How to Cook Rice in a Rice Cooker

Steps

1. Measure the rice with a cup and put it into your cooking pot. Most of the time, rice cooker boxes will have a cup inside or you can use your own scooper for measurement.
   • One cup of uncooked rice will generate roughly one and a half cups of cooked rice.[1]
   • The measuring cup that comes with your rice cooker is not the same size as a standard US measuring cup (240 ml or 1 cup). It's a cup by rice cooker industry standards (180 ml or about 3/4 cup). Unless the recipe calls specifically for rice cooker cup measurements, you'll need to adjust your measurements accordingly.[2]
2. Rinse the rice. This is optional. Read the packaging, as some rice does not need washing and is enriched with iron, niacin, thiamin, and folic acid; rinsing may be unnecessary and will remove any water-soluble vitamins and minerals in the rice.[3]
   • Run tap water in the bowl. While the water is running, stir the rice. Continue stirring until the pot is full of water.
   • Tip the pot at an angle and drain the excess water out. Hold the bottom part with your hand so that you can grab any rice grains that may fall with the water.
   • Repeat until the water comes out clear.
   • Drain as much water as you can.
3. Soak the rice for thirty minutes, if desired. This is not required, but some people prefer it. It may result in stickier rice.
4. Measure the water. Most rice cooker instructions recommend cold water.[4]How much wateryou add depends on what kind of rice you're cooking and how moist you prefer it. One rule of thumb is to fill the cooking pot with the same amount of cups of rice you used, with an additional 1/2 cup. For example, if you made 2 cups of rice, pour in 2 1/2 cups of water. There are also graduated marks on the inside of many rice cookers indicating how much rice and water should be added. The USA Rice Federation[3]recommends following the directions on the package that the rice came in, or using these guidelines in a pinch:
   • White, long grain - 1 3/4 cups of water per 1 cup of rice
   • White, medium grain - 1 1/2 cups of water per 1 cup of rice
   • White, short grain - 1 1/2 cups of water per 1 cup of rice
   • Brown, long grain - 2 1/4 cups of water per 1 cup of rice
   • Parboiled - 2 cups of water per 1 cup of rice
   • Still, you can't really go wrong if you just add two or 2.5 cups of water to each cup of rice; you don't want your rice too dry.
   • For Indian style rices like Basmati or Jasmine, less water is needed as a drier rice is desired, use no more than 1 1/2 cups of water per 1 cup of rice. Use only 1 to 1 if you washed the rice previously. It is ok to add bay leaves or cardimom pods directly to the rice cooker to enhance the flavor.
5. Add a little bit of salt, butter or oil at this time, if desired.
6. Try to get any rice grains around the pot back into the water and level out the rice. Wipe the outside of the pot with a cloth or rag.
7. Place the pot into the rice cooker. Cover it, plug the cooker in, and press the switch to turn it in. The switch will click, like a toaster, when the rice is done. In some cookers, the rice will be warmed until you unplug the cooker.
   • Don't lift the lid to check on the rice. The cooking process depends on the development of steam inside the pot, so letting steam escape by opening the lid may result in improperly cooked rice.
   • The rice cooker automatically turns off when the temperature inside the pot reaches boiling point (212 degrees F or 100 degrees C at sea level), which happens when all the water has been absorbed by the rice.[5]
8. Allow the rice to "rest" for 10-15 minutes before removing the lid. This is not required but is commonly recommended in rice cooker instructions, and is automatic in some models.[4]

Tips

• If your rice cooker has a non-stick bowl, wash the rice (prior to cooking) in a colander with several washes/rinses/drains. Replacement non-stick bowls are very expensive. Even though the instructions indicate washing is not necessary, especially with a keisenmai/musenmai rice, a few wash cycles will promote a better finished consistency.
• Use a non-stick spoon that will not scratch the inside of the pot to stir and "fluff" the rice after it's done. The best tool for this purpose is a plastic rice paddle that comes with most rice cookers. To keep the rice from sticking to the paddle, dampen the paddle with cold water (works for fingers, too).
• You may need to make adjustments if you're using a rice cooker at a high altitude. Since the boiling point of water decreases by 1 degree F for every 540 feet of altitude (1 degrees C for every 300 meters), the rice cooker may turn off before the rice has been exposed to a high enough temperature to cook properly. You can compensate for this with extra water so the rice boils longer--at 5000 foot elevation, use 3 cups of water per cup rice instead of 2.5. Consult the rice cooker instructions and contact the manufacturer if you are experiencing problems with undercooked rice at high altitudes.
• When your rice is nearly done, quickly raise the lid and throw in some broccoli.
• Use your rice cooker for oatmeal! 1 cup of oatmeal to 2.5 or 3 cups of water. Add apple pie spice, dried cherries & pineapples (from bulk food section), and a capful of vanilla extract. After cooked, add sliced almonds and peanuts and bananna. Now pour in 12 ounces of water to which you have stirred in (with a chopstick or wand mixer) half a cup of protein powder. The 22 grams of protein plus the oatmeal make this a fast and tasty nutrition dish. Try the protein powder and you will never again use milk on your cereal. Use natural Xylipure to sweeten, rather than sugar. One protein powder drink (which tastes like a milkshake) will take care of your hunger for 8 hours and is especially good for older people with low blood sugar.

