What Actually Happens When You Don’t Rinse Rice Before Cooking It?

Most recipes call for washing rice before cooking, but to be honest, I rarely follow this step — I take it more as a recommendation, and only thoroughly rinse my rice if I’m making sushi rice for rice bowls and other dishes. 

I’ve been going against the advice I received in my culinary school days, where I learned that washing rice helps eliminate excess starch from the milling process. One professor referred to the step as an insurance policy, explaining that it helps produce fluffier and lighter cooked grains that separate easily every time. Theoretically, giving rice a quick rinse also helps remove dust and any surface-level contaminants.

However, I also learned that not all rice needs to be washed. Some iconic dishes — think risotto and paella — actually benefit from the full starch of the rice. But if you’re making rice as a side dish, common kitchen wisdom tells you to give the grains a rinse for the best results. 

Dinner in my house is hectic and busy, though, so with all due respect to my professors, I take shortcuts where I can. To see if I really need to carve out an extra few minutes in my meal prep, and if you too should wash your rice before cooking, I conducted a side-by-side comparison of washed and unwashed rice. 

A word about the method

Before sharing my findings, it’s important to note that these tests were all conducted in my home kitchen using the tried-and-trusted stovetop method. That is, all rice was cooked in a medium saucepan on my induction cooktop. I tried batches of basmati and jasmine white rice.

For each batch, I combined 1 cup of rice, 1 1/2 cups water, and 1 teaspoon of table salt. I brought it to a boil over medium-high heat, then I covered the saucepan and reduced the temperature to maintain a low simmer and cooked for 12 minutes. Finally, I removed the saucepan from the heat but left the lid on for 10 minutes before fluffing the rice with a fork.

For the washed rice, I filled a large bowl with cold water and placed the cup of rice in a fine mesh strainer, then dipped the strainer into the water. (You could simply place rice in a strainer and run it under the faucet, but I wanted to ensure each grain was thoroughly rinsed off.) I gently sloshed the rice around for a few seconds, then drained the water and repeated until the water ran mostly, though not completely, clear, which took about three to four rinses. This process took just a few minutes total.

I let the rice soak for about 10 minutes, then drained it well before cooking. I skipped the rinsing and soaking steps for the unwashed rice, but cooked it the same way. 

I sampled each batch while it was still hot, right after fluffing, then again after it sat on the counter for 15 minutes. I judged each sample on overall texture, general stickiness, and how it felt after cooling a bit on the counter.

Does washing rice improve the texture?

Let’s cut right to the chase: The washed and soaked rice was lighter and fluffier than the unwashed rice. The washed rice broke apart easily with a fork, and the texture was even more noticeable when I ate it: Each forkful of the rinsed rice broke into individual grains in my mouth while the unwashed rice was clumpy and stuck together.

In fact, the biggest difference I observed was how sticky the unwashed rice was compared to the washed rice. This varied between batches: One batch of unwashed rice (the basmati one) seemed not as sticky as the other batch, but both batches of the rinsed and soaked rice were evenly tender and felt like individual grains. 

Though this test looked at washing rice from a culinary perspective, you might’ve also heard that you need to rinse rice to limit arsenic. Consuming too much arsenic, which is naturally present in some groundwater, comes with a host of potential health effects, like pulmonary disease and cancer. According to the Food and Drug Administration, rice absorbs arsenic more rapidly than other crops, but rinsing before cooking has a minimal effect on arsenic content.

Final takeaways

This test was a good reminder that you should consider following all steps of a recipe, even ones you think are optional — that’s coming from someone who develops recipes and writes about food for a living, and still loves a good shortcut. In my test, rinsing rice produced noticeably more tender, fluffier grains that didn’t clump together or get gummy like unwashed rice. All it takes is a few minutes of rinsing rice in a fine mesh strainer, under running water, or in a big bowl of water.

Soaking a bit helps hydrate the grains to ensure more even cooking and a fluffier final product, but don’t expect to wash away all that much arsenic, as the FDA says it has minimal effect on arsenic. Instead, opt to wash your rice when you want light and fluffy individual grains, but skip the bath for dishes like paella and risotto.