Steamfresh Long Grain Rice
April 30, 2008
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What it is: Rice ready to be steamed in the microwave
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Bonnie: Birds Eye did it again. First with veggies (see FeaturedBite), providing frozen portions that steam in a few minutes in the microwave – and this time they’ve done so with rice.
I like Steamfresh because it’s quick, convenient and contains only rice (or rice and plain veggies). In a recent survey, Birds Eye discovered that people are not confident in their ability to cook rice. In fact, only a third of those surveyed believed their “rice comes out just right.” I’d bet most of those are reading this!
In fact, having written a book called “Rice,” I find it difficult to comprehend that cooking rice is difficult. If you disagree, though, tell me your rice troubles by posting them here on the site. Be as specific as possible, if you do post a problem.
You might recall that we’ve already told you about a quick rice: Uncle Ben’s Whole Grain Brown Ready Rice, the shelf-stable, 90-second way to have brown rice. Uncle Ben’s is good. Steamfresh is better tasting, contains nothing but rice and has only 1 gram fat. Uncle Ben’s has 4 grams fat from the added oil. I still recommend either for quick nutritious brown rice.
Rice really is simple to prepare, it just takes a little time that many of us don’t have. If you so want to prepare rice from scratch, here are a few tips for perfect rice:
- Always measure the rice and liquid, then follow the package cooking instructions (as different rices require different amounts of liquid and cooking times)
- Do not stir (that is unless you’re making a risotto, where you want the rice to release its starch)
- Fluff the rice before serving to allow the steam to escape, which keeps the grains separated
Bryan: BiteoftheBest.com has become a fan of the “Steamfresh” line; we raved (rightly) about their veggies a while back. Birds Eye is a welcome change from their over-sauced, over-salted brethren in the frozen vegetable aisle. Though not what I would consider their “core competency,” Birds Eye has now ventured farther down the rabbit hole of the Steamfresh brand into brown rice; the result is a clear success, (of course, why else would my keyboard grace this product?).
Many new food items to hit the supermarket shelves (and be lucky enough to make it as a Bite of the Best) are convenience products, taking ordinary food preparation from being counted in minutes/hours to being counted in seconds. Instant rice is nothing new, but good instant rice is. The cooking process for rice is normally very slow; the grain needs to absorb heated liquid over time to achieve proper texture and flavor (generally also absorbed through salting or oils). I would never tell you that instant anything tastes better than traditional anything, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; who has the time? Steamfresh is a strong enough player to muscle its way onto any dinner menu without compromise; providing a healthy, tasty and very quick side dish for a modern dinner.
Eric: It’s funny when I read what my mother has written and realize that I, of the belief that I am a “foodie,” have neglected to learn what it means to properly prepare rice. “But you have to stir!” says my girlfriend as I sit here writing. Stirring is something we’ve gotten quite accustomed to doing while cooking Jasmine rice for one of our favorite meals (Chicken & Broccoli), and now that I think about it, its porridge consistency should have set-off red flags in my head. That aside, when it comes to cooking, I’ve never been one for taking short-cuts. When we reviewed Uncle Ben’s 90-second Brown Ready Rice, I had mentioned my disdain for microwavable products; rice, however, is one product I’d love to be able to simply prepare.
The last time I was preparing rice I had a flashback to the steamer my mother has — now probably piled away in one of the kitchen drawers — and the ease it provided when preparing rice (or vegetables). Unfortunately, not all of us have the luxury of such equipment, but for our sake, companies such as Birds Eye and Uncle Ben’s have made fairly arduous tasks easy. This is something I rarely admit, but in this case, taking the short-cut with the microwave will certainly get you there — and with taste.
13 Comments on “Steamfresh Long Grain Rice”
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HiB of the B! Combine this Birds-Eye Steamfresh brown rice with their Steamfresh vegetables. Add your Bite Best from last week — the Thai Chili sauce, and voila … a simply, delicious dinner. Keep the great ideas coming, Jane
I’ve been eating Uncle Ben’s microwaveable rice ever since
you wrote about it! Now we have another option! Keep on giving us such great advice!
Great easy way to save time!
Bonnie,thank you for the rice tips! Eric and I had the perfect rice…just because he talked me out of stirring after reading your advice!
Thanks you for this information. Rice has never been something I felt confident about cooking. I am amazed that a simple thing like not stirring can make such a difference. We learn something new everyday.
You are quite welcome! To me, rice is simple because I realize I know a lot about it from having studied all about my favorite grain when writing a cookbook about it.
Another rice tip/thought: If your rice isn’t cooked when you think it should be, just add a bit more water. You see, if it’s been on the shelf too long or hasn’t been stored properly it may be drier requiring more water and additional cooking time.
And conversely, if your rice is cooked to perfection but you still have some water in the pot, just drain and then serve it.
My mother learned to cook rice perfectly from a natural-born cook. Here’s how we do it:
Put rice in pot. I usually cook about a half a cup.
Fill saucepan with water. Turn burner on to high. Turn down when it begins to boil. Cook for 20-22 minutes. If you’re using a glass pot, turn burner off when the timer goes off.
Drain water off the rice. (I use a strainer made for this purpose.)
Return pot to burner. If using a metal pot, turn burner off now.
Rice will finish to perfection and be ready when you are.
It’s the best. I really, really like it.
Product is delicious as many describe, but my failure rate on Birds Eye Steamfresh package explosions in my microwave yesterday topped 4 out of 5 of the last packages I have prepared. I can’t begin to tell you how frustrating it is to do all of this clean-up. Package is right-side up, I have altered the cooking times, the power levels, I have made sure the steam vents are bump-free so rice isn’t blocking them, but nothing is working. Arrrggghhhhh …
Hi HemisphereDancer,
Thank you for your feedback. We are working diligently to ensure this doesn’t happen again. We understand your frustration and we thank you for being a loyal customer. We’d like to send you some coupons for free packages of Steamfresh to apologize for the inconvenience. Please e-mail us your mailing address so we can send the coupons to you. birdseyefoods@northlich.com
Thanks!
Thank you for your kind offer Birds Eye. I talked to your people about 7 months ago letting you know of the problem and you sent me coupons but, as I stated 2 weeks ago when I contacted Customer Relations again to let them know it is an on-going problem, I don’t want any coupons as much as I would like to see the bags fixed.
Thank you again and Happy Holidays.
Does anyone know if this happens to the Uncle Bens product?
Excellent work on this article. It makes for an interesting and Thoughtful read.
Where in Spokane is your Bird’s Eye Frozen Microwave Brown Rice available?