Andrea (FFC): Great question. From what I’ve read in the past (without doing further research), the amount of nutrients lost is miniscule and it may only pertain to rice that’s been “enriched.” The reason for rinsing is to remove some of the outside powder on the grains, which is starchy, and can make rice clump when cooking.

Yogi

Boiling rice certainly works and is very tasty and consistent, but gives a very different result than a “long simmer” (tho’ I would disagree with the “simmer” part: most people I know who cook rice cook it as quickly as possible, and a rice cooker cooks at a full boil, generally.)

Think about how pasta cooked in boiling water differs from cooking it in just enough to finish it (which is an old Italian method now regaining fashion.) There is a difference in texture and flavor, IMO. So which one you use depends on your desired result.

John Thorne, in Pot on The Fire has a great essay called Perfect Rice. Fascinating reading, as is most of his work.

I enjoy your site. Came here from Fork, Fingers, Chopsticks.

Andrea (FFC): Yogi thanks for taking time to leave a comment and for your insight into rice. I’ll have to checkout Thorne.

Andrea (FFC): I’m no food scientist but the long boil is what “cooks” the rice and the steaming step makes it fluffy. The traditional method, which takes a heck of a lot longer (especially at altitude), cooks the rice in a lonnnngggg simmer. So, basically the cooking process is changed to a higher heat for a shorter period.