Can I cook 4 cups of rice in six cups of water in 18 minutes? Not used to quantity cooking.

I used to be a habitual rice burner. As hard as I'd try, 1 out of every 2 tries ended in a crispy layer of rice staring back at me from the bottom of the pot (good news, rice on top is just fine, just scoop it off!). It seemed to always happen when making rice for a big group. Perhaps because there was more rice in the pot causing the bottom rice to over cook before the top was done? Perhaps it was because I forgot it and let it burn? Anyway, I now circumvent the problem with my oven. Ambient heat instead of bottom up is much more forgiving, especially when making large quantities. For long grain rice, I use a 1 cup of rice to 1 1/2 cups of liquid ratio. Just bring to a boil on the stove top, cover and plop in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes, et voila.

Short grain or long grain rice? It does make a difference. I'll politely disagree with the boiling technique ...it produces gummy rice.

Try cooking it like pasta, in lots of water, until al dente. Then drain, cover, and let steam for 5-10 minutes until done. Perfect, fluffy rice, every time without measuring. This is a great technique for rice for 1 person or 20.

Sounds about right to me, too. Depending on the type of rice, the time may be a few minutes more.

basmati or jasmine rice?? then yes the proportion is correct (if you're cooking in the mcrowave, then set the timer for about 25 minutes