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Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

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Re: Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

#101

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…

That's pretty much how I cook white rice normally - just usually add a little oil rather than dry roast to stop it sticking (since I soak it first and certainly don't bother to re-dry it) and only for about a minute before adding the water (1:2). Cook at pressure 2min, leave off heat to continue cooking (but also cool and release lid itself) for another 8m.

Re: Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

#102
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

Last year I got into a bit of a habit of eating bhel puri for breakfast - took a while before I realised probably why it occurred to me as something to do, that bhel is basically 'Rice Krispies' or similar. So for someone who doesn't like milk, (on its own/in large quantity like that) but loves spice, bhel puri is the ultimate breakfast cereal. :)

Re: Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

#103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's literally in the title.

No it isn’t? It says cook them in the same way that you cook popcorn, not that they actually pop

Would you settle for the first sentence then?

"Barley, rice, quinoa, amaranth – you name it – can be quickly popped like corn. I just did this and it's delicious!"

Re: Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

#104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No it isn’t? It says cook them in the same way that you cook popcorn, not that they actually pop

Would you settle for the first sentence then? "Barley, rice, quinoa, amaranth – you name it – can be quickly popped like corn. I just did this and it's delicious!"

Yes

Re: Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

#105
post #9

Huh. Does a normal air popper get hot enough for these? Seems like probably, since the pop is largely just due to internal pressure from heating the water? Air poppers are incredibly foolproof compared to pan popping.

I get a lot of unpopped kernels with an air popper but can regularly get a much higher percentage (often almost all) from pan popping but that could just be me using a cheap air popper.

Try a different brand of popcorn! Jolly Time white popcorn pops has a nearly 100% pop rate for me. Some brands pop way less and some pop somewhat explosively.

Re: Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

#106

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 mad…

Yes! My favorite oatmeal recipe [0] works by toasting the oats and then steaming them. It's a great texture. [0] https://www.thefauxmartha.com/the-very-very-best-oatmeal/

According to that recipe, the rolled oats are boiled, not steamed. I'm also curious why frying in butter is referred to here as "toasting", which I think of as applying heat across an air gap to a dry ingredient.

I often eat a 50/50 mix of cracked wheat (raw bulgur) and steel cut oats, which I simply bring to a boil and cook until all the water is absorbed.

I'm curious how adding butter at the beginning ends up with any different flavor than just adding a pat of butter to the finished cereal (which then melts), or adding a tablespoon of cream.

Re: Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

#107
post #63

Well i just tried this with all the grains in my cupboard and it now smells like burned ass in here and it all tasted horrible.

Thanks for taking it for the team. It sounds interesting but I'm skeptical if alternative grains will beat popcorn.

yeah lets not forget popcorn has been specifically bred to pop like that for thousands of years.

The best alt I've discovered by accident is sesame seeds. If you toast them (badly) they can pop and look exactly like tiny popcorn. I still believe sesame has potential to be bred to make better popcorn. Maybe a good task for the Experimental Farm Network

Re: Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

#108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I… don’t think that’s it. I’m tempted to find and buy one a pressurized popcorn popper like that, and set up at my local farmers’ market. It might be popular, or it might not - but it would definitely be fun.

You inspired me... I went ahead and ordered one.

Let me know how it goes! I recognize your name, and I’m only a couple of hours north of you. I might drop down there sometime and check it out if you don’t mind.

Re: Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

#109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You inspired me... I went ahead and ordered one.

Let me know how it goes! I recognize your name, and I’m only a couple of hours north of you. I might drop down there sometime and check it out if you don’t mind.

Sure thing! Message me on twitter or email me at gmail so I can contact you back.

Re: Cook whole grains like popcorn (2018)

#110

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…

Compare with traditional pressure cooker rice "Kabul rice".

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/231795/afghani-kabli-pulao...

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