Uncle Ben's Rice

[Jenise]

Thumbing through Joseph Carey's book the other day, I noticed that nearly all (if not every single one) of Chef's rice recipes called for "converted rice"--no brand name mentioned for obvious reasons, but of course he's talking about big Ben. I was actually surprised by that, thinking Uncle Ben's a product one wouldn't find in most professional kitchens. Maybe it's a southern thing? Nonetheless, Uncle Ben's was a staple in the later years of my childhood home. The only non-converted rice I knew was the gloriously starchy white rice I loved at Chinese restaurants and which, because it was scarcer in my life, I preferred. As soon as I was out on my own I left Uncle Ben's behind for good.

So a few nights ago Bob and I went camping, a spur of the moment thing because we had to take Fritz to a place in Canada about 80 miles from here for a minor warranty fix that ended up taking most of the day, and since we were only half an hour away at that point from some grand remote Canadian camping and it was such a warm and lovely day, we decided to turn work into play by staying out.

But I hadn't stocked the fridge or pantry. Didn't even have oil or herbs/spices.

So we left Chilliwack on the Kuckaluck Road and headed for Aggasiz (don't you love these names?!) and stopped at a rather woeful little market wherein the lighting was so bad all the meats looked green. They probably weren't, but I was so put off that I quickly switched into VeggieVille thinking, looking for something like a rice mix that would provide some complex background notes to a mushroom, green onion and broccoli pilaf to pair with a fresh tomato salad, as I'd already chosen those vegetables. There weren't many options, but one of the five they did have was an Uncle Ben's mix called Roast Chicken and Wild Rice. I don't use mixes so was without prejudice, but it had twice the rice in it than a box of cheap-cost, cheap-flavor Rice-a-Roni for about the same price so I went with Ben.

Dinner, with a local gamay from Chaberton winery in Surrey (Bill Spohn--this was pretty good!) that we picked up in a liquor store along the way (along with a bag of ice, I'm a warm-state American and I cannot survive 24 hours without ice), was great. I had especially forgotten Uncle Ben's distinct flavor and texture, and it was a much more welcome reunion than I thought it would be.

It also unlocked a key. When I was 11 years old, I went to dinner at the home of a friend and her mom made Curry Rice from a mix made by Reese's brand (they of jarred grape leaves and other Mediterranean things, not the peanut butter cups). I had never tasted curry flavor before except for the horrible thing my mother made out of leftover Thanksgiving turkey and gravy, which she combined and simply added a mild dose of curry powder to. I recognized the rice mix. The brand was Reese's, it came in a thick clear snug-fitting bag, and was stocked at our Alpha Beta in the special "Gourmet Section" that, and I laugh as I look back on it, was about the size of an average guest-bedroom closet. In conservative Whittier, California, it was still a Betty Crocker world. Anyway, the rice was an epiphany, I had never tasted anything so good and thereafter we too bought that special rice mix. Later on Reese's rice mixes disappeared, but the memory remained and I tried re-creating that rice. A masala curry powder and some dried bits of porcini mushroom were obviously both essential players, but they only kind of got in the zone--something else was missing.

Decades later up in the woods of Sasquatch Regional Park, two days ago, where the only sounds I heard all night besides what we made were the sound of a raven's wings and the distant snap of an axe cutting wood for someone else's campfire, I realized why. The rice. It has to be Uncle Ben's. That--that whatever it is flavor that is unique to Uncle Ben's--was the foundation for that curry rice.

Gonna get me some.

My mother-in-law in Germany is a pretty good cook, although these days she doesn't necessarily have the patience to do things 'from scratch' all the time, and her pantry is full of Uncle Ben's. First time I had ever (to my knowledge) tasted the stuff. It's not horrible, seems a little 'glossy' in texture, although I can't say I have felt compelled to buy it for myself. Although I guess your mix is a slightly different story.

I, too, grew up with Uncle Ben's. Cooking for myself I use raw Basmati or jasmine rice usually. If nothing else, it cooks quicker (15 minutes then 3 minutes resting vs. 25 minutes for parboiled rice) and better suits Indian, Thai, and Chinese cooking. My one exception is for jambalayas and other Cajun/Creole rice dishes. They just come out better in both texture and flavor with parboiled rice such as Uncle Ben's. I think this is why both Paul Prudhomme and Joseph Carey call for them in Louisiana-style recipes.

-Paul W.

[Robin Garr]

I always thought as you did, Jenise. If it's quick-cooking, it must be a compromise with quality.

