I have a Black and Decker steamer/rice cooker, but the instructions
don't say whether to start with cold water or hot.....anyone know????
tia.....Sharon

In article >, biig > wrote:

> I have a Black and Decker steamer/rice cooker, but the instructions
> don't say whether to start with cold water or hot.....anyone know????

Under the general rule of never using water from a hot
water tap for cooking (it has more impurities), I would say use
cold water.

Steve

hot water or cold; I have the Black & Decker rice steamer; I always
use cold water. Carol

Our life may not always be the party we would have chosen, but while we
are here, we may as well dance!

biig wrote on 11 Jul 2006 in rec.food.cooking

>
> I have a Black and Decker steamer/rice cooker, but the instructions
> don't say whether to start with cold water or hot.....anyone know????
> tia.....Sharon
>

I to have a black and decker rice cooker (the Rice Cooker Plus
model)...It doesn't really matter which temp you use. I think room temp
or directly from the cold tap would work well. A bigger worry is the no
stick lining...It is rather soft so NO metal tools please, or it will
scratch up quickly. But mine isn't a steamer as per say, just cooks rice.
It kinda looks like a smallish (say 2-3 qt at a guess) round crock pot if
you squint. I think it will take about 4 cups raw rice...But I've never
cooked more than 2 cups of raw rice in it. Never needed to.

My kenmore electric veggie steamer doesn't care about water temp either
but I imagine it would take less time get to temp. with hot water. But I
just use water from the cold tap.

Rule of thumb: Hot water from the hot water tap is usually frowned upon
in cooking as it can have more impurities in it (sludge from the hot
water heater).

I used to put in 1 cup rice, a 10 oz can of cream of chicken soup
(cupboard temp.) and 6 oz of water (from the cold tap)...pluse some
sliced mushrooms and or onion and maybe some chicken thighs. Stir well
and flip the switch...a one pot meal in about 17 minutes. But these days
I'm low carbibg it and have given up rice.

Puting a crushed bullion cube in the cooking water works nicely to
flavour the rice as well.

When I say from the cold tap I mean turn the tap on and then fill the
measuring cup...no waiting for colder water...

--
-Alan

Mr Libido Incognito wrote on 11 Jul 2006 in rec.food.cooking

> I to have a black and decker rice cooker

The black and decker site has some recipes for it.

--
-Alan

"Steve Pope" > wrote in message
...
> In article >, biig > wrote:
>
>> I have a Black and Decker steamer/rice cooker, but the instructions
>> don't say whether to start with cold water or hot.....anyone know????
>
> Under the general rule of never using water from a hot
> water tap for cooking (it has more impurities), I would say use
> cold water.

My mother always told me that the hot water tastes bad and not to use it
for cooking, but I've never understood it. Why should it be any
different than the cold water? Does the water heater impart something to
the water besides heat?

"biig" > wrote in message ...
>
> I have a Black and Decker steamer/rice cooker, but the instructions
> don't say whether to start with cold water or hot.....anyone know????
> tia.....Sharon

I doesn't matter.

David

Mordechai Housman > wrote:

> My mother always told me that the hot water tastes bad and
> not to use it for cooking, but I've never understood it. Why
> should it be any different than the cold water? Does the water
> heater impart something to the water besides heat?

It has more impurities in it. Specifically there is more lead
in it, as there are almost always lead components in faucets
and the warmer water leeches more of the lead out. This is
especially true if you don't let the water run freely for
a few seconds before using it.

(So I've been told by workplace safety experts who have opinions
on exactly how the office coffee should be made.)

(On the other hand, maybe these guys just make stuff up so
they sound important.)

I also suspect build-up in the water heater creats more impurities.

