How to best hold wild rice
I'm making mushroom soup recipe and I'm looking forward to serving it at dinner tomorrow. I have powdered the shitakes, sliced the mushrooms and the wild rice is in the oven now. In order to serve the best possible soup, where should I stop preparation tonight? If I were comfortable with all of the ingredients, I would prepare the soup up to the addition of cream. Unfortunately, I know nothing of wild rice, and how best to hold it. Will it be OK overnight in the fridge? Even better, can I leave the soup (up to the cream addition) on the porch overnight? It's expected to dip 10 degrees F below freezing and stay there until morning.
EDIT: My best guess is to add the rice to the soup now, store overnight on the porch, and add the cornstarch slurry, cream and the rest just prior to service. Would the wild rice hold up to that?
Best Answer
Wild rice, if left in the soup, will absorb water until it is bloated and mushy. You should therefore refrigerate it separately, and add it as you are finishing the soup.
Foxes, deer, raccoons and so on aside, assuming the temperature outside is at 40 F / 4 C or lower steadily, you can use it as a giant fridge/freezer. Of course, if the temperate goes as low as you have indicated, your soup base is likely to freeze, which may be inconvenient.
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How do you preserve wild rice?
Simmer the wild rice for about 45 minutes in boiling water until the rice is soft but not mushy and until most of the grains are popped. You don't want the wild rice to be tough and chewy, so be patient and cook just until it's of the right softness.How do you make wild rice not mushy?
It may sound weird, but your cooler can help keep your food warm. Wrap some bricks in tin foil and place them in the oven at 300 degrees for 20 minutes. Put the bricks on top of paper bags in the cooler, then add your food and a layer of insulation. This will keep your food hot for the whole day.How do you keep wild rice warm?
No matter which method you choose, always rinse wild rice thoroughly in cold water before cooking it and know that 1 cup uncooked wild rice yields 3 to 4 cups cooked wild rice. Then boil, steam, bake, or microwave it to perfection with these easy steps.How to Cook Wild Rice
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