When I got into the food-writing business back in the '80s, though, I quickly discovered that the vast majority of professional kitchens and trained chefs prefer converted rice for a couple of reasons: Unlike "instant" rice, converted rice doesn't lose quality significantly. It's quicker, making it desirable for restaurant cooking a la minute. And it supposedly is more nutritious than long-grain because somehow in the processing the grains take up nutrients. I'll have to dig deeper on that one.

Anyway, the long and short of it is that I like to use "real" rice in cooking at home - long-grain for Cajun/Creole and French, Arborio and its cousins for risotto, basmati for Indian, etc., just because. But if I were in a restaurant I'd seriously consider converted as a practical option that doesn't significantly cut corners. (It also doesn't cost less, so it's not a budget-driven choice.)

I'm sure Joseph uses it, and Prudhomme, too, but that's not surprising. It's just about universal in the biz.

Must be the apocalypse!

I thought I read Jenise saying she used Uncle Ben's.

Note to self - next time she comes to dinner, make sure to haul out the Foie Gras Helper!

Lovely taste memory Jenise .

I keep Uncle Ben's on the shelf for specific use. I most often use it to make an easy, quick saffron or yellow rice to go with fish, and always to make jambalaya. I have had my share of gummy jambalaya in my life, and Uncle Ben's is fail-safe in that regard.

I have never in my life used Uncle Ben's, although I've considered it when looking at Prudhomme recipes. I've not had a problem with jambalaya but I haven't made it all that often. I'll have to give the Uncle a try one of these days.

I'd always thought the "converted" part was that it had less starch to it, so wouldn't get soft and sticky and gummy when it was in okra stew and jambalaya and red beans n rice.

That's why my mother used it, anyway. Of course, back then we didn't have a whole lot of choices offered on rice on the grocery shelves.

http://www.agricultured.org/brown-white ... rted-rice/

The flavour is different, but not necessarily inferior to the other rices.

I don't know if anyone is going to find this story funny, but here goes: Many years ago, I was invited to a housemate's wedding. It was a sweltering hot day in August. We're all gussied up in our Sunday best, no air-conditioning in the church, and the limousine with the two mothers in it is late. So, of course, no ceremony dares begin until the mother of the groom and the mother of the bride arrive....

So, we're all just standing around, sweltering, holding hands full of rice to throw at the happy couple. Converted rice, as it happens. I would swear it was starting to cook in my palm.

Eventually, the limo arrives, everyone gets into their place, and the minister -- a dear and longtime friend of the family -- gets up and begins the service. His name? Gerry Cohen, a Jew who, um, er, converted to Christianity.

We felt very connected.

Converted rice is not common here and I too looked at it and though hohum not for me. I may give it a try.
Jenise now you've got me yearning to get out in our little motorhome! and BTW I see you lived once in Whittier, California, is that the same place MFK Fisher grew up? If so
there must be something in the air that brings out the "foodist" in people.

Converted (parboiled) rice is not a time-saver. For me it takes 10 minutes longer to cook than does plain white rice.

Regarding extra nutrition, part of the parboiling process involves soaking in cold water. If you added B vitamins (which are water soluble) to the soaking water, the rice will absorb some of them and thus have more B vitamin content than plain white rice (the B vitamins in rice are in the hull, which is polished off to make white rice).

Again, I just prefer the texture and shape to the other rices I use regularly (basmati and jasmine) in jambalayas and as accompiments to other Cajun and Creole dishes.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Converted rice is not common here and I too looked at it and though hohum not for me. I may give it a try.
Jenise now you've got me yearning to get out in our little motorhome! and BTW I see you lived once in Whittier, California, is that the same place MFK Fisher grew up? If so
there must be something in the air that brings out the "foodist" in people.

If MFK is from there I'm unaware!, but it's named for the poet John Greenleaf Whittier and its most famous home-towner is Richard Nixon. You have a little motorhome too? Ours is teeny tiny, but we like it that way--very portable. It can go anywhere.

[Jenise]

Converted (parboiled) rice is not a time-saver. For me it takes 10 minutes longer to cook than does plain white rice.

Interesting! I cook basically all rice about the same way. I simmer it on low for about 10-15 minutes then fluff it with a fork and allow steam to escape, then set it off the fire covered for another 5-10, whereupon it releases from the sides of the pan which it will have been sticking to in the initial cooking. Then I take the lid off so that the rice can cool--evaporation collapses the grain and it becomes a bit more dense/chewy and intensely flavored. I may spread it to accelerate cooling. Uncle Ben's got no different treatment from me; however, it is much less inclined to stick to the sides of the pan in the same way that each kernel is less likely to stick to another and of course, that's why it works so well in a jamabalaya.

