A Rice cooker is the best home appliance to cook rice dishes in a short time. I also love to use a rice cooker but notice something wrong with it. Soapy bubbles are leaking out. Now I have a question, why is my rice cooker boiling over?
Rice cookers boil over after the starch in the rice expands. It mixes with water and makes bubbles. As a result, it goes beyond its capacity. So, the sealed rice cooker starts to boil over.
It looks easy to solve but trust me, a lot more surprises are waiting for you. Let’s find out why the rice cooker tends to boil over and its solution.
Why Does My Rice Cooker Boil Over?
As a rice cooker user, you should know that rice has different classes. Yes, it can be short, medium, or long-grain rice. Even though there are differences based on milling, processing, quality, color, flavor, aroma, etc.
All types of rice are very much identical in their way, including the cooking method. So, you should know the type of rice you are using to cook, boil and serve.
On top of that, you need to use water based on its type! Could you believe it! All are related to your rice cooker boiling over. Still, we tried to explain all the most common causes below.
1. Rice quantity is over than capacity
The most common mistake we make is having more raw rice than the capacity of the rice cooker. All we know, every rice cooker has a range of minimum and maximum capacities. The high-quality rice cooker comes with a standard cup to measure the rice quantity.
It helps to meet the range for the rice capacity. The actual difference comes out after mixing the measurement with raw and cooked rice.
For example, if the rice cooker says, 8 cups of cooked rice are the maximum capacity. It means 4 cups of raw rice is the actual capacity. The calculation looks like the following one to complete the entire boiling process.
1 cup of raw rice = 2 Cups of cooked rice
Thus, a few types of rice get twice or three times in size after boiling. All these rice types absorb more water. For such appliances, know the fundamental details about the capacity.
2. Using too much water
We always use water, but the use of water makes cooking rice sometimes difficult. The cooker starts to boil over after using more water than necessary.
Most of the rice cookers come bigger to hold maximum rice and water. Based on the types of rice, we need to change the portion of water. It is also related to the recipe.
All the time, using equal portions of water gives the best result. Keep in mind a few recipes need more water than your measurement. Maybe it’s not equal or needs rice and water in 1:2 proportion.
To get a real-time guideline, use the marking inside the pot. At least it will save your rice cooker from boiling over. So, don’t use too much water in the rice without necessity.
3. Using ingredients over the capacity
We always love to cook, and most of the time, making some special rice dishes like ‘Rice A Roni’ becomes a hobby. To make such yummy dishes, we want to use most of the raw rice at once. It’s a wrong decision.
Don’t use excess raw rice or water. If you do, your rice cooker will boil over. Most of the time, the cooking plan doesn’t work properly as we wanted.
To take care of the dishes, you need to follow a different approach. Don’t use excess raw rice or water to maintain all the things. Here is the chart to know how many cups of rice you should use for the cooker.
| People | Cups of uncooked rice |
| 1 | 0.5 |
| 2 | 1 |
| 3 | 1.5 |
| 4 | 2 |
4. Cooking rice with a high starch content
Undoubtedly, measuring the right proportion of water and rice is super easy. The situation gets complex because of the starch content. It happens because of the rice variety.
Without knowing the exact variety of the rice, it’s impossible to guess about starch content. The starch content of the rice creates foamy bubbles.
It creates more and more bubbles and makes some force inside the cooker. As a result, you’ll discover a foamy mess around your rice cooker.
5. Incorrect setting of rice cooker
Rice cookers have the simplest setting. Anyone can understand it. Based on a few parameters like rice types, timer, and warmth, you can set the cooker.
The wrong setting can ruin your rice dishes and can make them boil over at any moment.
6. Defective rice cooker
Is your rice cooker defective? Sometimes, defective rice cookers malfunction. Most of the time, it happens because of a faulty thermal fuse.
Even the defective valve or gasket is also a reason to boil over. If your sealed lid is improper to use, the rice cooker may boil over for no fault. The only reason is your defective rice cooker.
How to Stop a Rice Cooker from Boiling Over?
After knowing the reason, it’s easy to solve the problem. But what happens when you don’t know the reason?
Some basic steps can reduce the risk. Here is an in-depth explanation.
1. Use the right amount of water
Using excessive water is the key reason your rice cooker boils over. According to the portion of the rice, you have to use the right amount of water.
If there are any specific recipes you’re going to try, then follow the instructions. If possible, reduce some amount of water. Here are some tips for reducing water from the rice cooker.
- First, reduce the whole cup of water or a half cup of water. Make sure you are not reducing too much water from the rice.
- Try to keep the water level just to cover the rice, not more than that. We called it the absolute amount of water. Sometimes, it works for different types of rice.
- Follow traditional ways to reduce water. Reduce the maximum of water from the pot. Now you can rest your finger on the rice directly.
