Monday, August 18, 2008

Rice and Cookers

Most of the time I've been here, I've made it my policy to always have at least a bowlful of warm rice ready. In theory, it's a great policy, but when combined with my air conditioner and electronics, it's too much power. Last month I went over my pre-allotted allowance by $10, so I'm going to try and cut back a little this month. I don't want to cut back a lot, since I'm paying for the rest of it anyway, but a little would be good.

Anyway, I still like to have some rice ready, but I don't leave the rice-cooker on it's "Preserve Warm" setting 24/7 anymore. In spite of that, the rice I made early yesterday morning (about 30 hours ago) still has some last vestiges of warmth in it.

So if you're wondering why Japanese rice cookers are so expensive...

Labels: ,

6 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

The heat is released as a normal part of decompostion.

7:54 PM GMT+9  
Blogger William said...

Maybe so, but the heat fades as one might expect, and the rice doesn't begin to show significant signs of decomposition for about a week, and only then if it's cool. The rice cooker keeps it just warm enough to discourage mold growth, I think.
The only sign I've noticed is that older rice is slightly sweeter than fresh rice, which seems like the complex carbohydrates being broken down into simple sugars. This takes about two days without the rice being kept warm.

8:07 PM GMT+9  
Blogger William said...

I may not have mentioned that my rice cooker has insulation. If you look at some of the earlier posts, you can find some pictures.

8:16 PM GMT+9  
Blogger thots about stuff said...

Be careful, because "just warm enough" might mean the perfect temperature for things you don't want growing in there to do so. I'm just thinking 30 hours in the cooker in a moist environment at just that temperature...hmmmm.

Anyway, I like your cool alien rice cooker. That's the way I think about it ever since I saw that first picture of it.

10:27 PM GMT+9  
Blogger Fishbulb said...

When the rice starts fermenting in the cooker, it's time to whip up a new batch...

Oh, and Discovery Channels MythBusters just showed that vodka is good for stopping the unwanted growing things. They used a spritzer bottle to spray the vodka on as an edible disinfectant.

1:33 AM GMT+9  
Blogger William said...

It's not at just the right temperature for eating. It's at the right temperature to stop mold. I have to wait for it to cool off before I can eat it.

9:50 AM GMT+9  

Post a Comment

<< Home