<p>I was just given a proctor silex electric rice cooker but there are no instructions and the neighbor who gave it to me never used it.</p>
<p>I want to make brown rice (I bought a bagful) in it for 2 people…I don’t know how much rice to water to use and how long or if I need to put water in first and warm and then the rice? A step-by-step guide to “how to use” would be much appreciated.</p>
<p>I would love to hear ideas for any recipes that can be made in it with vegetables added to the rice, or anything you have tired that is delicious.</p>
<p>Just dump everything in there together. Start with a 2/1 ratio of liquid to rice and work from there. (If your first batch of rice comes out too watery, you can cut back the next time around). You can pretty much cook anything in the rice cooker - so no problem adding vegetables (other than mushy vegetables). Basically a rice cooker is simply a pot that boils water, has a tight fitting lid & shuts off automatically – so it is no different than if you were cooking the rice in a pot on your stove top, except that you can leave it unattended.</p>
<p>Most rice pots come with a “measuring cup” that is about 3/4 of a cup, as well as markings on the side of the pot. For white rice, you measure out the amount of rice with the measuring cup (or 3/4 cup). Put in the pot and rinse a time or few with clean, cold water. Drain. Add water up to the line corresponding to how many measures of rice you added. Press cook button & wait until about 15 minutes AFTER the cooking is done so the rice can continue to steam for that duration after it’s done cooking & then eat & enjoy.</p>
<p>For brown rice or white and brown rice, add more water up to the next line (e.g. if you used 3 measures of rice, add water up the the 4 line on the pot), and allow slightly longer to cook.</p>
<p>As was mentioned, you can cook whatever you choose in your rice pot. I used it as my primary method of cooking while living in the dorm. You can boil or steam (some even come with a steamer). I would add lentils, split peas, barley, or any other grain I fancied to the rice, again I usually used 3/4 cup (or the measuring cup that came with the pot) to figure out how much grain to how much liquid.</p>
<p>If you like rice with more flavor, you can use broth or bullion to add flavor instead of water. You can add veggies, if you choose, but they will not be crisp like a stir-fry if you add them when you start cooking a pot of rice.</p>
<p>With brown rice I usually use 3 cups of water for 1 cup of rice. You can also use broth in place of some of the water. We received a Panasonic rice steamer as a wedding gift that is still going strong… and my wife and I have been married for 25 years!</p>
<p>Check out a thread on CC from last year on rice steamer recipes. It was great!</p>
<p>We have had a rice cooker for over 30 years. It is used more than any other small appliance in this house. Agree with the advice…add extra water for brown rice. We typically make at least double what we will use at one meal and heat it in the microwave the next day.</p>
<p>Another nice feature, it keeps the rice nice and hot for up to six hours.</p>
<p>My only warning with rice cookers is make sure the cooking surface is not aluminum (I don’t know anything about procter silex), a lot of the cheaper ones especially are aluminum and they are a health risk, aluminum among other things has been directly tied into the later onset of Alzheimers. Most of the ones I have seen are ceramic lined, but if it looks like it is aluminum don’t use it.</p>