Don’t let the butter burn before toasting your rice I’ve always understood that the point of toasting risotto is to help develop flavor By adding the dried grains of rice to a pan of hot butter and olive oil, you develop some really nice nutty, toasty flavors But what else is going on when you toast rice? I cooked up two identical batches of risotto side by side The first I made with absolutely no toasting The liquid and rice went into the pan at the exact same time For the second, I toasted the rice for to minutes before adding the liquid, during which time it acquired a faint golden hue and a nutty aroma Here’s what I ended up with: Untoasted rice (left) creates a creamier sauce than toasted rice (right) Obviously, there is something else going on while toasting: toasted rice produces a risotto that’s noticeably less creamy than one made with untoasted rice So, on the one hand, you’ve got great, super creamy rice but little toasted ... I cooked up two identical batches of risotto side by side The first I made with absolutely no toasting The liquid and rice went into the pan at the exact same time For the second, I toasted the rice for to minutes before adding the liquid, during which time it acquired a faint golden hue... and a nutty aroma Here’s what I ended up with: Untoasted rice (left) creates a creamier sauce than toasted rice (right) Obviously, there is something else going on while toasting: toasted rice produces a risotto that’s noticeably less...to help develop flavor By adding the dried grains of rice to a pan of hot butter and olive oil, you develop some really nice nutty,