I was making risotto the other night (following a recipe), and started wondering why I had to add a scoop of broth, stir until it is absorbed, then add another scoop, and repeat until done. Why not just add all the broth at once? Does exposure to air make a difference in the “creaminess” of the final product? Does some starch only get released under certain conditions?
In: Chemistry
Alright y’all. Risotto is a cooking methods. You can risotto any grain. Risotto gelatinizes the grain in a way that makes it creamy. Pilaf makes it flaky. And simmering makes it sticky.
I had a risotto action station. Added 3/4 of the necessary liquid, covered, steamed for 10 minutes and chilled for service the next day. Sauté on high with whatever they wanted on the menu a few ladles of stock and stir vigorously throughout cooking the rice, add butter and/or parm. Risotto in 5.
I usually make Ina Garten’s “Lazy Risotto” recipe, which just involves cooking arborio rice in chicken broth in a dutch oven for 45 minutes, then adding wine, more broth, parmasean cheese, butter, and salt and pepper and stiring it for 5 minutes. It comes out perfect every time.
Risotto, like so many other dishes, are meant to be made slowly over a glass of wine with a friend. It is the social aspect that makes it taste good. If you want restaurant style, throw some Arborio rice, a banana, some protein powder and pre-workout into a food processor. Add some boxed red wine….puree….and poof! Risotto on the go!
Others have explained it well. The liquid doesn’t matter as mush as the stirring after the liquid is added. Here is the recipe my wife uses every time she makes risotto.
Source: https://barefootcontessa.com/recipes/easy-parmesan-risotto
Easy Parmesan “Risotto”
SERVES 4 TO 6|LEVEL: BEGINNER
1½ cups Arborio rice
5 cups simmering chicken stock, preferably homemade, divided
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup frozen peas
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place the rice and 4 cups of the chicken stock in a Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset. Cover and bake for 45 minutes, until most of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente. Remove from the oven, add the remaining cup of chicken stock, the Parmesan, wine, butter, salt, and pepper, and stir vigorously for 2 to 3 minutes, until the rice is thick and creamy. Add the peas and stir until heated through. Serve hot.
My wife’s variation uses an equal amount of broth to substitute wine. Replaced peas with roasted or blanched asparagus.
Why not just use a rice cooker then? Anyone tried using a rice cooker?
if youre a professional you can theoretically get away with adding the precise amount in 2-3 “pours”. but unless you make the exact same risotto with the exact same ingredients every time you would risk missing the proportions.
also it *needs* stirring all the time. you are already going to be there every minute might as well just pour the liquid a little bit at a time.
according to most of my family, it’s pretentious claptrap created by some upstart chef who thought it’d make his job seem more important that it was. Use hot stock, add half, stir until absorbed. Then add half the rest, let it bubble, stir and then add the remainder, and let is stand on a low heat until all the liquid is absorbed.
If you use a pressure cooker you can just add the lot and cook.
My girlfriend is a good cook but always added the stock a bit at a time. Until I made her a meal with the pressure cooker.
She’s not going back…
afaik, I do often risotto with foods that release water, since you don’t know how much water they would release, you just have to add a little at the time, to balance with the water the rice needs. Still, if you know that your rice needs an amount of water to cook, you can safely add a good part of it all at once.
I don’t know if they were joking with me, but in mushroom risotto with dried mushrooms you don’t technically need to add water to the rice… Because you already have added salt and water to the mushrooms (previously) and use the same water for cooking. Apparently it’s unheard of (really?)
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