Best rice for making labs
i want to start making labs and want to know which rice has the best rice wash?
Top answer
I assume any variety of WHITE/POLISHED rice would be good for LAB, however I have not tested every variety to compare if they are equal in their quality and amount of starch. I can however, vouch for jasmine, basmati, and calrose as these varieties I have used to make LAB with equal success.
From the KNF library
From the KNF library
Drafted by Claude from Office Hours and the books
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Sep 2026
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6 sources
The library does not compare rice varieties or rank them by wash quality.
Drake's recipes use white rice. (Student's Manual, Basic Course, p. 17) (Cho's Solutions, p. 19) The water you want is the starchy water from washing it. (KNF Demystified, p. 31) Cho's fact sheet says LAB collect in the rinse water when you wash rice for cooking. (Student's Manual, Basic Course, p. 13)
- Wash the rice in just enough water to cover. (Student's Manual, Basic Course, p. 17)
- Starchy pasta water also works fine to catch LAB, so the rice matters less than the starch. (Office Hours Ep. 149, 18:27)
- Rice wash water is one source. Sauerkraut, kimchi and fish amino acid also carry LAB. (Office Hours Ep. 23, 11:15)
Sources
- 18:27 Office Hours Ep. 149 (Nov 2024) — Jadam Rice Wash Water, IMO-3 Troubleshooting, Animal Feed Preview · “starchy pasta water still works fine to catch LAB”
- 11:15 Office Hours Ep. 23 (Mar 2022) — IMO4 Pig Feed, LAB Without Milk, Disgustingly Cheap Microbes · “rice wash water, sauerkraut, kimchi, or fish amino acid also carry LAB”
- p. 17 Student's Manual, Basic Course · “Materials 2 cups of white rice Glass dish with a lot of surface area”
- p. 31 KNF Demystified · “Gather a pint of starchy water from washing rice.”
- p. 13 Student's Manual, Basic Course · “When washing rice with clean water in preparation for cooking, colonies of LAB can be collected in the rinse”
- p. 19 Cho's Solutions · “200 sq feet • 4 cups of white rice”
