Arborio Rice in Rice Cooker Adventures

Arborio rice is the rice one typically uses to make risotto. It's short-grained and exudes a creamy texture when cooked. (The creamy exudate can take a lot of flavor from the broth in which it is cooked.) As a rice used in risotto, it's typically simmered *uncovered* for a long period of time during which liquid is periodically added.

As an experiment, I decided to try cooking rice the traditional method (in my rice cooker): adding all the liquid at once and cooking it covered. I've never seen any package of arborio rice give directions on how to do this; they all only give directions on the traditional risotto-like method of cooking.

The result of the experiment was very gooey rice that was pretty flavorless. The gooeyness was a bit disturbing and not appetizing. The gooey exudate partially solidified near the edges of the pot, making a translucent film that coated part of the rice. That part was definitely no good.

There was a good result of this experiment however! I had a bit of leftover rice which I refrigerated and reheated later. It reheated very well, tasting almost like chinese sticky white rice right out of the oven.