Do I actually need to rinse rice, and why?

Rinsing is one of those steps that gets treated as a moral obligation rather than a technique with a purpose. The purpose is texture, it applies to some rices and not others, and there is a separate and much smaller health argument that is worth knowing about.

Step by step

1. Know what is on the grain.Milling removes the bran and in doing so abrades the surface, leaving loose starch dust. More is generated by grains rubbing together in transport. As soon as that dust meets hot water it gelatinises into paste between the grains, which is what makes rice clump.
2. Rinse the rices where separate grains are the goal.Basmati, jasmine, long grain, and anything for a pilaf, a biryani or fried rice. Put the rice in a bowl, cover with cold water, swirl with your hand, pour off the cloudy water and repeat. Two or three changes takes the water from milky to faintly cloudy, which is where the useful effect stops.
3. Do not rinse the rices where the starch is doing a job.Arborio, carnaroli and vialone nano for risotto; bomba and calasparra for paella; pudding rice. In all of these the released surface starch is what thickens the dish and gives it its texture. Rinsing them is straightforwardly a mistake.
4. Rinse sushi rice thoroughly, and for a different reason.Sushi rice is rinsed and often gently rubbed until the water runs almost clear, because the finished rice must be sticky from the grains themselves rather than gluey from surface paste. This is the one case where rinsing until nearly clear is genuinely worth the effort.
5. Treat brown and wholegrain rice as optional.The bran is intact, so there is very little loose surface starch. A quick rinse to remove dust and any field debris is reasonable; extended rinsing does nothing.
6. Know the arsenic argument separately.Rice takes up inorganic arsenic from soil and water more than other cereals do. Rinsing removes a little. Cooking in a large excess of water and draining it removes considerably more. UK Food Standards Agency advice is that this matters mainly for very young children, who should not be given rice drinks as a milk substitute, and for people eating large quantities of rice daily. For most people it is a reason to vary grains rather than to change how you rinse.
7. Soak only if you want longer grains.Soaking basmati for 20–30 minutes after rinsing lets the grain hydrate evenly and elongate rather than break, which is why it is standard for biryani. Reduce the cooking water slightly to account for what the grain has already absorbed.

Tips

• A sieve under a running tap works but wastes water and is less effective than swirling in a bowl, because the grains do not rub against each other.
• Drain rinsed rice well. Water clinging to the grains counts towards your cooking water and will make the ratio wrong if you have measured carefully.
• The B vitamins added to enriched rice — a US practice rather than a UK one — do wash off with rinsing. UK rice is generally not enriched, so this is not a consideration here.

Common mistakes

• Rinsing risotto rice — You wash away the starch that makes risotto creamy, and then have to compensate with butter and cheese for a texture the rice would have given you.
• Rinsing for ten minutes until perfectly clear — Past two or three changes you are removing almost nothing. The water never goes completely clear because you are also seeing fine starch from broken grains.
• Rinsing with hot water — It starts gelatinising the surface starch immediately, which is the opposite of what you are trying to do. Cold water only.

Questions people ask