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Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

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Re: Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

#11

Post by sometimeshuman »

schwartzworld wrote: post #2

This is, as the kids say, cap. Popcorn works because the outer hull is strong enough to hold together until a critical mass of pressure builds inside to rupture it. At that point the starches, which have liquefied under pressure, explode and unliquify rather suddenly. White rice and pearled barley have their hulls removed. You can see in the picture that the barley has split, but not popped, and the rice just looks a…

Wether or not it is popped, is it ready to eat ? From a prepper perspective it would be great to have an alternative way to prepare rice without having to boil away water that might be in scarce supply. It's also attractive to cook rice in 2 minutes as opposed to waiting for a pot of water to boil.

Edit: If no one replies, I'll try tonight and report back by tomorrow morning.

Re: Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

#12

Post by engr »

pontifier wrote: post #7
adlpz wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've seen rice done in videos by (I believe?) heating them under pressure and then releasing the pressure suddenly, causing max puffage . An example: https://youtu.be/ZyJoqS__7O0

I've seen this device in videos before, I wonder why I never see them at like Farmers markets here in the US. They'd probably make a killing.

I think safety may have something to do with it, it's pretty much a bomb

Re: Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

#13

Post by VBprogrammer »

sometimeshuman wrote: post #11
schwartzworld wrote: post #2

This is, as the kids say, cap. Popcorn works because the outer hull is strong enough to hold together until a critical mass of pressure builds inside to rupture it. At that point the starches, which have liquefied under pressure, explode and unliquify rather suddenly. White rice and pearled barley have their hulls removed. You can see in the picture that the barley has split, but not popped, and the rice just looks a…

Wether or not it is popped, is it ready to eat ? From a prepper perspective it would be great to have an alternative way to prepare rice without having to boil away water that might be in scarce supply. It's also attractive to cook rice in 2 minutes as opposed to waiting for a pot of water to boil. Edit: If no one replies, I'll try tonight and report back by tomorrow morning.

Where do you live that water would be in that short supply? It only has to be a reasonably fresh and clear, not necessarily drinkable given it's going to be boiled for several minutes.

Re: Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

#14

Post by dmitryminkovsky »

schwartzworld wrote: post #2

This is, as the kids say, cap. Popcorn works because the outer hull is strong enough to hold together until a critical mass of pressure builds inside to rupture it. At that point the starches, which have liquefied under pressure, explode and unliquify rather suddenly. White rice and pearled barley have their hulls removed. You can see in the picture that the barley has split, but not popped, and the rice just looks a…

> White rice and pearled barley have their hulls removed.

I haven't read the article, but the title says "whole grains", which to my knowledge do not have the bran ("hull"?) removed. Maybe the corn hull is uniquely strong enough to withstand that inner pressure and pops the way it does? But as far as I know, a "whole grain" should have little-to-nothing removed from the seed.

Re: Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

#15

Post by ars »

schwartzworld wrote: post #2

This is, as the kids say, cap. Popcorn works because the outer hull is strong enough to hold together until a critical mass of pressure builds inside to rupture it. At that point the starches, which have liquefied under pressure, explode and unliquify rather suddenly. White rice and pearled barley have their hulls removed. You can see in the picture that the barley has split, but not popped, and the rice just looks a…

> Puffed rice and wheat are done in machines that lower the air pressure to create the same conditions as popcorn.

You mean raise the air pressure. They cook them at very high pressure, and then suddenly release the pressure and they all explode. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puffed_grain

Re: Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

#16

Post by MisterBastahrd »

I think most Americans are familiar with Sugar / Honey Smacks. These are created by placing wheat in a high pressure vessel and cooking the grain under pressure before suddenly releasing the pressure. The result is that the grain becomes "puffed" by expanding in size.

In Asia, there are street merchants who will throw grains into an iron vessel which is then closed and heated to create a similar pressure situation. When they release the pressure, there is an audible boom and the results is puffed grains.

Re: Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

#17

Post by borski »

dmitryminkovsky wrote: post #14
schwartzworld wrote: post #2

This is, as the kids say, cap. Popcorn works because the outer hull is strong enough to hold together until a critical mass of pressure builds inside to rupture it. At that point the starches, which have liquefied under pressure, explode and unliquify rather suddenly. White rice and pearled barley have their hulls removed. You can see in the picture that the barley has split, but not popped, and the rice just looks a…

> White rice and pearled barley have their hulls removed. I haven't read the article, but the title says "whole grains", which to my knowledge do not have the bran ("hull"?) removed. Maybe the corn hull is uniquely strong enough to withstand that inner pressure and pops the way it does? But as far as I know, a "whole grain" should have little-to-nothing removed from the seed.

The parent is right; not every single one the author tests is a whole grain, and they even talk about it in the article in the section about Arborio rice, for example.

Re: Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

#18

Post by imajoredinecon »

schwartzworld wrote: post #2

This is, as the kids say, cap. Popcorn works because the outer hull is strong enough to hold together until a critical mass of pressure builds inside to rupture it. At that point the starches, which have liquefied under pressure, explode and unliquify rather suddenly. White rice and pearled barley have their hulls removed. You can see in the picture that the barley has split, but not popped, and the rice just looks a…

> It is possible to pop some other grains like popcorn, but none of the ones listed here, at least not using the methodology described.

I didn't read the article as asserting that any of the grains popped like popcorn? There's a picture that makes this quite clear.

Re: Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

#19

Post by sasattack »

schwartzworld wrote: post #2

This is, as the kids say, cap. Popcorn works because the outer hull is strong enough to hold together until a critical mass of pressure builds inside to rupture it. At that point the starches, which have liquefied under pressure, explode and unliquify rather suddenly. White rice and pearled barley have their hulls removed. You can see in the picture that the barley has split, but not popped, and the rice just looks a…

edit: oh god never mind

Re: Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

#20

Post by jihadjihad »

Slightly OT, but one lesson I learned a while ago is that whole grains lend themselves well to similar cooking techniques. For example, I had first learned that farro tastes best if you toast it in the pan before adding water/stock--similar to couscous or quinoa.

What I didn't notice until later on is that you can do the same with oats! I now toast steel-cut oats in butter and then cook them like usual. Had never made the connection before that it's the same thing you do with farro, just a different grain.

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