Why it Works: Separate Rice is Nice
All rice begins its life surrounded by a thin coating called bran. When milled, this outer layer is removed to expose the raw grain. To improve appearance, most rice in the United States is polished using a series of wire brushes or spinning drums. Although this process results in a beautiful, stark white grain, it also causes a thin layer of rice starch to accumulate on the surface. When rice is cooked, this outer starch layer mixes with water and causes the grains of rice to stick together. If you’d rather your rice grains were separate and fluffy, you have several options. You can wash the rice to remove residual starch, but this takes time. The best technique is to first cook the rice in hot oil. Coating every grain, the oil forms a nonstick coating resulting in fluffy rice every time.