The Rice cooker is a handy cooking appliance only if you know how to use it. Not knowing how to use it will lead to a lot of undesirable results, for example, burning, short-circuiting, etc.
It’s not the rice cooker’s fault, it’s just a machine. You the person who is using it has to be aware of the consequences and we are positively sure that you came here to learn them after burning a pot of rice using a rice cooker.
We know that burning a pot of rice can be extremely frustrating, we have done that as well. Ruining a pot of rice is not even the worst part, scrapping the charred remains off the bottom is.
So how to avoid pungent smells and a bad day?
Well, there are a few reasons as to why we always end up burning our rice. A few of these rice burning reasons and their remedies are detailed below.
Reasons Why Rice Cooker Burns Your Rice
1. Ingredients mixed with rice
Foods that are high in sugar like mirin are a popular thing to include while cooking a pot of rice. But, since mirin and other such ingredients have high sugar content, they tend to caramelize and ultimately burn when cooked on high heat for a long period.
When you add mirin to your rice and cook it in a rice cooker. Over time some of the mirin will settle down on the bottom. That mirin will heat up and ultimately burn your rice.
To avoid this problem you will have to put it after cooking the rice or buy a nonstick inner pot for your rice cooker.
2. Incorrect rice to water ratio
If you have a cup of rice in a cup or half a cup of water, you will inevitably end up with burnt rice instead of cooked one.
The minuscule amount of water you have added will evaporate, but since your rice cooker is not programmed to shut down, it will keep on providing heat and will subsequently burn the rice.
Any type of rice you use has a – rice to water – cooking ratio. Following it will always result in delicious fluffy rice.
Make sure to Google the rice you are using and follow the instructions to the tee.
3. Keep warm setting
Some rice cookers have it some don’t, but if it’s included in your rice cooker you will have to keep an eye on it.
Rice cookers with the keep warm function automatically set it to this mode after cooking.
Keep warm, keeps your rice warm by providing a slight amount of heat. This heat for prolonged periods will burn your rice. Make sure to turn off the keep warm mode after 20 to 30 minutes. Or don’t if you want to eat a bowl of crispy rice. It’s an Asian dish, and it’s delicious.
4. Too little rice
Just like the water problem, having ¼ cup of rice in your rice cooker is a stupid thing to do.
Having too little rice will leave extra surface space. Meaning each grain of rice will be heated much more than normal. The grains will cook faster than normal and after a while will burn down into a black charred layer of rice.
Make sure to add at least 1 cup of rice when cooking with a rice cooker.