Warnings

• Children can help clean the rice, but leave the rice cooker handling to the adults.
• Don't overfill the rice cooker or else it will boil over and make a mess.
• If the rice cooker does not automatically keep the rice warm after it's done cooking, you should consume or refrigerate it all as soon as it's done to avoid food poisoning due to Bacillus cereus.[6]

Things You'll Need

• Rice
• Rice cooker
• Water
• Measuring cup
• Spoon or paddle

Related wikiHows

• How to Cook Rice in a Microwave
• How to Cook Low Carb White Rice Without a Rice Cooker
• How to Microwave Refrigerated Rice
• How to Make Rice Cooker Bread
• How to Make Steamed Rice
• How to Make Indian Style Basmati Rice
• How to Make Fried Rice
• How to Make Spanish Rice

Sources and Citations

1. ?http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/howtoselectaricecooker.htm
2. ?http://www.usarice.com/consumer/ricecookers.html
3. ? 3.03.1http://www.usarice.com/consumer/prep.html
4. ? 4.04.1http://www.zojirushi.com/user/scripts/user/recipe.php?recipe_id=23
5. ?http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/question35.htm
6. ?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacillus_cereus

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Cook Rice in a Rice Cooker. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

If you own a restaurant, you know how important it is to have a good, efficient commercial refrigerator. I am sure that you are thinking that it’s a piece of cake to go buy the right refrigerator. But it is important to first think about what you want and need out of it.  You would be amazed at all of the options there are on commercial refrigerators nowadays.  It is important to know in advance what you are looking for before you buy.

First of all, how much money do you plan on spending?  Refrigerators can run anywhere from a few hundred dollars up to $10,000. Quality and durability are very important.   If you spend the extra money on a higher quality refrigerator, it will last longer than a cheaper one and will save you more money in the long run!  Today, the average refrigerator should last around 15-20 years.  Another very important thing you need to consider is how much space you need. If you need a lot of space, you must also consider the shelving. Make sure the shelves are pull-out or adjustable in case you need extra room.  After doing some research, there are several features available now in refrigerators that you may not know about.  There are spill proof shelves, sliding shelves, reversible door swing, and separate humidity controls as well as many other options.

Today, refrigerators are made more efficiently. Because of this you can save money on your utility bills. Something you should consider is buying an Energy Star rated refrigerator. These Energy Star models use 15% less energy than federal standards require.  Also, you should not put your refrigerator next to a dishwasher or oven. The heat makes your refrigerator work harder than it needs to. There are so many things to think about when choosing the right commercial refrigerator! These are just some things to think about before making your decision.

How to Clean and Disinfect Wooden Cooking Utensils

Steps

1. Analyze just what kind of dirty your utensil is. If you find a wooden spoon floating down the street during a flood, burn that spoon. There is no process of cleaning that will remove deadly toxins from this utensil. This type of wooden utensil should be considered dangerous.
2. Prepare for disinfecting your wooden utensil. When cleaning wood, remember that washing by hand is most thorough and that bleach is your friend.
3. Place some bleach into a soaking tub (sink, large bowl, dish pan) and fill the remainder with hot water. A good ratio is one part bleach to 20 parts water. Place the utensil in the water.
4. Allow your utensil to soak for at least an hour. As a rule, you do not want to soak wooden utensils often, but periodically it is important to thoroughly disinfect a utensil, and the initial disinfecting is critical.
5. Remove the bleach solution and fill the same tub with a mixture of mild detergent, such as dish soap, and hot water.
6. Wash the utensil by hand, and then allow it to sit in the soapy water for 15 minutes or so. Allow sufficient soaking time to remove any bleach smell on the utensil.
7. Feel the utensil. If it feels fuzzy, it is probably because the grain of the wood has been raised from the soaking. Simply take a fine grit sandpaper (or even steel wool) and gently smooth the utensil.
8. Rinse the utensil off again. This time, you can wash it like you would any other utensil in your kitchen. Only follow the above steps if you need to thoroughly disinfect a utensil. Otherwise, wash wood with a gentle detergent and dry it off quickly.
9. Renew and retain the vibrancy of the wood in your utensil by periodically oiling it. You can use a paper towel or a small piece of clean cloth to administer the oil to the utensil. Use mineral oil, a food safe oil that is commonly used by restaurants to increase the longevity of wooden utensils. Mineral oil is a minor laxative, but even regular use of such small quantities will cause no adverse effects. If you are worried, you can simply allow the oil to soak in and then re-wash the utensil.
   
