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Rice is a good source of vitamins and minerals, although they come in low quantities. So the way that rice is prepared and cooked is important in preserving its nutritional value. Even washing rice in large quantities of water before you cook it can result in loosing a lot of its goodness. So before you cook your rice, wash it by swirling it around in a small quantity of water and pick out any pieces of grit by hand. When you have inspected it well, drain the water off, repeat the process again, and if the water looks clear you are ready to cook.

There are two popular ways of cooking rice - either with just enough water to "steam", with the rice absorbing the cooking water (slow-cook), or boiling it in a lot of water and draining the excess away. This second method is a fast-cook method, but results in most of its nutritional value being drained away at the end of the process. So if you want to preserve the minerals and vitamins, use the slow-cook method.

A word on processed, or so-called "Minute" rice. This rice has been previously cooked and then dried, so that your cooking time is reduced. While I have never been into a ready-rice factory, it seems highly probable that the rice will have been cooked quickly in excess water. So by the time you wash it again and then cook it, there is going to be very little nutritional value left in it. But of course if you eat it with some highly nutritional stir-fried vegetables it will still provide you with a quick, colorful and nutritional meal.

One additional tip - some people find rice is a little hard to digest. Add a handful of frozen peas while you are cooking it, and you will find that it is more interesting to look at and easier to digest.

Learn more about this author, Gill Breeze.
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