Philips Grain Master – cooking rice and grains to their fluffiest
We have loved using a Rice Cooker for years, so hubby couldn’t wait to try the new Philips Grain Master. Philips boasts that its Grain Master with innovative ‘FragrantTaste Technology’, has automatic optimum controlled heating temperatures to ensure every grain of rice is well cooked to shiny fluffy fragrant taste. What a challenge we had; to test this and see if it lives up to its promise.
Initially we cooked rice in the Grain Master. There are a few options with the Grain Master where you can choose a Quick cook or a standard cook for rice. Not wanting to wait for the standard cook time (45min) we chose to use the quick cook function (25min). All we needed to do, was to rinse the rice, pop it into the pot add water and hit the quick cook button. 25 minutes later we heard 4 beeps and watched as the Philips Grain Master automatically converted to a keep-warm function. The rice itself was much fluffier and lighter than our previous rice cooker and we were pleasantly surprised to see that none of the rice had stuck to the bottom or had a become gluggy. Every grain came out perfect, and the inner bowl just needed a quick wipe to clean it. We were impressed; so impressed at the simplicity in fact, that we cooked rice a few days later just to create a snack for our chickens (LOL). It is super easy to use and there is hardly any work in cleaning up.
In addition to rice, the Philips Grain Master is designed to cook a range of grains, from Quinoa to Lentils and Sushi rice; this baby has you covered. So, for our second test, I used a recipe within the included cook book to create a Coconut spiced Quinoa. It was just so simple! I added all the ingredients (coconut cream, stock, cumin, garlic etc.) to the inner bowl, added the quinoa (which I had rinsed) and pressed the Quinoa function… 45 minutes later, the Grain Master beeped at me to let me know my Coconut Spiced Quinoa was done. Not only did we enjoy the quinoa as our side for dinner, I then used the leftovers and added some Feta, Rocket and other bits to create a delicious healthy lunch for myself the next day. It was so simple to cook the quinoa that my new goal is to make a small batch each week and separate into a few healthy lunches throughout the week. I can’t wait to play around with flavour combinations to make interesting healthy lunches that I will enjoy. Perhaps Miss E will also like this for her school lunch as Sandwiches just don’t seem to cut it…
Test no. 3 also came from the Recipe booklet provided: Cauliflower Dhal. Again, it was super easy. I simply sautéed the onion in the rice cooker and then add the remaining ingredients to be cooked which meant I only used one dish – a nice positive. The recipe was simple and the lentils cooked well. I really like that the recipe booklet has expanded my understanding on what I can cook in the Grain Master and I look forward to testing new recipes and ideas (like a baked blueberry and peach porridge…mmm) with the kids.
My only criticism on the machine is that the beep to let you know the rice/grains are cooked doesn’t seem to grab your attention if you aren’t waiting right next to it. We have missed it at least twice and although it does keep your dish warm, I would rather know straight away when it is ready.
Overall, what I like the most about the Philips Grain Master, is that it has earnt my trust. I know that as long as my flavour combinations are correct, then the Rice, Quinoa or any other Grains I’m cooking will come out tasting great. If your rice cooker is giving you stodgy, uncooked rice, or if you would like to create more grain based dishes, take a look at the Philips Grain Master.
Available from: Myer for $159.00. Find out more here
