What do you do if your rice cooker is boiling over?
The more advanced rice cookers are designed for the
entire process to run completely on their own. The lid closes and locks, and
the product works so well that there isn’t even a glass lid on the top to
check on it – because you “know” that the rice will come out perfectly every
time.
But the less expensive rice cookers are not always
going to be quite so easy. Even the best ones run the risk of boiling over,
because they use glass lids that are not secured, so if the water starts to
boil over, the lid will pop up and sizzling hot water will spew all over
your kitchen. When this occurs often, there are several things you can do to
stop it.
Why Does it Boil Over?
Water can boil over inside your rice cooker for a
variety of different reasons. Some of these reasons include:
·
Too much water in the rice cooker.
·
Too much film on the rice.
·
Too much rice in the rice cooker.
The main reason, of course, is putting too much
water in the rice cooker. This can be a surprise for many people, because
they have performed the exact measurements inside the guide and it is still
boiling over. But there are a few things to note when it comes to these
measurements:
·
Many times the “cup” you get with a
rice cooker is not the right size. You may want to use your own cup sizes
separately.
·
Some rice cookers need slightly less
water than you would use normally. So rather than 2:1 water to rice ratio
for white rice, you may want to do a 3:2 ratio (1.5 cups to every cup of
rice), or somewhere in between.
·
A few products simply label their cup
capacity incorrectly. Cup sizes are supposed to be labeled in terms of the
amount of uncooked dry rice it can handle, but companies like Black & Decker
have erroneously labeled their rice cookers in terms of total rice after
cooking. If you have one of these models, you may be filling it up too much.
Cup measurement problems and overestimating the
size of your rice cooker are the main reasons that it will boil over.
Solutions for these are simple:
·
Lower the measurements of both rice and
water.
·
Try using slightly less water and
seeing if it turns out okay.
·
Clean your rice thoroughly before you
cook it.
Some people also support putting a little bit of
oil inside of the rice cooker before you start it, as that is thought to
reduce boiling.
In general, any boiling over problem you face is likely due to measurement errors. Some of these errors may not be your fault, like in the case of the strange cup sizes you get with your rice cooker. To adjust for this, simply lower the water amount slightly and perform all of your measurements with items that did not come with your rice cooker to ensure greater accuracy.
Useful Links:
http://www.fixya.com/support/t14145-rice_cooker_boil_over
http://www.seriouseats.com/talk/2009/01/will-a-touch-of-oil-keep-rice-water-from-boiling-over.html
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