Why is my rice cooker boiling over?
Keep reading to learn how to stop your rice cooker from bubbling over.
Overfilling the rice cooker
Despite how well you wash and rinse the rice grains, you cannot eliminate all the starch. Whatever starch remains shall mix with the boiling water and form bubbles. It is nearly impossible to avoid it completely. However, you can prevent it from spilling over and making a mess by using the recommended quantity of rice to water. Starchy bubbles will erupt from the rice cooker and spill out only when the cooker has enough liquid to allow them to reach the surface. With no other place to go, they will leak out.
Using starchy rice
When there’s excess starch on the rice that’s being cooked in a rice cooker, the boiling water mixes with the starch and starts to create large, soapy, foamy bubbles. These bubbles make their way to the surface of the rice cooker and cause it to boil over. As the starch and water continue to mix, not only can the rice cooker boil over, but the rice can also be turned into something like a gross “soupy” porridge.
Using too much water
One of the most likely reasons that your rice cooker is boiling over is that there is too much water for the amount of rice being cooked. Rice cookers may also boil over if there is too much water in the basin of the cooker. An excess of water plus starch in rice is a bad combination.
How do I keep my rice cooker from boiling over?
Follow these steps to keep rice from boiling over;
Adjust the Amount of Water in Your Rice Cooker
Your rice cooker should have recipes in the manual that recommend the amount of water for each “cup” of rice you put in the cooker. Follow the directions that come with your rice cooker exactly and seeing if that fixes your boil over woes. If it doesn’t solve the problem, you should try adjusting the amount of water. To figure out how much water you need;
Rinse your rice before cooking
Rinsing rice also removes starch from the rice, which is the reason you get those nasty looking bubbles pouring out of the vent in your rice cooker. To rinse your rice thoroughly, you can either;
Add Oil or Butter to the Rice
Adding oil or butter to rice helps keep the grains of rice from sticking together. It also weighs down some of that frothy bubbling action that can happen even with the best-rinsed rice. You can use the following oils or butter;
Coconut oil will give the rice a hint of coconut flavor that pairs nicely with many Asian-inspired dishes.Olive oil is not only a healthy option, but it has a more neutral flavor compared to some of the other options.Butter is a great option. You can also substitute ghee for butter.Another great option would be sesame oil. But sesame oil is best added to the rice towards the end of the cooking process as it tends to burn easily.
Check this too: How to Use a Microwave Rice Cooker
Use a Different Kind of Rice
Different types of rice have different amounts of starch. Brown rice, for example, tends to be starchier than white rice. It will need to be washed more thoroughly. Sticky rice and short-grain rice also tend to have a lot more starch. Types of rice that are low in starch such as:
Long grain white riceBasmatiJasmine
What to do when rice cooker boils over
If your rice cooker is overflowing, do the following;
