Rice to Water Ratio Calculator

With this rice to water ratio calculator, you'll learn how to cook the perfect rice for your next meal. Whether you need to know the jasmine rice to water ratio or how much water for brown rice, we have you covered. That's because we've accounted for different types of rice when calculating ratios and cooking times, since these both differ depending on the type of rice you wish to cook. Preparation techniques, like cooking or soaking, also affect cooking times as well as the texture and flavor of the rice. "So, what is the best way to cook rice?" you might ask. Continue reading to find out!

Once you're done here, check our meal calorie calculator to get better control over your calorie consumption. And if you want to become more advanced at cooking, go to the cooking measurement converter.

We all know there are several different types of rice, like:

• White;
• Brown;
• Jasmine; and
• so on and so forth!

These types of rice actually belong to broader categories of rice known as:

• Long-grain;
• Medium-grain; and
• Short-grain.

Well, how are these different from each other? Good question! You might have already (correctly) guessed by the names that long-grain is longer than medium-grain in terms of length, and both are longer than short-grain. Phew. Long-grain rice can exceed 6 mm in length and is about 4-5 times long as it is wide. The length of medium-grain rice can be anywhere between 5.2 mm and 6 mm, and its width is about 2-3 times its length. Finally, short-grain rice has a length that doesn't go beyond 5.2 mm, and it's only a tiny bit longer than it is wide, giving it an alternative name of "round rice". Length and width are not the only differences, though! There are also texture differences. Long-grain rice stays firm and dry and separates after cooking. Medium-grain rice stays moist, tender, slightly chewy, and will stick to each other after cooking. Sometimes short-grain rice and medium-grain rice get clumped together (no pun intended) in the same rice category because short-grain rice also becomes soft and tender and sticks together after cooking.

It all starts with preparation! Sounds silly, right? Just throw the rice in, add some water, and turn on the stove. Voila. Actually, there are some steps you can take before cooking to help get the desired texture:

• You can yield fluffier rice by first rinsing the rice. This will remove a lot of the starch and reduces the extent that the grains will stick together. Not rinsing yields stickier, creamier rice. ⚠️ WARNING ⚠️ rice may be fortified with vitamins and minerals, as is done with white rice in the U.S. In that case, it's best not to rinse because rinsing can result in the loss of micronutrients. Learn more with our micronutrient calculator.
• You can also soak your rice. This decreases cooking time, conserves fuel, minimizes exposure to high temperatures, and reduces stickiness. This is because soaking allows the grains to absorb water before the cooking process even begins, so it takes less cooking time to soften the starch. You will also get more flavorful results with aromatic rice varieties (e.g., Jasmine, Basmati, Texmati) if you soak these types of rice, as the flavorful component (called acetylpyrroline) will not dissipate as much with shorter cooking times!

Okay, we made it to the most exciting part. How do we cook perfect rice? Cooking rice can be cumbersome. Too much water and you end up having to use a strainer. Too little water and you end up with burnt rice and a gnarly pot that probably can't even be salvaged by the usual baking soda and elbow grease 💪. I'm sure we all think we know the answer to the question: "How much water for 1 cup of rice?! If you answered "2 cups", you're sometimes right, but not always. That's because the amount of water varies according to the type of rice. We don't know about you, but we don't want to sometimes be right - we want to always be right. If that's you, then the rice to water ratio calculator is precisely what you need. While there are different methods to measuring how much water to use, like the finger method, the rice to water ratio calculator uses the standard method of fixed ratios. The following ratios are programmed into our rice to water ratio calculator for you, but here's the breakdown on how to make different types of rice:

So, of you're wondering how much water for brown rice is needed, or what is the perfect jasmine rice to water ratio - check this chart, or simply use our calculator 😉

The best way to cook your rice is to let it come to a boil, stir it, and then reduce the heat and let it simmer while it absorbs all of the water and the surrounding steam cooks it. It's important that you leave the rice covered while it's simmering! If you want mushier rice, you can leave the rice cooking longer (this might require adding more water eventually). If you would like to cook your rice like pasta (al dente), you should only add the rice after the water comes to a boil and cook until it's soft on the outside with a little bite left on the inside. After the rice is done cooking, remove it from the heat and let it rest for 2-5 minutes.

To find out how much water you need for your rice and how long to cook:

1. Choose a type of rice from the drop-down list.
2. The calculator will inform you what the standard ratio of rice to water is, based on the type of rice you have chosen.
3. Enter the amount of rice.
4. Depending on the standard ratio, the amount of water to be added will be calculated accordingly. For example, for the jasmine rice to water ratio, 3 cups of jasmine rice would require 5.25 cups of water.
5. The cooking time will also automatically be displayed depending on the type of rice chosen. It assumes that you are using a stove to cook the rice (so not a rice cooker or any other cooking apparatus). Just remember to always double check the packaging of your rice as cooking times are usually listed there as well. Lastly, cooking times may differ by a few minutes for larger amounts of rice.