Rice cooking methods can differ between regions and depend on the rice dish prepared. They are also currently changing with the increasing consumption of long-grain indica rices. For instance, bulky long-grain japonica varieties produced in Italy are used for preparing risotto. Swelling of rice after cooking is considered very important and the japonica varieties are usually cooked in small quantities of water to avoid loss of solids through drainage. In contrast, parboiled and indica-type rices do not show marked loss of solids after cooking and are thus often cooked in excessive quantities of water in most parts of Europe.
Consumers generally prefer firm cooked rice.
Hence, rice cookers developed in Japan and USA have recently become very popular for home cooking. The water quantity and cooking time are controlled automatically according to the quantity of rice to cook. Rice cooked by this technique is firmer. Traders currently consider that, unless there is substantial investment in research for alternative uses and in marketing, the only future for round-grain rice will be for making cakes and flour. Medium-grain rices seem to be limited to traditional preparations such as paella in Spain and risotto in Italy.