Rice is nice

Many meals cry out for rice on the side. But all too often, rice on the stovetop boils over, scorches, or turns to mush, especially on slow-to-adjust electric stoves. Our recipe testers have made countless pans of rice, and they've found that simpler is better.

Start with the right ratio: For long-grain, 1 cup rice to 1 3/4 cups water (each cup rice yields 2 1/2 to 3 cups cooked). Add salt too - 1/2 teaspoon per cup of rice. In a panwith a tight-fitting lid, bring ingredients to a full, rolling boil (uncovered) over high heat, gas or electric.

Turn the heat down to low. Cover the pan and barely simmer until rice is tender to bite, 18 to 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Or, if using an electric stove, try this method from one of our testers, which uses the burner's residual heat to cook the rice gently. After bringing to a boil, boil at high heat for 2 full minutes. Cover pan and turn off heat; leave pan on hot burner until rice is tender to bite, 20 to 22 minutes. Fluff with a fork, and you're good to go.