Basic Wild Rice

All wild rice, our native North American grass, is sold with the bran on the kernel (like brown rice), and this gives it its black appearance; the water it cooks in will always be dark because of the rich bran layer. In California today, wild rice is mechanically farmed and harvested and then parched (a type of parboiling), which gives it a strong flavor. Labels will usually tell you if the rice is hand-harvested or cultivated, but the color will tell you immediately how it was grown: hand-harvested rice is distinctly matte (as opposed to shiny) in a range of colors from a ruddy red-brown, deep chocolate, and tan to a subtle gray-green, and paddy rice is very shiny sable black. Since the outer bran coat is very tough, it is scratched, or scarified, so that water is more easily absorbed. The more scarifying, the lighter or more variegated the grain and, hence, the shorter the cooking time. Wild rice is available in bulk grain bins and small boxes in a growing number of supermarkets, natural food stores, and gourmet food shops in a variety of grades. Select wild rice contains short and broken grains; it is good for puddings. Extra-fancy wild rice has uniform, medium-size grains about ½ inch long graded equally in color and is the most commonly available wild rice. Giant wild rice (known as long-grain) has grains about an inch in length (or longer) and is considered the premium grade. The cooking times for these grades are different because of the size of the grains, but that is not a problem when cooked in the rice cooker. All the grades taste the same. Each brand of wild rice has its own particular taste, so if you have experienced a brand that was too husky or bitter for your palate, experiment with others, or use it in combination with other rices for a milder taste. Wild rice has a smoky, rich, nutty flavor, much like a strong herbal, woodsy tea; the darker the rice, the stronger the flavor. This method of cooking the rice in a bit more than twice its volume of liquid is known as the Ojibway method, after a tribe of Native Americans who use the grain as a staple in their diet. The grain will swell and split slightly down the side, and some will curl like a butterfly. Do not rinse wild rice. While cooking, the liquid will look cloudy gray and sometimes have some foam. This is okay; it is part of the grain (the foam is the dusty by-product of the scarifying process). Wild rice is done when each kernel is swollen and cracked down the side. If a kernel has turned back, it has over-cooked, although it is not unusual to have a percentage of these in every pot due to uneven cooking; we love the mixture of soft and chewier grains.

1. Place the rice in the rice cooker bowl. Add the water and salt; swirl to combine.
2. Close the cover and set for the Brown Rice or Regular cycle.
3. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, open the cover and stir to dissipate the heat to prevent overcooking. Close the cover and let the rice steam for 15 to 20 minutes.
4. This rice will hold on Keep Warm for up to 1 hour. Serve hot, or cool to room temperature and chill.

MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker; fuzzy logic or on/off CYCLE: Brown Rice or Regular YIELD: About 3 cups; serves 4