   
   

Tips

• If a spoon is rancid, don’t try too hard to disinfect it. The cost of a new utensil is generally less than the possible adverse affects of using a contaminated kitchen tool when preparing food.
• Taking care of your wooden utensils will pay off in the long run. Wooden utensils are among the first cooking utensils, and with proper care they can last a lifetime.
• Don’t be afraid to allow your utensil to soak for a spell. Because wood is porous, it may take a while for your cleaning solution to thoroughly sanitize the utensil. Do not, however, make a habit of soaking wood utensils, as soaking can shorten their useful lives.
• Some say that lemon juice is a great way to keep your wooden utensil constantly fresh and sanitized. Use this method only after thoroughly sanitizing with bleach, though.
• Hard wood utensils are the easiest to sanitize, and they also last the longest. The tight grains in the wood make for a less porous and more rigid construction.
• Consider using a microwave to both dry out and sanitize a wooden utensil. You can also place a wooden utensil in boiling water to help in the disinfecting process.

Warnings

• Wooden utensils are more porous than their plastic or metal counterparts. They are therefore more susceptible to carrying germs and bacteria.
• Don’t put wooden spoons in the dishwasher, especially not on a regular basis. They may crack. They are also a fire hazard if they fall on the heating element during the drying cycle.
• Do not use a wooden utensil if any part of the wood is soft or dark and mushy. These characteristics are often associated with rotten wood, and wood in this state will attract and retain germs and bacteria.

Related wikiHows

• How to Clean Dishes Without Soap
• How to Organize a Kitchen
• How to Properly Load a Dishwasher
• How to Clean a Fondue Pot
• How to Avoid an H. pylori Bacterial Infection

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Clean and Disinfect Wooden Cooking Utensils. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

With the rising cost of gas and other living expenses, many people are choosing to dine at home rather than go out.  If you are a pizza fanatic, the good news is that frozen pizzas have drastically improved over the past few years.  Some frozen pizzas come with the option of a rising crust, or crispy crust.  Some even have stuffed crust.  If you choose to buy this improved frozen pizza instead of delivery, not only are you getting a good meal but you are saving money as well.   A way for restaurants to save money and to prevent spoilage is by making a bunch of pizzas at one time and freezing them.  Then, they could use the frozen pizzas on a night when they are really busy.

If you work at or own a restaurant, there are some pizza supplies you should have to increase your productivity.  With a miniveyor pizza oven, you can cook up to 14 12” pizzas in one hour!  Here at Serv-U, we have several commercial pizza ovens that can help any restaurant cook several pizzas in an hour.

What if I told you that you could make restaurant quality pizza at home? With the right pizza supplies, you can make any frozen pizza taste better. Something I highly recommend is a frozen pizza oven.   These pizza ovens are fairly inexpensive, and definitely worth the money.  These ovens can also be used at bars. With these pizza ovens, you don’t have to worry about ever making a frozen pizza with soggy crust again.  You can also control the crispness, and the degree of browning on your pizza.  Most pizza ovens also have a top heating element so that your pizza cooks more evenly and quicker than your regular oven.    Some of the  frozen pizza ovens we have here at Serv-U can cook a 12” pizza in an average of 10 minutes.  Not only will your pizza taste better, but it will take less time to cook. 

Have you ever wondered how to make a martini or cocktail like the one you ordered out at dinner?  One foodservice item that is a necessity for making mixed drinks is the shaker. Read the following article below from www.wikihow.com for details on how to make a shaken cocktail.

