Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/07/08/is-your-rice-slowly-poisoning-you-how-to-reduce-arsenic-levels-in-your-rice.html
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My problem with washing rice is that you go through a lot of water. And yes you can save that water to use for your plants but the amount of water needed to get the rice clean is really quite a bit.
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That’s a lot to ask for rice. And nowhere in the testing was there the control (usual in most Asian households) of rinsing it repeatedly before adding fresh water to cook it. If boiling it in too much water took out at least 50%, why not test how well it works to soak/rinse at least 3-4 times before cooking it normally (as all rice cookers do)?
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5 parts water to 1 part rice?
So congee then?
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Isn’t it like 1:1 + a little? 5:1 sounds like an AI recipe.
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I usually do 2:1, it kind a depends on the rice and what you’re making. But 5:1 is definitely way too much. Even for say a slow-cooked risotto you’re not going to use that much.
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The recipe left out the step of draining 80% of the water after cooking
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6 posts were merged into an existing topic: Happy Mutants food and drink topic (Part 2)
Great.
And to think I was worried about forever chemicals in my rice.
Although, it could be that using tap water is the big problem with PFAS.
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“… you can save that water to use for your plants…”
I wonder if doing that for one’s homegrown edibles eventually adds, to a significant degree, arsenic to your soil, which then ends up in your peppers and tomatoes – even if they’re grown in a garden rather than a pot.
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From Consumer Report:
"… latest tests determined that the inorganic arsenic content of rice varies greatly depending on the type of rice and where it was grown. White basmati rice from California, India, and Pakistan, and sushi rice from the U.S. on average has half of the inorganic-arsenic amount of most other types of rice.
Grains lower in arsenic
The gluten-free grains amaranth, buckwheat, millet, and polenta or grits had negligible levels of inorganic arsenic. Bulgur, barley, and farro, which contain gluten, also have very little arsenic. Quinoa (also gluten-free), had average inorganic arsenic levels comparable to those of other alternative grains. But some samples had quite a bit more. Though they were still much lower than any of the rices, those spikes illustrate the importance of varying the types of grains you eat.
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I was thinking of using said water for the ornamental plants. If i was watering plants that were producing food for me i would be more careful about the water and soil quality. Which reminds me i do have plans to build some raised bed/gardens
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Nope. Zero pressure now from BBers to see your completed raise bed/gardens. Noooo pressure at all. 
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Short term it’ll be a whole lot of nothing lol. SO is still recovering from a major operation and looks like her recovery time might need two additional weeks, so money is tight right now. But i did find a relatively easy DIY how-to for building the boxes, i wanted to at least buy the hardware and bolts since that’s the cheapest step. Later it’ll be sourcing the soil and lumber, my mental timeframe will be hopefully have everything ready before the end of the year. Weather should be much nicer then too.
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I didn’t read the article in the Torygraph but when I did read that last week they had done multiple washes etc and found them less effective than boiling in too much water.
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I’m with you on that. My rice is done when it has those nice vent holes in it and I give it a stir once.
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This article specified the 3 approaches taken, and no mention of rinsing at all. Was it the same research?
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QUB as far as I remember (I’m not clicking on the Torygraph). They do rice related research that makes the news quite a bit.
ETA
Is Queen’s now King’s?
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I could never get consistently decent rice using a pot. For my sanity i now use a rice cooker
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