A stainless steel bowl is recommended due to its good heat conductivity over some other materials.
My 3 cup Kitchen Gourmet rice cooker has a steam vent hole in the cover lid which provides a cooking process which results in some steam and flavor escaping. I am used to placing a lid on a sauce pot and letting the cooking take place with a sealed lid. But, I thought that the inner bowl with the steamer tray would be perfect for my 4 qt Fagor PC, and it does fit in it perfectly.
The only questions are - this bowl is made of a cheap aluminum. Is that material going to affect the way the inner content will be cooked? I am considering using the bowl for items such as oats (groats and rolled oats) and rice (both white long grain/basmati/jasmine and brown long grain/basmati).
Do I need to coat the inner surface with oil to keep the foods from sticking?
If I used a stainless steel bowl (if I can find one that fits my PC), would I need to oil that as well?
I read on the directions on this website that butter or oil is recommended for grains. I never use butter or oil when cooking oats. Is that recommended for the oats? My usual way of cooking oats is to SLOWLY cook them and to add additional items like ginger, cardomom, honey. If I used a PC, should I add them at the beginning? Slow cooking allows their flavor to infuse into the oats. (By the way, before I cook the oats, I cook a small amount of millet, rye flakes, and some other grains for about 10 minutes before adding the oats. Any suggestions for how I can PC a mixture of these kinds of grains in the PC?
My current method to produce drier rice is to place a paper towel over the top of the pot after cooking to absorb the moisture from the rice as it is at the end of its cooking cycle, then fluff. Perhaps I could do the same with using a PC after having removed the inner bowl. I find that by letting rice sit in a bowl in its own steam, it results in mushier rice, something I try to avoid - the paper towel helps to remove the steam and moisture, and keeps it from recirculating.
My 3 cup Kitchen Gourmet rice cooker has a steam vent hole in the cover lid which provides a cooking process which results in some steam and flavor escaping. I am used to placing a lid on a sauce pot and letting the cooking take place with a sealed lid. But, I thought that the inner bowl with the steamer tray would be perfect for my 4 qt Fagor PC, and it does fit in it perfectly.
The only questions are - this bowl is made of a cheap aluminum. Is that material going to affect the way the inner content will be cooked? I am considering using the bowl for items such as oats (groats and rolled oats) and rice (both white long grain/basmati/jasmine and brown long grain/basmati).
Do I need to coat the inner surface with oil to keep the foods from sticking?
If I used a stainless steel bowl (if I can find one that fits my PC), would I need to oil that as well?
I read on the directions on this website that butter or oil is recommended for grains. I never use butter or oil when cooking oats. Is that recommended for the oats? My usual way of cooking oats is to SLOWLY cook them and to add additional items like ginger, cardomom, honey. If I used a PC, should I add them at the beginning? Slow cooking allows their flavor to infuse into the oats. (By the way, before I cook the oats, I cook a small amount of millet, rye flakes, and some other grains for about 10 minutes before adding the oats. Any suggestions for how I can PC a mixture of these kinds of grains in the PC?
My current method to produce drier rice is to place a paper towel over the top of the pot after cooking to absorb the moisture from the rice as it is at the end of its cooking cycle, then fluff. Perhaps I could do the same with using a PC after having removed the inner bowl. I find that by letting rice sit in a bowl in its own steam, it results in mushier rice, something I try to avoid - the paper towel helps to remove the steam and moisture, and keeps it from recirculating.
