Rice

Preparation

1. Boiling over

   Step 1

   First, blow on the surface of the water. This will cool the water down enough so that it will stop boiling over. For a longer-term preventive, toss a lump of butter in the pot; it will flavor the rice pleasantly as well.

2. Burned

   Step 2

   As soon as you discover you’ve burned the rice again, turn off the flame, place the heel of a loaf of bread on top of the rice, cover the pot, and wait for 5 minutes. Virtually all the scorched taste should disappear into the bread. Serve the rice to friends and the bread to enemies.

3. Cold

   Step 3

   If you’re one of the few people around who doesn’t have a microwave, reheat your rice without overcooking it by putting it in either a big sieve or a colander and placing it over a pan of boiling or simmering water (depending on how cold it is and how fast you need it). Keep the rice from touching the water.

4. Not white enough

   Step 4

   Are you sure it isn’t brown rice? All right, just asking. Add 1 teaspoon lemon juice to the cooking water and the rice will turn a shade whiter.

5. Too much

   Step 5

   You can reheat leftover rice (see Cold), add it to soup, use it as a casserole ingredient, or combine it with custard to make a rice pudding. Or you could make something unusual

6. Uneven cooking

   Step 6

   When the rice at the bottom of the pot is cooked and the top of the pot is raw, it means too much steam is escaping. Give the rice a big stir, cover the pot either with foil or with a bath towel (be sure to fold the loose ends up over the top), replace the lid, and keep right on cooking.