{
  "id": "rice-water-ratio",
  "version": "1ffa47b5f40f",
  "status": "published",
  "name": "Rice Water Ratio Calculator",
  "question": "Rice water ratio: how much water?",
  "summary": "Works out how much water to cook an amount of rice in, by rice type, from the USA Rice Federation’s liquid ratios, with the cooked yield and the cooking time.",
  "category": "food",
  "subcategory": "cooking",
  "url": "https://www.acalculator.org/food/rice-water-ratio-calculator",
  "markdown": "https://www.acalculator.org/food/rice-water-ratio-calculator.md",
  "kind": "function",
  "method": "Water = dry rice × the USA Rice Federation’s parts of liquid per part of rice for the type, by volume. Cooked rice = 3 × dry rice.",
  "assumptions": [
    "The ratios are for the stovetop absorption method, as USA Rice lists them, and are approximate. A rice cooker has its own water lines.",
    "Cooked yield is USA Rice’s 1 cup dry = 3 cups cooked for every type.",
    "Volumes use US cups: 1 cup = 8 US fl oz = 236.5882365 mL."
  ],
  "inputs": {
    "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "type": {
        "title": "Rice type",
        "description": "The kind of rice. Each type takes its own amount of water.",
        "type": "string",
        "enum": [
          "long",
          "medium",
          "short",
          "brown",
          "parboiled",
          "parboiled-brown",
          "jasmine",
          "basmati",
          "arborio",
          "wild"
        ]
      },
      "rice": {
        "title": "Dry rice",
        "description": "The uncooked rice, measured by volume.",
        "type": [
          "number",
          "string"
        ],
        "x-quantity": "volume",
        "exclusiveMinimum": 0,
        "maximum": 0.01
      }
    }
  },
  "outputs": {
    "waterCups": {
      "label": "Water (cups)",
      "description": "Dry rice × the parts of water for the type, in US cups.",
      "format": "number"
    },
    "waterML": {
      "label": "Water (mL)",
      "description": "The same water in milliliters.",
      "format": "number"
    },
    "cookedCups": {
      "label": "Cooked rice (cups)",
      "description": "About 3 times the dry rice, in US cups.",
      "format": "number"
    },
    "ratio": {
      "label": "Water to rice",
      "description": "Parts of water per part of rice, by volume.",
      "format": "text"
    },
    "time": {
      "label": "Cooking time",
      "description": "The approximate simmering time for the type.",
      "format": "text"
    }
  },
  "defaultAnswer": {
    "inputs": {
      "type": "long",
      "rice": "1 cup"
    },
    "outputs": {
      "waterCups": 2,
      "waterML": 473.176473,
      "cookedCups": 3,
      "ratio": "2 : 1",
      "time": "15 to 18 minutes"
    },
    "text": "Cook it in 2 cups of water (473 mL), for about 15 to 18 minutes."
  },
  "examples": [
    {
      "given": {
        "type": "long",
        "rice": 0.0002365882365
      },
      "expect": {
        "waterCups": 2,
        "waterML": 473.176473,
        "cookedCups": 3,
        "ratio": "2 : 1",
        "time": "15 to 18 minutes"
      },
      "source": "USA Rice Federation, How to Cook Rice: liquid per 1 part rice and cooking time by rice type (approximate); 1 cup dry rice = 3 cups cooked. https://www.usarice.com/thinkrice/how-to/how-to-cook-rice (retrieved 2026-10-18); NIST Handbook 44 (2026), Appendix C (1 cup = 8 fl oz; 1 gal = 128 fl oz = 231 in³ = 3.785411784 L), https://www.nist.gov/document/2026-nist-handbook-44-appendix-c; hand calculation in content.mdx: 1 × 2 = 2 cups = 473.176473 mL"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "type": "brown",
        "rice": 0.00035488235475000004
      },
      "expect": {
        "waterCups": 3.375,
        "cookedCups": 4.5,
        "ratio": "2.25 : 1"
      },
      "source": "USA Rice Federation, How to Cook Rice: liquid per 1 part rice and cooking time by rice type (approximate); 1 cup dry rice = 3 cups cooked. https://www.usarice.com/thinkrice/how-to/how-to-cook-rice (retrieved 2026-10-18); hand calculation in content.mdx: 1.5 × 2.25 = 3.375 cups",
      "tolerance": 1e-12
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "type": "short",
        "rice": 0.0005
      },
      "expect": {
        "waterML": 625,
        "waterCups": 2.6417205235814842
      },
      "source": "USA Rice Federation, How to Cook Rice: liquid per 1 part rice and cooking time by rice type (approximate); 1 cup dry rice = 3 cups cooked. https://www.usarice.com/thinkrice/how-to/how-to-cook-rice (retrieved 2026-10-18); NIST Handbook 44 (2026), Appendix C (1 cup = 8 fl oz; 1 gal = 128 fl oz = 231 in³ = 3.785411784 L), https://www.nist.gov/document/2026-nist-handbook-44-appendix-c; hand calculation in content.mdx: 500 × 1.25 = 625 mL ÷ 236.5882365 = 2.64172 cups",
      "tolerance": 1e-12
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    "USA Rice Federation, How to Cook Rice: liquid per 1 part rice by type (long-grain white 2; medium-grain white 1½; short-grain white 1¼; brown, medium or long grain, 2¼; parboiled 2¼; parboiled brown 2¼; U.S. jasmine and basmati 2; U.S. arborio 4; wild rice 3), cooking times, and 1 cup dry = 3 cups cooked. Retrieved 2026-10-18. https://www.usarice.com/thinkrice/how-to/how-to-cook-rice",
    "NIST Handbook 44 (2026), Appendix C, General Tables of Units of Measurement (US customary: 1 cup = 8 fluid ounces; 1 gallon = 128 fluid ounces = 3.785411784 liters). https://www.nist.gov/document/2026-nist-handbook-44-appendix-c (cited from the copy already in this repo; retrieved 2026-10-01)"
  ],
  "related": [
    "recipe-scaler",
    "measuring-cups",
    "coffee-ratio"
  ],
  "changelog": []
}