Do You Really Need to Rinse Rice? I Tested It in One Pot

Should you rinse rice before cooking? I wanted a real answer, so I cooked the same jasmine rice twice in the same pot. Once rinsed, once straight from the bag. Same water, same burner setting, same lid, same rest. The only thing that changed was the rinse.

Freshly made, they looked like twins. Give them ten minutes and you start to see it. The one I didn't rinse came out a bit stickier and started to clump as it sat. So yes, rinse it. It takes a minute, and how much you rinse depends on the rice in your bag.

What rinsing actually washes off

Dry rice carries loose starch on the outside of each grain. That's what turns your first bowl of water cloudy. If you don't rinse it off, it goes into the cooking water and forms a thin glue that thickens the texture of the rice as it cools.

There's a second reason I rinse, and it has nothing to do with starch. The basmati I used to get a number of years ago came from India in a thick cloth based joot bag, and things can get into such a bag. When you add water, any impurities would floats to the top and pours straight off. That although does not account for impurities that are denser that would not float up. Thankfully the rice I bought didnt have rock or stones mixed in.

One exception. If your bag says enriched or do not rinse, believe it. Those grains have vitamins sprayed on, and rinsing washes them right off.

The test: one pot, two batches of jasmine

• Rinsed batch first, then the unrinsed batch, in the same pot
• Pot washed and cooled with cold water in between, so the second batch didn't get a head start
• Precisely turned on the burner dial so the heat was identical both times
• Same water, same lid, same rest, camera never moved

The result: skipping the rinse with jasmine isn't a disaster. Fresh off the stove both batches were light and fluffy. As they sat, the unrinsed one set up and clumped, so you end up stirring it more, breaking more grains, and it eats gummy instead of fluffy. If you're cooking rice to eat tonight, a quick rinse to mostly clear is plenty. If it's for meal prep or fried rice tomorrow, that rinse is what keeps it in separate grains instead of a block.

Same sink, different stop point

I put basmati, jasmine and sushi rice in three clear bowls with the same amount of water. Sushi rice turned the water cloudiest by a distance. Basmati and jasmine were close, with jasmine slightly cloudier. Then I cooked all three.

Basmati. The faintest water of the three. Give it a good rinse until the water runs mostly clear, for long, separate grains. How many rinses that takes depends on where the rice came from. The Elephant brand basmati I used to buy needed four or five rinses. Other brands from the Indian store need two or three. That's the whole reason I say "until mostly clear" instead of giving one number.

Jasmine. A quick, gentle rinse. Stop when it's mostly clear. A little cling is right for jasmine.

Sushi rice or Calrose. The cloudiest. Rinse until the water is mostly clear to pull off the excess dust, but stop before you scrub all the starch out. That starch, together with the sushi seasoning, is what makes the rice sticky enough for rolls and poke bowls. If the bag says pre-washed, one or two rinses is plenty.

How to rinse rice

1. Put the rice in a bowl and cover it with cool water.
2. Swirl gently with your fingertips. No scrubbing or squeezing.
3. Pour off the cloudy water, keeping the rice in the bowl with your hand.
4. Repeat until the water is mostly clear. For most rice one or two rinses is enough for a good result, three or four if you're chasing perfect. Some basmati needs the four or five, so go by the water, not the count.
5. Drain well, then cook as usual.

The sieve shortcut. After the first rinse, I often tip the rice into a fine sieve and spray it under the tap so the starchy water drains straight off. It saves me the hassle of keeping every grain in the bowl while I pour. That works well for basmati and sushi rice. Don't do it to jasmine. When I sprayed jasmine hard, the grains fractured and I ended up with the makings of a porridge. Jasmine gets the bowl method, or a very gentle spray.

Don't chase crystal-clear water

The other mistake is overdoing it, especially with jasmine. If you're rough with it you risk breaking the grains, and broken grains turn gummy no matter how well you rinsed. And if you scrub until the water is crystal clear every time, you're adding ten minutes or more for very little payoff. Mostly clear is the goal.

When rinsing matters less

• The boiled method. If you cook rice in lots of water and drain it like pasta, the starchy water gets poured away anyway. My test used the absorption method, where the rice soaks up all the water, and that's where rinsing counts.
• Pre-washed rice. Some bags, often Calrose, say pre-washed. You can skip the rinse or give it one or two quick ones.