How do you cook rice without ruining it?
For standard long-grain white rice: rinse until the water runs mostly clear, combine 1 cup rice with 1.5 cups water and a pinch of salt, bring to a boil, then cover, drop to the lowest simmer, and leave it alone for 18 minutes. Off the heat, let it sit covered another 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork. The 2-to-1 ratio printed on many bags runs wet for most stoves and pots.
The two moves people skip are the rinse, which washes off surface starch that turns rice gummy, and the covered rest, which lets moisture redistribute so the bottom is not soggy while the top is dry.
Brown rice wants more water, about 1.75 cups per cup, and 40 to 45 minutes. And a basic rice cooker performs this ritual perfectly every time for about the price of two takeout orders.
For long-grain white rice: rinse it, use 1.5 cups water per cup of rice, simmer covered 18 minutes, then rest 10 off the heat without peeking. The rest is where fluffy happens.
- USA Rice Federation
- America's Test Kitchen method testing
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https://frequentlyaskedquestions.us/q/how-to-cook-rice/Everybody Asks. (2026, July 28). How do you cook rice without ruining it? https://frequentlyaskedquestions.us/q/how-to-cook-rice/“How do you cook rice without ruining it?” Everybody Asks, 28 July 2026, https://frequentlyaskedquestions.us/q/how-to-cook-rice/.“How do you cook rice without ruining it?” Everybody Asks. Last modified July 28, 2026. https://frequentlyaskedquestions.us/q/how-to-cook-rice/.This page summarizes the primary sources listed above. For academic or encyclopedic work, cite those primary sources directly wherever possible.