I'm too lazy to go to the store, and have a bag of rice in my kitchen.

November 9, 2008 5:40 AM

What would I need to do to bake homemade rice krispies ?

This Cereal Timeline triggered this question, and I can't get this out of my head now.
I want to make my own rice krispies, frosted flakes, honey bunches, ...
I've googled a bit and found this, but I'm a little afraid to try it.
Have any of you already tried it ? Can you share your best tips, recipes ?

posted by motdiem2 to Food & Drink (10 answers total)

Best answer: These products are usually made via industrial processes.

I think the best approach to making puffed rice at home will be to steam the rice until it contains more moisture (but nowhere near being fully cooked), then pop it like popcorn, either in a large closed pan with a little oil, or in an oven. Many cultures make their own puffed rice - in some places it's a staple food.

Cornflakes are likely to be much more difficult. You'd need just the right sort of corn, which you'd then have to mill into grits, steam, roll and air-dry in a very controlled way.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 6:33 AM on November 9, 2008

What about making a sweet paella instead? Might be a little easier and just as tasty.
posted by iamkimiam at 7:18 AM on November 9, 2008

Cold cereal is a purely industrial product, made to be consumed instantly and without preparation. It's not possible to make it at home, unless you have industrial extruders and ovens in your garage. So if you're lazy, it's made just for you! Go down to the store and buy yourself a box; put in bowl, enjoy.

The only cold cereal you can make easily is granola; google around for lots of recipes. You won't be able to use your bag of rice for it, and although it's far tastier and cheaper than store-bought and not very much work, it's still more work than going to the store.
posted by agent99 at 7:32 AM on November 9, 2008

Google turns up a few recipes (example), though I don't think it'll be just like the stuff you get in a box.
posted by Forktine at 8:51 AM on November 9, 2008

Oh hell, didn't see that you already had that link, my apologies.
posted by Forktine at 8:53 AM on November 9, 2008

Best answer: Rice crispies aren't puffed rice. They're made from a batter, and cooked in a hot air column. Bits of batter are dropped from the top, and by the time they reach the bottom they're cooked. (A lot of kinds of cereal are cooked that way.)

I think it would be really hard to make your own.
posted by Class Goat at 9:10 AM on November 9, 2008 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Hi All, thanks for your feedback...
As I suspected, it looks like it's too difficult to make at home...
I wonder how they were doing them in the end of 19th century: already using an industrialized process, or many manual steps ?

oh and by the way I'm not so lazy you know - just curious
posted by motdiem2 at 9:35 AM on November 9, 2008

(sorry, you said you wanted to know _because_ you were too lazy to go to the store, so I was going according to your criteria)

In the late 19th century, they already had industrial machinery and factories for the commercial production of food; most American cereal brands (Kellogg's, Post, Quaker Oats, etc.) date from that period.
posted by agent99 at 12:00 PM on November 9, 2008

It would seem I was wrong. Crisped rice is indeed made by processing grains of rice.
posted by Class Goat at 3:58 PM on November 9, 2008

Response by poster: Thanks Class Goat, the link referenced in the wikipedia page is also quite interesting:

Normal rice is missing the moisture, but if you condition it with steam to get enough moisture inside the kernel, you can either oven-pop rice or oil-pop it. It's not as dramatic a transformation as popcorn, but it pops using the same mechanism

posted by motdiem2 at 6:52 AM on November 10, 2008