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Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

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Re: Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

#51
post #6

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…

Perhaps puffed is a better word than popped. While it is true that puffed rice is currently made using large pressure swings, people online claim rice has been puffed using "hot salt frying" ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_salt_frying ) for hundreds of years ( https://nitter.net/whetstone_mag/status/1564282053025210368?... , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puffed_rice ) and supposedly there is a secondary source da…

> While it is true that puffed rice is currently made using large pressure swings, people online claim rice has been puffed using "hot salt frying"

Cook-and-then-fry (with various frying methods) seems to be the commonly-documented method for home puffed/popped rice.

Re: Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

#52
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

So, a pressure cooker would do?

Home pressure cookers tend to be safeguarded against instant release. Some models of the Instant Pot of an optional accelerated quick release using an ice pack, but its still much more gradual that what seems to be used for this purpose.

Re: Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

#53

Time to share my recipe for dry roasted pressure cooked brown rice. I make this using a stainless steel stovetop pressure cooker. I do not recommend aluminum. The ingredients are two cups brown rice (long or short grain as you wish), two cups of water or a little less (yes, the rice:water ratio is just 1:1), and half a teaspoon of salt or less. You can scale this up or down easily. Put the rice in the pressure cooker…

sounds a bit like a pilaf, but with less water for the final step. What is the final product like? normal rice or something else?

Re: Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

#54
post #49

Popped amaranth is my favorite. It's incredibly tiny, and fun to imagine being a giant eating popcorn. I like to serve it alongside saucy fish, as kind of a "dry dip". Unlike the grains mentioned in the article, it actually pops -- it's fast and easy in a heavy bottomed pot, just like popcorn, but way faster because the grains are so small.

What's the secret to this? I always end up a mix of popped, un-popped and burnt amaranth. I've tried a variety of different techniques and none of them seem to work well for me.

Re: Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

#55

Time to share my recipe for dry roasted pressure cooked brown rice. I make this using a stainless steel stovetop pressure cooker. I do not recommend aluminum. The ingredients are two cups brown rice (long or short grain as you wish), two cups of water or a little less (yes, the rice:water ratio is just 1:1), and half a teaspoon of salt or less. You can scale this up or down easily. Put the rice in the pressure cooker…

sounds a bit like a pilaf, but with less water for the final step. What is the final product like? normal rice or something else?

It comes out a lot like conventionally cooked brown rice, but with more of a toasty flavor from the roasting step.

Re: Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

#56
post #35
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

Puffed rice is made differently in India. They use a hot pan and black sand with no pressure release. Example: https://youtu.be/36GKVfo5PUA

No post body was provided.

Re: Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

#57

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…

I dunno I have some genmaicha with roasted rice and a good number of the grains look like downsized oblong popped corn

Re: Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

#58
post #49

Popped amaranth is my favorite. It's incredibly tiny, and fun to imagine being a giant eating popcorn. I like to serve it alongside saucy fish, as kind of a "dry dip". Unlike the grains mentioned in the article, it actually pops -- it's fast and easy in a heavy bottomed pot, just like popcorn, but way faster because the grains are so small.

What's the secret to this? I always end up a mix of popped, un-popped and burnt amaranth. I've tried a variety of different techniques and none of them seem to work well for me.

Never let the grains stop moving? And, it's delicate; burning is a definite risk. I do tend to make several small batches, about a third of a cup at a time.

Come to think of it, I've never tried to make it in a microwave. Might be worth trying

Re: Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

#59
This reminds me of my childhood in India where my grandma and mom will "fry" everything whole and it used to be delicious. Little but chopped onion, cilantro and lemon makes it even yummier.

I said fried for lack of better word but the way it gets done is - just stir and toss them with hot sand in a wide mouth clay pot. When it is done, just use a sieve to separate sand and the grain.

It is pretty wholesome snack. Cooked wheat, corn, rice, chickpeas. U name it.

EDIT - Here is a video of it https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8xW3gFxN34c

Re: Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

#60
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's the secret to this? I always end up a mix of popped, un-popped and burnt amaranth. I've tried a variety of different techniques and none of them seem to work well for me.

Never let the grains stop moving? And, it's delicate; burning is a definite risk. I do tend to make several small batches, about a third of a cup at a time. Come to think of it, I've never tried to make it in a microwave. Might be worth trying

I tried similar with sorghum in the microwave and ended up horribly burning it. I think it's too delicate a process with non-popcorn/rice grains, keeping it moving would have averted disaster for me, but I can't do that easily with a microwave.
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