Steve

Carol Garbo wrote:
>
> hot water or cold; I have the Black & Decker rice steamer; I always
> use cold water. Carol
>
> Our life may not always be the party we would have chosen, but while we
> are here, we may as well dance!
thanks for all the answers....you guys always come through.....Sharon

Mr Libido Incognito wrote:
>
> biig wrote on 11 Jul 2006 in rec.food.cooking
>
> >
> > I have a Black and Decker steamer/rice cooker, but the instructions
> > don't say whether to start with cold water or hot.....anyone know????
> > tia.....Sharon
> >
>
> I to have a black and decker rice cooker (the Rice Cooker Plus
> model)...It doesn't really matter which temp you use. I think room temp
> or directly from the cold tap would work well. A bigger worry is the no
> stick lining...It is rather soft so NO metal tools please, or it will
> scratch up quickly. But mine isn't a steamer as per say, just cooks rice.
> It kinda looks like a smallish (say 2-3 qt at a guess) round crock pot if
> you squint. I think it will take about 4 cups raw rice...But I've never
> cooked more than 2 cups of raw rice in it. Never needed to.
>
> My kenmore electric veggie steamer doesn't care about water temp either
> but I imagine it would take less time get to temp. with hot water. But I
> just use water from the cold tap.
>
> Rule of thumb: Hot water from the hot water tap is usually frowned upon
> in cooking as it can have more impurities in it (sludge from the hot
> water heater).
>
> I used to put in 1 cup rice, a 10 oz can of cream of chicken soup
> (cupboard temp.) and 6 oz of water (from the cold tap)...pluse some
> sliced mushrooms and or onion and maybe some chicken thighs. Stir well
> and flip the switch...a one pot meal in about 17 minutes. But these days
> I'm low carbibg it and have given up rice.
>
> Puting a crushed bullion cube in the cooking water works nicely to
> flavour the rice as well.
>
> When I say from the cold tap I mean turn the tap on and then fill the
> measuring cup...no waiting for colder water...
>
> --
> -Alan

I have the rice cooker with the see-through bowls, so it's probably
not as large as yours, but I think I'll try your recipe in smaller
quantities......Sharon

"Steve Pope" > wrote in message
...
> Mordechai Housman > wrote:
>
> > My mother always told me that the hot water tastes bad and
> > not to use it for cooking, but I've never understood it. Why
> > should it be any different than the cold water? Does the water
> > heater impart something to the water besides heat?
>
> It has more impurities in it. Specifically there is more lead
> in it, as there are almost always lead components in faucets
> and the warmer water leeches more of the lead out. This is
> especially true if you don't let the water run freely for
> a few seconds before using it.
>
> (So I've been told by workplace safety experts who have opinions
> on exactly how the office coffee should be made.)
>
> (On the other hand, maybe these guys just make stuff up so
> they sound important.)
>
> I also suspect build-up in the water heater creats more impurities.
>
> Steve

My husband insists on this, too, Steve, which is why we had to buy a Bunn
Coffee Maker, because it always holds hot water. When he realized I was
using hot water from the tap, he just about flipped. I never knew it
contained lead and other unsightlies from the hot water heater.

kili

biig wrote on 12 Jul 2006 in rec.food.cooking

> I have the rice cooker with the see-through bowls, so it's probably
> not as large as yours, but I think I'll try your recipe in smaller
> quantities......Sharon
>
>

So your unit is more like my kenmore electric veggie steamer with a rice
cooking attachment/basket. I think veggie steamers cook rice and leave a
harsh taste. I don't think my one pot chicken rice idea would work in
your type steamer.

My B&D Rice cooker plus model is a dedicated rice cooker and can't be
used to steam brocolli or other veggies. It uses boiling water to cook
the rice, not steam. And looks somewhat like this picture (almost
identical except the B&D has less rice holding capacity and the B&D was
way cheaper IIRC around $35).
http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/aro..._new_66_op.jpg

Those electric veggie steamers that cook rice ...assembling the internal
rice cooking bowl...confuses the hell outta me and I have to read the
instructions everytime I used it. And if I remember correctly it takes
over 40 minutes to cook rice with it, which is not a convenient time
saving device IMO. And all those plastic parts take up too much room in
the dishwasher. This link looks somewhat like my veggie steamer, which
can cook rice as well.
http://www.usashoppingclub.com/images/95/images/652.jpg

--
-Alan

Mr Libido Incognito wrote:
> biig wrote on 11 Jul 2006 in rec.food.cooking
>
> >
> > I have a Black and Decker steamer/rice cooker, but the instructions
> > don't say whether to start with cold water or hot.....anyone know????
> > tia.....Sharon
> >
>
> I to have a black and decker rice cooker (the Rice Cooker Plus
> model)...It doesn't really matter which temp you use. I think room temp
> or directly from the cold tap would work well. A bigger worry is the no
> stick lining...It is rather soft so NO metal tools please, or it will
> scratch up quickly. But mine isn't a steamer as per say, just cooks rice.
> It kinda looks like a smallish (say 2-3 qt at a guess) round crock pot if
> you squint. I think it will take about 4 cups raw rice...But I've never
> cooked more than 2 cups of raw rice in it. Never needed to.
>

I have the Proctor-Silex which is similar & I always start with cold
water.

