HOW minute rice!!?? Where did it come from??

Question

OK OK i am confused, rice is rice, and it usually takes 20-25 minutes to cook, well my sister moved in with us, and she makes all of her food from instant things. I dont even use a microwave EVER, and i never eat from a box...

So my question is i saw her making rice, and i made rice for dinner, two different kinds because i wont eat instant, How can they make rice that cooks in like 5 minutes??? I dont understand it... RIce is Rice, how is it done?????

Please help me with this, i would like to know the difference between the two.

Thank you in advance - Please no stupid answers, im asking a logical question.

I cant even believe i didnt think of that, now i feel ridiculous, Thank you.

Answer 1

"Instant rice is rice that has been fully cooked (much like you would at home) and then dried down to below 12% moisture. Instant rice can then be recooked by the consumer in less time than the twenty minutes required to cook white raw rice."


http://www.sagevfoods.com/MainPages/Products/InstantRice.htm

Answer 2

I am not a rice eater, but I assume it has something to do with the fact that it's probably pre-cooked. And basically you're just heating it and "wetting" it. I make rice at work a lot, and it takes 35 minutes or so total. My guess is also that if you did it in a microwave it would take far less time, though the quality would most certainly go down.