calorie density -- cooked brown rice

[landog]

If you were to make rice with 1 cup brown rice and 2 cups water, it would have a certain calorie density.

If you did it with 1 cup brown rice and 3 cups water, the rice would have a lower calorie density as it absorbed more water adding more weight without adding more calories.

If you did it with 1 cup brown rice and 4 cups water, the rice would have an even lower calorie density as it absorbed even more water adding even more weight without adding any more calories.

The only issue with this, is that it only works to a certain point. If you Keep going, you would keep reducing the calorie density but also the relative percentage of starch and could compromise overall satiety.

Go too far and you have rice water/milk, which is now a liquid calorie with little to no satiety.

In Health
Jeff

Wouldn't the rice only absorb so much water, regardless of whether you used 3, 4 or 5 cups of water to cook it? Wouldn't most of the water escape via steam?

[JeffN]

You can do the experiment at home.

Your an cook 1 cup rolled oats with 1 cup water. This is a ratio often used in oat pancakes, oat bars, and overnight oats.

Then do a 1/2 ratio rolled oats/water. This is the ratio often used to make oatmeal from rolled oats.

Then a 1/3 ratio.

Etc etc etc

As you will see, in the beginning, the grain will absorb more of the water. However, there is a point where it won’t and you will end up with oat soup eventually and then oat milk.

Personally, I often cook kasha and rice with a 1/3 ratio and (most) all the water is absorbed into the kasha and rice. Kasha can handle more water then the rice. We like it but it is softer and not as chewy.

The typical Congee recipe is 1/6-8 (or more) but that is more like a medium to thin “gruel.”

In Health
Jeff

[JeffN]

UPDATE

I wanted to double check my numbers and so kept tracking of what I cooked.

For rice...

Organic White Basmati Rice - Cooked with a 1 to 4 ratio and it came out soft, fluffy and great
Organic Brown Basmati Rice - Cooked with a 1 to 4 ratio and while it came out Ok, I thought I would like it better with a 3.5 ratio. However, after sitting awhile, they were great.

For kasha

Whole grain kasha - Cooked with a 1 to 4 ratio and it was soft but great.
Creamy Buckwheat Cereal - Cooked with a 1 to 4 ratio and it was great.

I haven’t cooked oats recently but will double check next time too.

In Health
Jeff

[frozenveg]

For what it's worth, I started making my rolled oats with a 1:3 ratio a few months back after seeing this thread, and I really like them. The satiety seems to last just the right amount of time--till about noon or 1 pm. I microwave them on half power for 8 minutes, add frozen fruit, and let them sit longer to absorb the water. Now that I work from home, that isn't a problem!

[geo]

Question: How much do you make at a time? I've noticed that most cooks recommend a slightly lower ratio as you cook a larger amount of grains. Do you do this as well or do you stick to the 1:3 ratio for any amount you cook?

[JeffN]

Question: How much do you make at a time? I've noticed that most cooks recommend a slightly lower ratio as you cook a larger amount of grains. Do you do this as well or do you stick to the 1:3 ratio for any amount you cook?

I usually make 1 cup, sometimes 2.

In Health
Jeff