Also see: How To Fix Undercooked Rice? Some Common Ways
2. Rinse the rice
We rinse the rice before cooking, but not perfectly. Perfect rinsing of the rice is important because it makes rice fluffiest and most nourishing and minimizes the amount of starch.
Starch content led to the rice cooker boiling over, and rinsing perfectly removes starch from the rice. In two ways, you can get the best result as followings:
- Take a fine mesh strainer and rinse the rice. Do it until you see clear water after running over the rice.
- Use a bowl of water and put all the rice into it. Swirl the rice using your bare hand. It’ll help the grains to grab each other and become
3. Use oil or butter
It is an unusual but effective way to keep all the grain stuck together. Adding oil or butter minimizes the frothy bubbling action. Keep in mind, using oil or butter has an impact on the flavors.
Use just only 1 tsp olive oil, coconut oil, or butter. Excessive use of oil or butter can ruin your dishes. Let’s find out all the sources below.
- Coconut oil (a healthier option to add, give the rice coconut flavor, best for Asian-inspired dishes)
- Olive oil (healthy option, add neutral flavor to the rice)
- Butter (make the rice delicious)
4. Protect your counter
It’s time to control a rice cooker’s boil-over problem in different ways. Make yourself protective of handling it. Handle all the mess in smart ways as follows.
- Take a cookie sheet and place it under the rice cooker. It will keep all the mess in place. Cleaning the cookie sheet is better than cleaning the countertop. The sheet makes the cleaning part a little bit easier for you.
- Use a paper towel. Place it over the vent. Remember, a paper towel is not a seal. Don’t worry about the cooker. It is still able to vent. Paper towels can catch water and starch. A paper towel will do the job when it comes out from the cooker. The paper towel method is effective when the bubbles come out in small quantities.
5. Use another type of rice
Try a different type of rice if you are not sure about the rice type. Some specific types of rice don’t make bubbles or starch.
For example, brown rice has more starch than white rice. You can try the white one.
Also Read: Cuckoo Rice Cooker Not Working: How To Solve It
What Is the Reason My Rice Cooker Bubbling Over?
Cooking in a rice cooker means you’ll discover foam as well as a bubbling sound. The only reason is the rice you’re cooking. Few types of rice have more starch than the regular quantity.
Rice cookers start to make bubbles when you cook starchy rice. The water mixes with the rice in the process of cooking. Additionally, the starch is also mixed with water.
As a result, it creates a huge number of bubbles. Slowly, it raises the surface and lets the bubble spill over. You can easily prevent it by following the method I’m going to discuss. Let’s have a quick look at them.
- Use less starchy rice to cook
- Rinse the rice perfectly before cooking. If needed, use your hand to wash them.
- Soak the rice for several minutes before cooking. It will remove the remaining starch.
- Don’t overfill the rice cooker. Check the capacity of the cooker and maintain the guideline for it.
- Use a few drops of oil to prevent bubbles from rising to the top.
- Before and after the cooking session, clean the cooker perfectly. Check for any vents or gaps. Otherwise, the bubbles will get a way to escape from inside the cooker.
What Should I Do If All Method Fails?
Most of the time, all the methods I’ve discussed work for rice cooker overflow. There is little chance of failing. Replace your rice cooker if you are still not getting the solution after applying all these methods.
Rice cookers are inexpensive home appliances. Facing a boil-over situation over and over can cause you to lose your temper as the taste of your dishes.
Sometimes, buying a new rice cooker or replacing the old one is worth it.
People Frequently Asked Questions [FAQ]
Most of the rice has starch. Few types of rice have low starch. In this case, you can try long-grain white rice, Basmati, and Jasmine rice.
If the rice cookers boil over, place a paper towel over the cooker. You can also reduce the water. Remove the lid and place a wooden spoon over it. Turn off the rice cooker and drain the excess water.
Sometimes, we make mistakes during cooking. A common one is we mix rice and water without knowing the exact proportion. The proportion of the water is 1:2. On the other hand, every two people use a cup of rice.
Always use cool and fresh water to rinse the rice. Rinse it until the water gets a fresh color. Washing rice removes excess starch. Use your hand if needed to wash the rice.
Rice cookers generate a lot of pressure inside it. If you cover it with a lid and trap it, the pressure will push the water up.
Conclusion:
The Rice cooker is a great addition to our kitchen. When rice cookers boil over, it makes us very much uncomfortable and frustrated.
Don’t blame your appliance in this situation. Maybe it’s your fault, not the rice cooker. Yes, check first; all you have done right is cook the rice. Even check the mixing proportion of the rice and water.
This guideline will help you understand what to do and what not when your rice cooker boils over. Don’t ask yourself repeatedly, why is my rice cooker boiling over. Now you’ve got the answer.
Be conscious about the causes I’ve mentioned in this article and do your needful. Your rice cooker is ready again to cook rice and won’t boil over.