How to Make a Shaken Cocktail

Steps

1. Prepare the garnish. Cocktails are generally not complete without a garnish, so have the appropriate garnish ready before making the cocktail. Common garnishes for shaken cocktails include maraschino cherries as well as citrus wedges, wheels, twists and spirals. For more detail on how to make garnishes, read How to Garnish a Cocktail.
2. Add some ice cubes to a cocktail shaker. Shakers are generally filled about half full with ice, although different amounts can be used depending on the shaker design. Leave space so that the ice can be vigorously shaken with the ingredients in the shaker. When using a small cup as a cap that fits inside a larger cup, fill the large cup about half full with ice. Boston shakers can be completely filled with ice, as the glass cup that is filled with ice is capped with a larger cup that fits over the glass cup. Cobbler shakers don't use a separate cup as a cap, and have built-in strainers. Boston shakers and other similar shakers are used with separate strainers. It is common to use two metal cups as a shaker. When a Cobbler shaker or a large metal cup and a small cup for a cap are used, it is possible to hold and shake the shaker with one hand. Metal shaker cups are oftentimes weighted when a heavy glass cup is not used to make shaking more effective.
3. Pour the ingredients into the shaker. The ingredients can be free poured into the shaker or measured with jiggers. Add ingredients for one or more cocktails, depending on the capacity of the shaker and the number of cocktails to be made. For Boston shakers, add the ice and ingredients to the glass cup.
4. Cap the shaker. Once the ingredients have been added, cover the shaker tightly with the cap. Make sure a watertight seal is formed, but don't press the shaker in or on too tightly because it may be very difficult to remove.
5. Shake vigorously for about five seconds. Keep the cap held tightly over or in the shaker. Hold the shaker vertically or somewhat tilted and shake it up and down. Hold the shaker securely in a manner that feels relatively comfortable. Some additional movements, such as side to side motions, can be used while shaking the shaker up and down to create some added flair. Use both hands for most shakers, with one hand on the bottom of the shaker and the other on the top. The ingredients need to be chilled thoroughly and totally mixed. When the cocktail is adequately mixed and chilled, condensation should form on the outside of the cocktail shaker, and the shaker will be cold to the touch.
   • When using a Boston shaker, the shaker should be inverted when shaking so that the glass cup is on the top. This will prevent the glass cup from hitting and breaking on an object, and will prevent the ingredients from leaking out of the shaker. The cooling process that occurs during shaking will also cause Boston shakers to form a solid seal between the glass and metal cups (metal contracts on the glass as it cools).
6. Remove the cap from the shaker. Carefully remove the top shaker cup or cap and fit the strainer in the bottom cup. This will be relatively easy for shakers that are made entirely of metal, but can be difficult when using Boston shakers. Boston shakers are "cracked" open. For all shakers, place the metal cup down on the table before removing the top cup or cap. For Boston shakers, firmly hold the bottom metal cup with one hand and the top glass cup with your other hand. Try to move the glass cup back and forth just a little bit to get it to break free from the metal cup while pulling upwards on the glass cup. Don't try to force the glass cup to the side too much, as this may cause it to jam further into the metal cup. For Cobbler shakers with built-in strainers, merely remove the top cap. Never bang the shaker on an object to open it, but it is fine to tap it open with your hand.
7. Fit the strainer in the shaker cup. Simply fit the strainer in the metal cup for Boston shakers and shakers that consist of two metal cups. Cobbler shakers have built-in strainers.
8. Strain the shaken cocktail into the appropriate glass. Hold your fingers over the strainer while pouring to keep the strainer in the shaker cup. Depending on the cocktail recipe, the drink will be strained into an empty glass or a glass that has been filled with ice. Glasses can be chilled in a freezer or with ice before straining.
9. Garnish and serve the cocktail. Many shaken cocktails will have a luscious froth.

Tips

• Do not overfill the cocktail shaker.
• Prepare the cocktail quickly so that the ice does not melt too much.
• It takes time to learn how to expertly make a shaken cocktail.
• Practice making the garnishes before making actual cocktails.
• Practice shaking and straining with ice and water, juice or milk.
• Practice sealing the metal shaker to the glass container. Sometimes a very small tap, maybe only a gentle press, is usually all you need. More force may jam it, so experiment first with water to find the necessary forcefulness. Never align the metal shaker symmetrically with the glass container before tapping in place, rather, fit the metal to the glass at an angle, then press. This makes it easy to separate the two by simply straightening the "tilted hat" seal, and also leaves you "wiggle room" should you tap/press too hard and jam the metal to the glass.
• Shake vigorously with caution! Shaken drink connoisseurs are wary of "bruising," where the ice is cracked from being shaken too hard, and then dilutes the finished drink.