FWIW, when I was cooking in Europe, sometimes parbo rice was the only rice available, and I didn't care for the parbos at all--they were not generally as good as I remembered Uncle Ben's being.

[Jenise]

I don't know if anyone is going to find this story funny, but here goes: Many years ago, I was invited to a housemate's wedding. It was a sweltering hot day in August. We're all gussied up in our Sunday best, no air-conditioning in the church, and the limousine with the two mothers in it is late. So, of course, no ceremony dares begin until the mother of the groom and the mother of the bride arrive....

So, we're all just standing around, sweltering, holding hands full of rice to throw at the happy couple. Converted rice, as it happens. I would swear it was starting to cook in my palm.

Eventually, the limo arrives, everyone gets into their place, and the minister -- a dear and longtime friend of the family -- gets up and begins the service. His name? Gerry Cohen, a Jew who, um, er, converted to Christianity.

We felt very connected.

I laughed!

I laughed!

You're very gracious.

So, tell me more about how you cook rice: I read above (I think): 15 minutes at the boil, then fluff, sit for 10 minutes more lid on, then ready to serve?

That is way less time than I use, but I'm not very happy with my results.

Also, I am often cooking a mix of brown basmati and wild rice and I think their cooking times vary quite a bit.

So... my ears are open. Learn me something, please.

Jeff,

Both brown rice and wild rice take significantly longer to cook than white rice. The husks mean it takes longer for the water to penetrate the grains.

I cook rice by placing it in a saucepan with cold water, bringing it to a boil, stirring, then covering the pan and reducing the heat to low. After the cooking period, I take the pan off the heat and let it sit five minutes before serving.

Using this method, white basmati and jasmine rice have a 1:1.5 ratio of rice to water and the cooking period is 15 minutes. Uncle Ben's Converted rice has a 1:2.5 ratio of rice to water and the cooking period is 25 minutes.

My Indian cookbooks specify a (to me) unusual procedure for pullaus (pilafs). They recommend soaking the basmati rice in its water for 1/2 hour before starting the cooking. I've done it this way and it works. I use aged basmati rice; new crop basmati might not tolerate the soak--I don't know.

-Paul W.

Great story, Jenise!

When I was in middle school, I came home nearly every day and made myself a cup of Minute Rice. I would load it with butter and salt and eat the whole thing. I still like my rice that way....buttery...but just when I want it on its own. I don't remember having Uncle Ben's, but I'm going to try it for that special something that you found.

I recently bought a rice cooker after all of my Asian friends berated me for cooking my rice. I have to say, for plain white rice, it works pretty well, and since I don't have to keep my eye on it, I can be preparing something else. For specialty rices--my wife makes a cilantro infused that is delicious and another that we call Costa Rican rice that is flavored/colored with achiote--the rice cooker is of no help.

Interesting, too, Jenise, how you make your rice. Using a little less than 2x water to rice, I boil the rice rapidly until the water level is down to just slightly above rice level or the rice has puffed up so that leveling has occurred. That takes maybe takes 7-8 minutes? Then I cover the pot, and lower the heat to a simmer for about another 12 minutes. I don't open the lid yet, but let it sit a bit, and only then do I fluff the rice. It's never sticky.

[Jenise]

When I was in middle school, I came home nearly every day and made myself a cup of Minute Rice. I would load it with butter and salt and eat the whole thing. I still like my rice that way....buttery...but just when I want it on its own. I don't remember having Uncle Ben's, but I'm going to try it for that special something that you found.

You and I share a past. My mom bought Minute Rice too, and as a kid I would often make a portion for myself for breakfast or lunch (I wouldn't eat sandwiches and didn't care for conventional breakfast food)--with butter, just like you.

Not sure if Uncle Ben's would taste special to you or not--do try it, but it resonates with me because of that curry connection. Oh, and btw, whatever that unique taste that Uncle Ben's has? Mushrooms work with it VERY well and the two together make an excellent rice for steak or beef dishes.

[Jenise]

Note to self - next time she comes to dinner, make sure to haul out the Foie Gras Helper!

You don't need Foie Gras Helper, you need Foie Gras Enabler!!!!

[Jenise]

I laughed!

You're very gracious.

So, tell me more about how you cook rice: I read above (I think): 15 minutes at the boil, then fluff, sit for 10 minutes more lid on, then ready to serve?

That is way less time than I use, but I'm not very happy with my results.

Also, I am often cooking a mix of brown basmati and wild rice and I think their cooking times vary quite a bit.

So... my ears are open. Learn me something, please.

