Welcome to Tips and Techniques at StartCooking.com.

I'm Kathy Maister.

Today we're cooking some white rice.

To make three cups of cooked rice, you'll need two cups of water

and one cup of long or medium grain white rice.

Adding salt and butter is optional, but it does make a difference in the taste.

It's important to measure very carefully, no guessing allowed.

Using a two quart heavy sauce pan, bring the two cups of water to a boil.

Add one cup of rice, one half teaspoon of salt, and one tablespoon of butter.

Stir only once, or you'll end up with mushy rice.

Cover the pot and return the water to a boil.

Immediately turn the stove down to simmer and turn the timer on for 20 minutes.

Cooking times differ slightly on all stove, so after 17 minutes, check to see if all the water's

been absorbed. When you take the cover off, the top of the rice may look like it's totally

cooked. However, with a spoon, you'll need to gently move the rice to see if there's still

water to be absorbed at the bottom.

Perfect. Cheers.