I like to keep it sweet here on Cookie Madness, so when Rice Select offered to let me review their rice, I said “Yes, on one condition. It has to be in rice pudding.”
Okay, that’s not exactly how it went down. Really, I was offered some free rice and since we eat a lot of it I said “Sure, I’d love to try the free rice!” and Rice Select said “You could use it rice pudding”.
Or maybe that’s not what happened. At any rate, we reached an agreement and I procured some delicious Rice Select. I’d seen it hundreds of times at the grocery store. It’s a little pricier than the other rices, and while I love that it comes in a handy plastic container instead of a bag which I’ll inevitably tear open and spill, I usually just go for the cheaper rice. But maybe not anymore. The type I tested was plain Texmati, and it was so good it didn’t even need butter. It made the house smell like popcorn, had a fuller flavor than regular “unselect” rice, and longer grains. Thanks, Rice Select, for getting me hooked on your fancy, highfalutin rice. Now I have to go out and buy the flavored Texmati Medleys.
Ah, but back to that pudding. I don’t make rice pudding very often, but the ones I have made are usually the firm textured kinds you can cut with a knife. The Texmati Rice Pudding fell into that category. Mine was probably a bit too firm because I used a little more rice that called for, but it was an interesting change from our usual after-dinner light ice cream. And in case you were wondering, it was better warm than cold, which was a surprise.
Here’s a link to the Texmati old fashioned rice pudding recipe. While you’re perusing the rice recipe database, check out the recipe for the Caramelized Onion Smoked Gouda and Pecan Rice Tart. I can tell you from firsthand experience that it is also very good.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve been craving rice pudding. In England we always ate it warm so I was surprised when I moved over here to see people eating it cold.
I love this brand.
I found it on sale once and decided to give it a go. Glad that I did.
I’ll have to check out their pudding recipe.
When it comes to food, I always think “I have to eat this stuff”, so price becomes less of an issue. I’ve been buying RiceSelect for a long time. I just looked in the cupboard and I have Texmati, two different Royal Blends, Jasmati, and Couscous, all RiceSelect. I have Uncle Ben’s White Rice and Lundberg’s Wild Blend, which is probably my favorite. I think the only rice pudding I ever make is an occasional Thai Sticky Rice with Mango. Somehow when I’m thinking of dessert, I overlook rice pudding.
Since I live in a rural area, I’ll have to wait until I get to a “big city” to buy this but it sounds really good! And rice pudding? Oh yum!
Jackie, what type is more popular in England, creamy or firm? I think my family might actually prefer creamy.
TxPepper, I like that it’s from Texas! About the sales and whatnot, I forgot to mention that I spotted a coupon on their site. They also provided me with some other recipes, one of which was this contest winner called Smoked Gouda and Spinach Rice Casserole. Fuzz and I might make this today.
http://www.usarice.com/index.php?option=com_recipe&view=recipe&id=2793&Itemid=70
Louise, I like your mindset! I’m going to apply it to rice. I have no problem buying a $12 bottle of wine, but when it comes to rice I’ve been kind of a cheapskate.
I love rice pudding, but have only made a creamy version. I didn’t even know a firmer version exists! Now I’m curious…
I’ve never bought Rice Select; I am horrible at making rice, so my daughter got me a rice cooker for Christmas, so much better. I’ll have to try it, as I am making a lot more rice now.
My mom had that same cookware pattern growing up, btw. Cute.
Jennifer, I hear you on the rice cooker. I could never make it quite right until I got a cooker, and now I use it all the time. Mine is the small Cuisinart model.
My grandma used to make really great creamy rice pudding. I’ve only tried it once or twice myself and haven’t come close to hers. That grandma didn’t write down any recipes and I wasn’t savvy enough as a little girl to learn how to make it from her.
When I was a young girl (many, many years ago), I bought my mother a Dinah Shore Cookbook. For those of you too young to remember her, Dinah was an entertainer/singer/actress who later had a talk show. Anyway, Dinah shared the Rice Pudding recipe served at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. She said all the stars went there after their performances for a comforting bowl of this dessert. It is completely made on the stove top and is nice and creamy. I’ll have to try making it with this rice to see if it can be made even better.
I always thought the best part of rice pudding was the crust on the creamy baked rice pudding.
i enjoy your entry, as ever, but am extremely skeptical about variation in rice quality, and grumpy about the plastic container. i can’t help but feel that what i’m really paying extra for is a plastic container that i don’t even want. if they sold it in the same plastic bags as the “cheap” rice, i might deign to consider it
That’s why I view it like wine. Some people buy an $18.00 bottle and others are good with an $8.99 bottle. I love the plastic container, but I tend to use those things over and over and have images of all the things I can put in it or make with it after the rice is gone. But that’s interesting that you WOULD buy it at full price in a bag *if* you truly believed the quality was superior.
I’m a 3 buck chuck kind of wine gal…Well, Barefoot wine is around $6. I love rice pudding, but no one else in my family likes it. So, I buy Kozy Shack rice pudding in individual containers…I think it is creamy, but since I have nothing to compare, I’m not sure. I went to Rice Select’s site. The caramelized onion and gouda tart looks FANTASTIC and easy to make.