White Rice

Long grain is the everyday default and cooks up fluffy and separate. Jasmine is long grain with a floral smell, and basmati cooks even drier and longer-grained (great next to anything saucy). One cup of dry rice makes about 3 cups cooked, so a little goes further than you'd think. Dry white rice keeps basically forever in an airtight container, and cooked rice holds 4 days in the fridge. Get leftover rice into the fridge within an hour, spread on a plate to cool fast, because cooked rice left out at room temp is one of the more common causes of food poisoning. Day-old fridge rice is also the only rice worth making fried rice with; fresh rice just steams into mush in the pan.

White rice takes 18–20 minutes on the stovetop and the whole game is won before the lid goes on: rinse the rice until the water runs clear, use a 1:1.5 rice to water ratio and then leave it completely alone. Stirring releases starch and turns fluffy rice gummy, and lifting the lid vents the steam that's doing the actual cooking. When the timer's up, let it rest off heat for 10 minutes with the lid still on, then fluff with a fork. That rest is the difference between distinct grains and a sticky clump. Times for the rice cooker, Instant Pot, and oven are all below. I'll take the rice cooker over the stovetop 8 days of the week: same result, zero attention required.