Warnings

• Always drink responsibly and be responsible when making drinks for others.

Things You'll Need

• Cocktail shaker and strainer
• Cocktail glass or other appropriate type of glass
• Garnishing tools (grater, paring knife, channel knife tool for citrus spirals)

Related wikiHows

• How to Make Chocolate Martinis
• How to Make a Cosmopolitan
• How to Mix a Tuaca Sidecar
• How to Make a Mai Tai Cocktail
• How to Make a Candy Cane Martini
• How to Make an Eggnog Martini
• How to Make a Broadside

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Make a Shaken Cocktail. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

You may already know that stainless steel restaurant equipment is high quality. But what you may not know is why.Stainless steel is defined as an iron-carbon alloy with a minimum of 11.5 % chromium content. Because of its chromium content, stainless steel is non-corrosive and will not rust.This is because the chromium works by reacting with oxygen to form a tough, invisible layer of chromium oxide film on the steel surface.So if anything happens to the surface, the film will heal itself as long as there is enough oxygen.That is one of the main reasons why stainless steel lasts so long. With proper care, stainless steel can last up to 100 years.If you are a restaurant owner, you will save money by purchasing stainless steel restaurant equipment because it lasts so long.

Another benefit to buying stainless steel restaurant equipment is that it is very easy to clean.If you work in a restaurant you know how important cleanliness is. Stainless steel does not have pores or cracks to hold bacteria, grime, or dirt.I strongly recommend using stainless steel restaurant equipment. Not only does it look nice, but it will last a very long time.

When you buy a pizza pan you should first consider what kind of pizza you want to make. Are you planning to make thin crust, deep dish, or thick crust? If you want to make a crispy thin crust pizza, I would recommend a perforated pan. Perforated pans are pans with several holes in them.  A couple of examples of these pans are the SuperPerf or the Mega Screen.  These pans allow a more evenly baked crust because they allow air to circulate beneath the crust. Therefore the pizza is crispier and the pizza stays fresher.  It also takes less time to cook the pizza with these pans.  Perforated pans are also good for frozen pizzas. Pizza stones are good for keeping your crust from getting soggy.  But if you don’t want your crust too done, it is probably a good idea to use a pizza screen in conjunction with your stone.  Pizza screens produce a more evenly baked crust. Another option for getting a crispier crust is getting pizza pans with “nibs” on them.   Any 2" pan that American MetalCraft manufactures can be furnished with NIBS. The nibs are approximately 5/8” diameter and raise the pizza about 1/8” above the surface of the pan.  Raising the pizza off the surface allows moisture to escape and a fresher, crispier pizza may result.  Perforated pans, stones, and pans with nibs are definitely important pizza supplies to have. 

Choosing a bar stool is harder than you think.  Most people think that you just go and choose a bar stool that looks good.   Unfortunately, it’s not that easy.  There are several factors to think about when choosing the right bar stool.  The most important question you should ask yourself is how and when these bar stools are going to be used?  How many bar stools will you need?  Are your guests going to be sitting in them for long or short periods of time? If they will be spending a lot of time in the bar stool, comfort is going to be the most important feature to consider. Those are just a few of the many questions to ask yourself when choosing a bar stool.

          The first thing you should do before choosing your new bar stool is measure the area where you plan on placing your bar stools.  You want to make sure that you and your guests have plenty of room to cross their legs, swivel in their seat, and move comfortably.  In order for them to do so, there should be at least 30 inches between the mid-seat of one bar stool to the next.  After you measure you need to find a bar stool with the right height.  There should be 11 to 13 inches between your bar stool and the bottom of the bar.  For example, if your table is 52 inches your bar stool height should be around 40”.

            After you decide how many bar stools you need and which height they need to be, you should think about how you want your bar stool to look.  Do you want your bar stools to have arm rests?  Do you want your bar stools to be backless?  Those are 2 very important questions to ask yourself. You also need to decide what look you want to go for.  You should choose stools that match the décor of the room the bar stools are going in. 

            The last thing you need to decide when choosing a bar stool is how much money you plan on spending.  Are you more worried about quality or price? Since bar stools have swivels and other small parts they can break easily.  If you get the higher quality bar stools you will have fewer problems in the long run.  Remember, though, that a higher price tag does not always mean better quality.  Call or chat online with a Serv-U sales rep to discuss your bar stool options.