in a pan on the stove or even in the microwave, a rice cooker is a more convenient and hands-off option. On the “regular” setting in a Nationally branded rice cooker, one cup of brown rice takes about 45 minutes to an hour to achieve perfectly cooked brown rice.

In Summary:

Why Does It Take This Long For Brown Rice To Cook?

Brown rice is indeed a healthier option than regular white rice, but that it requires somewhat longer to prepare and requires a little more water content for the same. Brown rice is a less-processed variety of rice that still has the outer coat of bran on the grains. Brown rice cooks slower because of its outer layer.

Brown rice cooking time was lowered from 23 to 23.6 minutes to less than 7 minutes in QCR. Brown rice was cooked quickly at 72, 80, and 88 degrees Celsius.

More water is needed because of the extra time it takes, largely to account for greater evaporation owing to the extended cooking time. Open the lid and check if the whole water used is absorbed; there are chances that a small amount of water might remain at the bottom which is totally fine, but if there is more than a tablespoon of water, it must be drained out. The rice should be chewy and tender at this point, and no longer crunchy.

Conclusion

Brown rice requires a longer cooking time than white rice, around 30-35 minutes. The key is to simmer it for the majority of the time, then leave it covered for the last 5-10 minutes to absorb the water away from the heat, resulting in light, perfectly soft grains every time.

Brown rice should be rinsed before being added to a pot of boiling water. Cook the rice for 30 minutes, partially covered. Drain the rice, turn off the stove, and put it back in the pot. Cover the pot tightly with a lid to keep the steam cooking for another 20 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

One-part brown rice to six parts water gives three parts cooked rice in the basic ratio. To create a little steam, only 1/4 cup or less of water is required. Cook the rice for another 5 minutes on low heat with the lid on.

References

1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030881461930278X
2. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11947-013-1217-2