I Can’t Think of a Good Risotto Joke

I don’t mean to brag, but I make a mean risotto. At home, risotto is my go-to “I feel like cooking” dish, because you can throw literally anything into it. This time, we made risotto with spinach and saffron.

First, we heated the stock to a simmer. No hint of boiling in that bad boy.

While that went on, we sauteed the onion, garlic, and saffron slowly in butter until the onion is translucent but not browned. No hint of caramelization in that bad boy.

Then, we added the rice to the saucepan and saute briefly to coat the rice with butter, added the wine to the saucepan to deglaze the pan, and cooked until it was nearly evaporated.

Finally, the fun part. Slowly, we added the broth to the saucepan in 1/4 cup amounts, getting a nice arm workout by stirring constantly. In doing so, it is important to add the next amount only after the previous one is nearly all absorbed. That way, the rice actually ends up getting cooked!

We took the rice off the heat once all the broth was gone and the risotto was nice and lava-like. I might just start describing things in terms of lava now.

1) When the stock (which is mostly water) gets absorbed, where is it going? What is chemically happening? When the stock gets absorbed, it is reacting with the starch contained in the arborio and gelling. 

2) When the rice gets “creamy and thick” you can see a thick opaque liquid surrounding the rice. What is that thick liquid made of? The thick opaque liquid surrounding the rice is made up of the starch (mostly amylopectin) and stock, forming a gel.

3) Making a risotto like this would not work with a high amylose, long-grain rice because it would be much harder to get the amylose to break free from the rice in order to gel. Long-grain rice has a higher gelation temperature than arborio because of the amylose content and the size of the grain. Also, amylose creates a much firmer gel because it stacks neatly, and the final product would be hard and not lava-like, if you were to commit to making long-grain risotto.

4) Spinach contains iron, fiber, folate, vitamin C, transcarotene, and many other ingredients good for the body. The fiber content helps regulate a healthy digestive system, the folate helps regulate the cardiovascular system, and the vitamins and minerals help with every part of the body. It contains antioxidants that protect the body from free radicals, and even helps brain function.