Al Dente

     Most of us are familiar with the culinary term al dente, meaning "to the tooth."  It's the way many like to enjoy their pasta, with just a little firmness to the bite.  But that is also the preferred way to serve wild rice, tender but with a little chew.

     Wild rice should be cooked until the grains look puffed but not broken.  When prepared this way, according to Joanne Smart who writes in the October/November issue of Fine Cooking, "Cooked this way--a bit firm outside but tender inside--the rice pops a bit with each bite..."

     "The best way to test for doneness is not by looking but by tasting," she goes onto comment.  "Because cooking times can vary, begin tasting early, and take the rice off the heat when it's just shy of being cooked to your liking as a little carryover heat will continue to cook it.  It's OK if some of the grains have split.  Just don't let them get to the point of curling, or the rice will be unpleasantly mushy."



     Tender but not split, wild rice will look swollen but has not burst.  Some recipes say to cook wild rice until it splits.  This means the rice will be softer.  Burst and curled rice, however, is overcooked and will be mushy and disintegrate easily.