Have you noticed a marked difference in results depending on the kind
of rice used? If I do Basmati or Jasmine, I use equal amounts of water
and rice. If I do Uncle Ben's converted I use 2 parts water to 1 part
rice but, for some reason that I haven't figured out, it always ends up
browning on the bottom. That doesn't happen with Jasmine or Basmati
even with much less water. In each case I remove the pot from the
cooker as soon as it clicks off so it isn't as though it's sitting dry
on a hot element.

Gabby

"Steve Pope" > wrote in message
...
> Mordechai Housman > wrote:
>
>> My mother always told me that the hot water tastes bad and
>> not to use it for cooking, but I've never understood it. Why
>> should it be any different than the cold water? Does the water
>> heater impart something to the water besides heat?
>
> It has more impurities in it. Specifically there is more lead
> in it, as there are almost always lead components in faucets
> and the warmer water leeches more of the lead out. This is
> especially true if you don't let the water run freely for
> a few seconds before using it.

I HAVE to run the water for a while first, or it won't even GET hot!
So does that mean this solves the problem?

> I also suspect build-up in the water heater creats more impurities.

I can hear that.

"Steve Pope" > wrote in message
...
>
> (So I've been told by workplace safety experts who have opinions
> on exactly how the office coffee should be made.)

Is this guy named Homer Simpson?

> Those electric veggie steamers that cook rice ...assembling the internal
> rice cooking bowl...confuses the hell outta me and I have to read the
> instructions everytime I used it. And if I remember correctly it takes
> over 40 minutes to cook rice with it, which is not a convenient time
> saving device IMO. And all those plastic parts take up too much room in
> the dishwasher. This link looks somewhat like my veggie steamer, which
> can cook rice as well.
> http://www.usashoppingclub.com/images/95/images/652.jpg
>
> --
> -Alan

Mine is similar to the second picture, only it has one level, but
does have a small bowl for doing rice. You add some water in the rice
bowl and water in the bottom of the cooker. I remove the rice bowl to
steam vegs. ....Sharon

Gabby wrote:
>
> Mr Libido Incognito wrote:
> > biig wrote on 11 Jul 2006 in rec.food.cooking
> >
> > >
> > > I have a Black and Decker steamer/rice cooker, but the instructions
> > > don't say whether to start with cold water or hot.....anyone know????
> > > tia.....Sharon
> > >
> >
> > I to have a black and decker rice cooker (the Rice Cooker Plus
> > model)...It doesn't really matter which temp you use. I think room temp
> > or directly from the cold tap would work well. A bigger worry is the no
> > stick lining...It is rather soft so NO metal tools please, or it will
> > scratch up quickly. But mine isn't a steamer as per say, just cooks rice.
> > It kinda looks like a smallish (say 2-3 qt at a guess) round crock pot if
> > you squint. I think it will take about 4 cups raw rice...But I've never
> > cooked more than 2 cups of raw rice in it. Never needed to.
> >
>
> I have the Proctor-Silex which is similar & I always start with cold
> water.
>
> Have you noticed a marked difference in results depending on the kind
> of rice used? If I do Basmati or Jasmine, I use equal amounts of water
> and rice. If I do Uncle Ben's converted I use 2 parts water to 1 part
> rice but, for some reason that I haven't figured out, it always ends up
> browning on the bottom. That doesn't happen with Jasmine or Basmati
> even with much less water. In each case I remove the pot from the
> cooker as soon as it clicks off so it isn't as though it's sitting dry
> on a hot element.
>
> Gabby

I had a cheap Salton dedicated rice cooker that would have a dry bit
at the bottom when it shut off, but my Black and Decker steamer/rice
cooker doesn't do that........Sharon