Most energy-efficient method to cook brown rice?
Most energy-efficient method to cook brown rice?
Because I've been eating rice more often I realized via my energy bill that cooking in a pot on an electric plate for 30 minutes consumes massive amounts of electricity. Therefore I'm currently browsing for rice cookers, but the info on energy efficiency leaves much to be desired.
What would be the most efficient method to cook brown rice? Which appliance would be recommendable and ideally be in line with the Buy It For Life philosophy?
I don't have numbers for brown rice, but when I cook 1c of dry white rice I see
- rice cooker: 226Wh
- 3qt instant pot: 90Wh
The IP also requires less water. Both the energy and water consumption are important in my case because I live in a campervan offgrid.
9Guessing no meaningful difference, but I'm curious how the IP would compare to a regular pressure cooker on an induction pad.
2The IP has decent insulation and doesn't have to vent pressure to regulate temperature. I think there would be a measurable difference. I don't have an induction-friendly pressure cooker to test the idea, but it's interesting to think about.
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Pressure cookers seem pretty efficient and fairly versatile.
6Just checked my rice cooker, it's max 350w
Brown rice takes about 40 minutes in it, so yes I'd assume that's drastically cheaper to run than an inefficient hob ring
5We like brown rice baked in an ovenproof dish with a cover.
In a typical 1200 w toaster oven toaster oven, that would be 1200 w. We have a rice cooker but tend to only use it for large amounts.
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I can cook wild rice in my ninja foodie (a pressure cooker) in 10 minutes. I do white rice in 5. I think it uses 1500 watts but it is all computer controlled so it stops heating as soon as it reaches temperature.
4You can cold soak rice to cut down on cooking time, it additionally helps break down things in brown rice to make it more digestible.
At least according to this site. https://www.chefsresource.com/can-you-cold-soak-rice/
1Microwaves are 900W on high, microwave cooking rice doesn't take too long.
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