FREE/BARGAIN — Cookbooks

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

HELP!

Crock-pots are unknown in Peru.

Rice is a cultural food. It's quite normal for Peruvians (in large families) to routinely purchase (and consume) 100-pound bags of rice throughout the year.

They use a rice-type cooker. (I don't know its name).

Can one of these electric 'floating-bowl water/rice' cookers be used as a crock-pot?


HELP!

I once tried that with my Zojirushi 3 cup rice cooker and it worked but not all that well when I tried the porridge/congee setting and left on keep warm for a few hours more. I've seen claims that some of their newer models with the umami setting can be used as slow cookers. Some of those models come complete with a slow cook button.

[badgoodDeb]

Slow cookers usually have a ceramic pot (holds the heat) and low power heat coils around it. Complaints about the Instant Pot (pressure cooker) slow cook mode are that it only heats on the bottom. I think rice cookers, mine anyway, only heat on the bottom. Heat coils all around seems to be deemed important.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

Don, I'll let one of the definitive experts tell you whether a rice cooker can be used as a slow cooker.

But...

Rice Cooker Cookbook - $5.20
https://www.amazon.com/Rice-Cooker-C...dp/B081QX6KC1/

*****

The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook: 250 - $9.15
https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Rice...dp/B00860Z13M/

*****

Healthy and Easy Rice Cooker Recipes - $5.20
https://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Easy-...dp/B07MCVT3WF/

*****

Simple & Tasty Rice Cooker Cookbook - $2.99
https://www.amazon.com/Simple-Tasty-...dp/B07Y2XH8Q1/

Sorry, but I should have also added that I detest rice, unless it's used in some kind of casserole.

Peruvians eat this stuff almost every meal and almost every day - a ton of it, too. Nothing but white rice with their number one meat choice - chicken.

However, I'm sure there are some members here who love rice, even though for me it has the taste of Styrofoam. (And I'm not joking!)

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

Slow cookers usually have a ceramic pot (holds the heat) and low power heat coils around it. Complaints about the Instant Pot (pressure cooker) slow cook mode are that it only heats on the bottom. I think rice cookers, mine anyway, only heat on the bottom. Heat coils all around seems to be deemed important.

I've always owned one, until I moved to Peru and found out they didn't have one, and then they looked at me like I was some kind of alien creature from a galaxy far, far away.

Mine had a ceramic pot. I loved it, mainly for cooking chicken at low heat and then coming home from a hard day of teaching and treating myself to a great meal.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

Slow cookers usually have a ceramic pot (holds the heat) and low power heat coils around it. Complaints about the Instant Pot (pressure cooker) slow cook mode are that it only heats on the bottom. I think rice cookers, mine anyway, only heat on the bottom. Heat coils all around seems to be deemed important.

Depends on the model you get. Mine heats the mostly from the bottom but a 3 cup rice cooker is too small for use as a slow cooker unless you are into meals for one. The unit my daughter picked up when she moved away from home is also a 3 cup but uses induction heating plus an additional heater in the lid for more even heating (or so the advertising claims).

[AnotherCat]

Something to keep in mind when slow cooking is that proper slow cookers cook at a temperature that is low enough to extend the cooking period but still high enough to stop bacteria growth. Otherwise over the 6 -8 hour typical cooking period one is likely to grow an unhealthy broth (and create a use for all that toilet paper one has been stocking up on lately ).

[GA Russell]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Sorry, but I should have also added that I detest rice, unless it's used in some kind of casserole.

Peruvians eat this stuff almost every meal and almost every day - a ton of it, too. Nothing but white rice with their number one meat choice - chicken.

However, I'm sure there are some members here who love rice, even though for me it has the taste of Styrofoam. (And I'm not joking!)

Don, the recipes of those books are not primarily about rice. The books are about the various foods you can use the cooker for.

[Deskisamess]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Sorry, but I should have also added that I detest rice, unless it's used in some kind of casserole.

Peruvians eat this stuff almost every meal and almost every day - a ton of it, too. Nothing but white rice with their number one meat choice - chicken.

However, I'm sure there are some members here who love rice, even though for me it has the taste of Styrofoam. (And I'm not joking!)

There are many different types of rice, and using the wrong type can ruin the recipe. When rice tastes like styrofoam, there is probably no salt on it.

We use brown rice almost all the time, except for certain recipes that call for white long grain. We never use "instant" or "quick" rice.

Brown rice, some frozen peas, sliced green onion, good fresh grated Parmesan cheese, butter, salt & pepper, is wonderful.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by Deskisamess

There are many different types of rice, and using the wrong type can ruin the recipe. When rice tastes like styrofoam, there is probably no salt on it.

