You Should Know

This is a growing problem due to climate change (higher temperatures seem to increase arsenic uptake) and pollutants, so this doesn’t make any sense.

The article explains the infographic and adds a lot more context.

The amount of arsenic depends on location - if you’re in a region that has standards on arsenic levels, like the EU, UK, or the US, then you’re probably fine, but the levels may be higher than what’s considered safe for children. This method would allow you to reduce the levels by around 50%, and since the levels for children are a bit under half of what’s acceptable for adults, that’s likely to make it safe for them.

The time savings are relative to other methods for reducing arsenic content, like cooking it with excess water (like a 12:1 ratio) and then discarding the excess, as this method allows you to use a rice cooker for the remaining time and to cook with a much smaller water:rice ratio, even accounting for the discarded water.

2. This seems to mainly be a concern in places where a lot of rice is consumed and there is no legal limit for arsenic in rice (many parts of Asia), not necessarily in the US where there is an FDA limit and most people don’t eat rice every day.
3. It saves time, water, and energy compared to other ways of reducing arsenic, like using the excess water method with large excesses of water. Parboiling in with 4 times the water by weight and then cooking in 2 times the water by weight uses less water than cooking once in 10-12 times the water by weight (half the water). Heating half as much water to boiling reduces energy use and time (assuming constant heating power in W from the stove). Of course it’s still slower than cooking rice using the absorption method common in many places (this is not necessarily how people in some countries cook rice).

You were being generous going past (1.) I rather just die or stop reading rice

Im with you.

Sorry, everything these days causes cancer. Let me have a quick easy dinner so this life is worth it.

Challenge accepted.

Soooo it's safe to eat without throwing the eater out?

Asking, for science

The real question. Apple seeds have naturally occurring cyanide, but you would have to eat something like 30 to 300 apples worth of seeds to maybe have a health issue.

It's the dose that makes the poison.

How much arsenic do you define as useful? I had a similar thought and could probably figure it out, but I really don't want to dig my old chem and bio texts out of my garage.

It takes just as long to cook, and has the texture of parboiled rice.

Helpful advice? Who ARE you?

This will add 15-20 mins more to overall cooking.

Are you counting 5-8 minutes to heat water + 5 minutes parboiling the rice + 5-8 minutes to heat fresh water? If so, you're double-counting one of those steps, because you already have to heat water when cooking rice. Using your figures, the overall cooking time would only increase by 10-13 minutes.

You could reduce that to ~5 minutes by heating your cooking water during the parboil step, rather than after, so it's ready to go when the parboil is done. In a kettle or second pan, for example.

You could further reduce it to <1 minute (the time it takes to replace the parboil water) by taking 5 minutes off the cooking time, since the newly added 5 minute parboil is cooking.

I hope the fediverse doesn't cook meals one step at a time. That would take ages. :)

This is not suggesting the rice be overcooked, just cooked using a different process.

Arsenic is a naturally occurring element.