Oh gosh. First of all, let me repeat that I like rice whose kernels are distinct and a little chewy. By chewy I don't mean firm in the middle like risotto, just chewy in being completely opposite of what you get when you cook 1 cup of rice in 2 cups of water for 30 minutes. That rice is, to my tastes, both overcooked and waterlogged. I don't care for that, and too I discovered long ago that I liked leftover reheated rice better than I did the rice when it was just-made--it had better texture when it cooled and firmed up and it maintained that improved texture in reheating. So what I do is an attempt to get closer to that texture on Day One.

So, water to rice ratio: it varies a bit depending on the rice. I cook brown rice in the pressure cooker so I'm not even talking about brown rice here, but my other three standard rices: jasmine, shortgrain Japanese, and basmati. The rice I use is always wet from just having been rinsed which brings water with it--I'll take extra care to drain well if I'm making a flavored rice, otherwise I don't worry. The approximate water ratios I use are 1:1 for basmati, shortgrain gets 1.25:1 and jasmine somewhere in between. If I'm making a flavored rice I typically saute the rice in a little oil first--the coating of fat lends impermeability to the exterior of the kernel and improves the finished texture. A flavored rice, in my book, could be cooked with broth and herbs or spices or be as simple as a good flavored olive oil, salt and thinly sliced cloves of garlic--that's a great combination for Spanish food.

The actual cooking: saute or not, add water, bring to a boil, put lid on. Let it boil for about one minute to build up max heat/steam inside, turn down to low, and cook for 15 minutes. Then remove lid, fluff with fork. Rice will stick to the inside of the pan at this point, but don't fret your pretty head about that. Taste to confirm rice is just done enough--some kernels on the top may have been barely finished but others underneath more so--no worries, this is fine, fluffing will have turned the less done kernels under. Then turn off the burner, put lid back on and let rice rest for another ten minutes without heat. During the rest, the rice will release and become ready to serve. I'm so anal about rice that at this point, if I'm not ready to serve and I often make rice earlier than the rest of the meal because I like what cooling brings to the game (see first paragraph), I'll usually spread the rice out on a silpat lined cookie sheet to stop further cooking and let retained moisture evaporate.

Sounds complicated but it's not. It's all easily accomplished while I'm doing whatever else I'm doing. I set the timer for the first 15 minutes and play the rest by ear--I never cook with recipes and am just feeling my way through the rest. Like with baking, each batch of rice seems to have the ability to be a bit different based on the weather and age of rice I'm using anyway.

Tip: a fun texture, if you're a fan of the way Persian rice sticks to the bottom of the pan, for instance, is to spread a flavored rice (cooked with some oil, this helps) on an silpat lined cookie sheet and roast in a hot oven (about 450) for around eight-ten minutes. The top layer will get a little crusty--WONDERFUL. You don't want every kernel to get that crust, but when mixed for service and some are and some aren't, it's magical.

Anyway, that's the best way I can explain what I do.

We've gone pretty much all the way on the Asian rice cooker. It's just so easy and clean and we get perfectly cooked rice every time. Don't use it for sticky rice, but for standard and long grain, it works like a charm...and as was said, we can spend the time doing other things.

Rice was a big part of our diet when I was a kid. It was cheap, you could buy it in bulk and it was a good "filler". Also lots of rice and bean/rice and Cajun recipes. Buttered rice was a standard for us too. Also handy to just add in chopped tomatoes and some spices, maybe some chopped onions and offer up as a side dish too.

When I spent a couple of years in the Western Pacific, that made me a total rice convert!

Jeff,

Both brown rice and wild rice take significantly longer to cook than white rice. The husks mean it takes longer for the water to penetrate the grains.

I cook rice by placing it in a saucepan with cold water, bringing it to a boil, stirring, then covering the pan and reducing the heat to low. After the cooking period, I take the pan off the heat and let it sit five minutes before serving.

Using this method, white basmati and jasmine rice have a 1:1.5 ratio of rice to water and the cooking period is 15 minutes. Uncle Ben's Converted rice has a 1:2.5 ratio of rice to water and the cooking period is 25 minutes.

My Indian cookbooks specify a (to me) unusual procedure for pullaus (pilafs). They recommend soaking the basmati rice in its water for 1/2 hour before starting the cooking. I've done it this way and it works. I use aged basmati rice; new crop basmati might not tolerate the soak--I don't know.

-Paul W.

Thank you, Paul. We only make brown and wild rice. The brown is often basmati but sometimes another long-grain kind.

My partner does the pre-soak all the time and I have never quite understood it: to me, it just starts the go-mushy process but, with no heat, there is no actual cooking getting done.


Jeff