West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1884-04-18
The Art OF Cooking Rice.

~~-~''S
SIR: With your permission, / will
answer the question addressed to "F."
about cooking rice. As Il rice planter
] am greatly interested in cverybody's
knowing how to cook rice. Wheat and
rice are the only two grains consumed
exclusively by man, or nearly SO. OF
corn, oats, barley. rye, etc. the great
bulk (even of that turned into LIQUOR.
sarcastic temperance advocate might
say) $ consumed by beasts The co1n
try produces nearly ten bushels. or
three hundred quarts, of wheat Der
capita, and scarcely one quart of rice
yet, in spite of a considerable tariff on
rice, the prices per bushel of wheat and
rough rice are not far apart usually
In rlce-grOwing country everybody
eats rice, and prefers it to broad. III a
stranger comes among us mot too old)
IN twelvemonth it is likely he will
show this preference. and children in
varlably acquire it. Yet ont of a rice
country nobody can eat it. except i'm
puddings, and the better he loves il the
less the born and bred licc-cater will
have to do with il there. A ..So'th
Gar linlan' from Georgetown or Beau.
Tort, who eats rice always once. and
sometimes twice and thrice day nj
home, will hardly call for it Il second
time at the best hotels of New York or
Long Branch. This is strange. but il
: still stranger that. even i'm the in.
terror OF South Carolina and Georgia.
rice Is not eaten largely. while i'm the
upper portions of those States. except
by low-county families, it is no more a
regular article of Diet than il is in Ohio
or Illinois. Why is this?
<Ihe explanation is to be found i'm the
cooking, and i'm that alone. Is il then
so hard To cook? BY no means. On
the contrary, the cooking is of the very
simplest and easiest, so much so that
eve negro girl % twelve or upward in
the rice country IAN cook ii to perfec-
ton, though possibly she can cook
nothing else. In fact. the plantation
rice hands cook il very much better than
You viii find it cooked at the best hotels
IN charleston or Savannah. Now. |
VIII tell You how 10 cook il. so there
can be, think, no mistake. / am fond
OF camp hunting i'm the winter fire.
quentlv staying out on the river for
week or ten days. and / always carry
rice because il is so easy TO Keep and
difficult 10 iniurc, under tho ordinar,
conditions Of camp life. when n sudden
shower or leaky boat may ruin your
Hour ~ short notice. Also, / always
carry Ned, a black man. who know.
how 10 cook rice. MANY and many n
time have ! watched him ~ 10 by the
camp fire. but lat winter there having
been some discussion OF 10 I'm the papcrs.
] took occasion one day TO observe Ned
Nth his rice. very closely. watch i'm
hand Here b, just what be did how
hc did DO, and the actual time. cNccpt
of the last operation. which is not IN.
p'r1nt. so Won give tiwe enough not
loss than belt nm hour and better. an
hour
First. hc poured pint Of rice into q
in pan and picked 10 over carefully.
throwing ont any foreign substances.
Then he poured into the pan some cold
wafer washed the rice. poured the
water OF. and picked the rice again.
y second time 10 was washed and the
water poured on Then Ned put the
rec INTO am ordinary twO-quart sauce.
pan. covered it 20 The depth Of half
Inrh with "yH water. stirred i'm tho salt.
ht'cd on the top carefully. and put the
saucepan on n quick fire NJ Goals. ard
went 90 bis other work IN lust tW enty
minutes Nod returned 10 his rlre and
removed the lid. n was done. but not
yet ready for the table There vs. n
hiiic water left, which was carefully
poured ON the riyc was thoroughly
stirred from the bottom. MOI the ton.
bur 70 tim plate was laid lightly on the
saucepan. and the saucepan sat one side
DO Tho hot ashcs. whore 10 remained
re,y 'OWiy steGniiHg ono hour. or nave
hap two. when the rice was so dry that
you might cat 10 with your fingers. asl
20 ibc same time thoroughly done. and
'ofi through and through Nobody
can like raw rice. neither can any one
ike DO ,ogQcd with water by an hours
boiling aud 40 stcaming ~ ,. EreA
ing ioJ