Do you add salt to water before boiling your rice to increase the boiling point of the water and make the rice cook quicker?
WRONG!
This is because the salt reduces the osmotic pressure between the boiling water and the rice which means less water passes through to the rice. Simply stated when there is a semipermeable membrane between two solutions (the skin of the rice) water passes from the weaker solution to the stronger one in an attempt to make the strengths equal. Adding salt increases the strength of the weaker solution and therefore reduces the amount of water that will pass through the membrane into the rice.
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Do you rinse your cooked rice well to reduce the amount of starch which makes rice clump?
RIGHT!
But did you realise that the real reason for rinsing rice is to reduce the arsenic levels and thereby not poison yourself slowly over the years! See food.gov.uk for more information.
See this recipe for Rice & Peas with Tuna if you would like to live longer!