We use brown rice almost all the time, except for certain recipes that call for white long grain. We never use "instant" or "quick" rice.

Brown rice, some frozen peas, sliced green onion, good fresh grated Parmesan cheese, butter, salt & pepper, is wonderful.

I've never liked rice, and culturally it's not part of a Southerners' diet (U.S.A.).

In Peru, I've only met 2 or 3 Peruvians who also find rice distasteful. It's a staple to their diet, a usually unadorned main dish to the meat and boiled potatoes. (It's definitely not a side dish; and boy, do they pack those plates full of meat and rice!) I've now lived here 12 years and I know Peruvian food. Much of it is very tasty, indeed.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

In Peru, I've only met 2 or 3 Peruvians who also find rice distasteful. It's a staple to their diet, a usually unadorned main dish to the meat and boiled potatoes. (It's definitely not a side dish; and boy, do they pack those plates full of meat and rice!) I've now lived here 12 years and I know Peruvian food. Much of it is very tasty, indeed.

Meat, boiled potatoes and rice? Personally, I will admit to having 4 books dedicated to rice recipes plus a collection of rice recipes from the web. Any leftover rice can be used for fried rice which makes a great meal the next day.

Back to using a rice cooker for meals, not sure if it is even still available, but I picked up a relatively cheap book called Rice Cooker Meals 8 or 9 years ago which had some interesting recipes though I never tried more than a couple of them as that was around the same time that family issues had me checking out diabetic friendly recipes.

Kobo CA: Rice Cooker Meals: Fast Home Cooking for Busy People $3.63 Cdn

Amazon CA: Rice Cooker Meals: Fast Home Cooking for Busy People $2.99 Cdn

[Dr. Drib]

Here it is on Amazon.com:

https://www.amazon.com/Rice-Cooker-M...9133155&sr=8-1

[Apache]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I've never liked rice, and culturally it's not part of a Southerners' diet (U.S.A.).

As a child I remember my grandmother fixing chicken and rice and have always considered it a southern dish. It is prepared like chicken and dumplings except you use rice.
Apache

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Apache

As a child I remember my grandmother fixing chicken and rice and have always considered it a southern dish. It is prepared like chicken and dumplings except you use rice.
Apache

Do red beans and rice, crawfish étouffée and jambalaya in New Orleans count as rice in the southern States? I remember enjoying them on a couple of trips pre-Katrina (along with quite a few other memorable meals).

[GA Russell]

Homemade bread - free
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0875FV6JP

[Froide]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Do red beans and rice, crawfish étouffée and jambalaya in New Orleans count as rice in the southern States? I remember enjoying them on a couple of trips pre-Katrina (along with quite a few other memorable meals).

Yes, they do!

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I've never liked rice, and culturally it's not part of a Southerners' diet (U.S.A.).

Originally Posted by Apache

As a child I remember my grandmother fixing chicken and rice and have always considered it a southern dish. It is prepared like chicken and dumplings except you use rice.
Apache

Dr. Drib's personal experience is atypical for the American South, as rice has been an integral part of a Southerner's diet in the USA since the Middle Passage stage of the African slave trade (ca. 1600-1800). Jocelyne Sambira discusses this topic in her AfricaRenewal article published by the United Nations, titled "Slave trade: How African foods influenced modern American cuisine":

[...] many do not acknowledge Africa’s contribution to the American cuisine. Can you imagine America without rice? Most of North Carolina’s economy is based on rice production. This grain used to be called the “Carolina Gold” but the real story of how it arrived in the Americas is very interesting. During slavery, people were plucked from rice-producing regions. Casamance, a region in the South of Senegal where my parents are from originally, is one of them. There were several raids there to find slaves who knew how to cultivate rice and they were shipped to the Carolinas or Mexico. The grain never existed in these regions before the arrival of slaves. There are two “families” of rice in the world. One of them is from Asia and the other from Africa. The African rice, whose scientific name is oryza glaberrima arrived in the Americas on the slave ships. That is why the “middle passage” or journey of slaves from the African coast to Europe is important because it helped transform the culinary landscape of the Americas. It’s a part of history that is not talked about often.

Yummly, for example, lists 2,227 "southern style rice" recipes which include include various protein-and-rice dishes (such as chicken and rice as Apache mentioned, and/or rice with beans, red meats, seafoods, vegetables), Hoppin' John, rice-as-a-dessert dishes (such as rice pudding, called "sombi" in Senegal), and a variety of Cajun, Creole, Southwestern, and Tex-Mex dishes (although some people categorize those last cuisines separately from "Southern" cuisine, despite their regional anchors in the American South).