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RICE, BOILED (a la Carolina)

Take a sufficient quantity of rice, and pick it free from rough grains and foreign substances, then wash it quickly in cold water, and hurry it to the pot before the grain is at all softened. As to the quantity of water to be used in boiling, there are two modes. One is to put in twice as much water as rice, and allow it all to be absorbed by the grain; the other is to put in three or four times as much water, but to pour almost all of it off as soon as the grain changes from its pearly-white colour and gives proof of having softened. In both modes, when this stage of boiling has been attained, the pot is to be withdrawn from the hot fire and set where it will be kept at a low steaming heat until the water is all gone. The last process is called "soaking." Properly conducted, the rice comes from the pot perfectly done, of a clear white colour, with each grain firm and distinct and swelled to double its original size. Salt, of course, is to be added. Rice prepared in this way should not be stirred much in boiling, or it will become gluey; a large open fork passed through it once or twice will be sufficient to prevent the grains adhering.