Why did your mom or grandmother soak the rice before cooking? Some people just rinse it. There are legitimate health benefits to soaking grains prior to cooking helps nutrients be more digestible by breaking down and neutralizing phytic acid, which is an anti-nutrient that prevents the absorption of calcium, zinc, and other minerals. This should be the main reason to soak grains before cooking. It aids in your body’s ability to absorb nutrients and digest food.
Soaking rice also helps water get absorbed into the grain and speeds up to cooking and adds more flavor to the rice. Acetylpyrroline, the flavor component of rice, lessens over time while cooking.
How to cook rice and what kind of rice to use depends on the variety or rice. All rices are not the same. Basically, you need to know what you want your rice to do. Do you want it separate, do you want it sticky. Check this chart out from cooking.com on how to cook your rice and the various characteristics of each type of rice.
Eat quality rice. Avoid the mineral enriched white rice. It looses it’s nutritional value when rinsed and is less flavorful than the other varieties.
