How Much Does Rice Expand?

Rice is one of the most widespread grains that is used all around the globe, especially in India and Asian countries. But as the rice increases in size, it may give you a few headaches because you can’t cook the right amount of rice that will be just enough for all your guests without leaving some rice leftovers.

Why Is It Important to Pick the Right Amount of Rice?

As the rice is most delicious only when it is freshly cooked, especially if we are talking about a delicious plate with creamy risotto, you will not want to mess with the amount of rice that you will cook and that you will get a lot of rice leftovers that will not be as delicious as in the beginning.

Or even worse, the rice didn’t grow as much as you thought, and you didn’t cook enough rice to put on the table for all your family members or for all the guests you have.

To avoid this unpleasant situation, we should know how much the rice expands so we can calculate exactly how much rice we need to cook. As there are some factors that we should take into consideration, I can’t give just a short answer.

Please read further to find the answer to your question and situation.

Should You Soak Rice Firstly?

You can shock any Indian when you tell him that you are cooking rice without soaking and washing the rice before cooking. Soaked rice is considered to be a healthier dish than just traditional rice taken from the package.

Experienced cooks say that you should soak the rice before cooking to get a more pleasant texture for the final dish.

Besides, the better texture, you should consider soaking the rice because our body will better assimilate the iron and calcium from it.

The secret is in the phytic acid which will be washed during the soaking. This phytic acid prevents your body from taking these important elements from rice.

While soaking rice, you just wash out this acid.

Another benefit of soaking the rice may be that you will remove some of the rubbish that the rice may contain.

Why Does Rice Expand During Soaking?

The main reason why rice expands is the high content of starch in it. When you begin to cook rice, it turns out that starch is going to be soluble.

It is rather complex to explain all the biological processes that are taking place there. The only fact is that rice absorbs water while heating and expands.

How Do I Convert Dried Rice to Cooked Rice?

Rice is quite a popular dish in all countries. If you go to visit Asian countries, you will see it at every corner in the majority of dishes. The main problem here is to guess or to count the right portion.

As we know, rice expands, and it leads to another problem. How to choose the right amount of rice and water?

In fact, it is quite easy to learn to cook rice. You just need to cook it in the right water volume to make it perfect. Another problem is that there are different types of rice. It doesn’t mean that if you know how to cook quinoa, the same situation will be with brown rice, for instance.

If you cook rice, you should know that it expands usually in the correlation 1 to 3. It is a general rule for most types of it. Some deviations can appear, but not much.

The difference here is with the amount of water to cook it. Almost every type of it requires a different water volume. It is better to consult a cookbook if you want to cook rice properly.

How Much Rice Can You Get? (By Type)

While cooking this grain, it is important to understand that it will expand in volume.

You need to choose the right amount of rice, and also a very important thing to keep in mind is to have an important ratio of rice to water if you want to cook the rice correctly.

As there are a few types of rice, and not all of them are equal, let’s go into details about each type.

In India, one can find hundreds of types of that grain. In other countries, it is also quite a popular product. So, it is important to know what type of rice is going to expand.

If you made up your mind to cook barley rice, you should know that it can expand up to 3 times. It simply means that if you are going to put 1 cup of dried rice, then you will get approximately 3 cups of cooked rice in the end.

Basmati Rice

One of the most popular and widespread types of rice is basmati rice. One cup of basmati dried rice, paired with 1 1/2 cup of water, will get you in the end up to 3 cups of cooked rice.

The basmati rice is popular also because it cooks quicker than other types of rice. Usually, you will need around 10-15 minutes until perfectly cooked rice.

Brown Rice

One of the most favorite types of rice by nutritionists is brown rice. Some people state that it is one of the healthier rice that you can eat.

If we are referring to the brown rice, 1 cup of dried brown rice will get you about 3 cups of cooked rice.

As of the cooking time, the brown rice will be ready in 40-50 minutes.

Calrose Rice

Calrose rice is medium-grain rice that is sticky and often used for making sushi rolls. If you are making some homemade sushi rolls, you may consider using this type of rice if you will find it in your local stores. 1 Cup of cal rose rice will give you 2 1/2 cups of cooked rice ready to be used in your homemade sushi.

The cooking time of the Calrose rice will be around 15-20 minutes.

Yellow or Golden Rice

Yellow rice or golden rice may be confused with saffron rice by some people as they look the same. In reality, yellow rice is a type of rice that was genetically modified for the Asian regions where people had insufficiency of carotene and provitamin A.

As a result, the golden color of the rice comes from the carotene in it.

If you want, you can read more about the benefits of yellow rice.

Black Japonica

A very unusual type, but not less tasty rice, is known as black japonica. This kind of rice is characterized by a long period of cooking. About an hour to cook it fully.

As for the expanded volume, it also will increase about 3 times during the cooking.

Does Rice Expand in Your Stomach?

Many people are afraid that rice will expand even more in their stomachs and that the rice may harm them.

In fact, you shouldn’t worry about it. As you are eating already cooked rice, it has already expanded and it will not expand more in your stomach. So, when it gets in your stomach, it won’t enlarge in size. It has absorbed all the water in the process of soaking and cooking.

As for uncooked rice, the situation is tricky. First of all, let us know any reasonable person who is going to eat uncooked rice. The next fact is, that the volume remains almost the same. Let’s explain.

You took a glass of rice and a glass of water. When you mix it, the total volume will be two glasses. When rice absorbs water, it will remain the same size. It won’t break the glass. If you have eaten some uncooked rice, don’t be scared! You won’t blow up because it can expand in your stomach.