Everyone should know how to cook rice. Most cuisines of the world are cooking rice in one way or another — from sushi to arroz con pollo, rice puddings to paella, and dolmas to dirty rice and jambalaya. We're also drinking our fair share of rice — in sake, horchata, rice milk, and even beer. All told, we humans get more than 20 percent of our calories from this small but mighty grain.
There are many varieties of rice: white rice, brown rice, short-grain rice, long-grain rice; and different ways to cook rice: stovetop, rice cooker, multi-cooker (Instant Pot), microwave, and oven-baked. Here's an overview of the many different varieties of rice you can buy, along with tips for how to cook different kinds of rice so it turns out perfectly every time.