[Sca-cooks] Cooking rice in feast quantities

[david friedman]

Elizabeth and I (and lots of helpers) did a medium sized Islamic
feast yesterday. Such a feast requires a lot of rice. But making
large quantities of rice is impossible, since the weight of five or
ten gallons of rice pushes the rice at the bottom against the pot,
where it sticks and burns--and continually stirring half cooked rice
in that quantity, even if you are willing to do it, is hard.

The solution is to bring the water to a boil, add the rice, bring it
back to a boil (stirring some), cover, turn off the heat and wait.
With large volumes, the rice stays hot long enough to  cook itself.
Since you are turning off the heat before the rice becomes sticky,
you can do it without scorching.

I thought the trick might be something some people here were not be
familiar with and might be useful to someone else at another feast.

Incidentally, what I was cooking rice for a hundred people over was a
sort of oversized coleman-style stove with its own legs that someone
in the group had provided--because the kitchen only had stove space
for two large pots (two ordinary stoves, one with an oven overhanging
it).  I don't remember the brand name, although I can probably find
it, but it is a very useful gadget, providing two quite powerful
burners. I'm thinking of getting one--it would be useful when we do a
cooking workshop in our one stove kitchen and run out of burners.
Also useful when and if we do another feast in a too small kitchen.
--
David/Cariadoc
http://www.daviddfriedman.com/