How does the Grayns rice cooker works & questions

Ever since I shared on my facebook, facebook page and Instagram about GRAYNS, I have had my fair share of curious questions and hard criticisms about its technology.
Some of these were from parties who are genuinely interested/curious or concerned about the health benefits and the cost/logic of purchasing this machine, while others are simply those who are being too-smart-for-their-own-good and are quick to dismiss anything without prior reading/research or tests.

I for one, chose to stay neutral until I have experienced or seen concrete evidence of its claims.
And to validate these claims I’m looking forward to test it out on via blood glucose monitoring devices and I’m looking to host a demo with some interested friends/fans/readers next week so we can all experiment on it together!

Now drop me a comment here if you’re keen to be a guinea pig! 🙂

garyns rice cooker review - rebecca saw

Meanwhile I have compiled some questions about the GRAYNS and its corresponding answers. Do let me know if you agree/disagree.

QUESTION 1:
Doesn’t make sense to me. Idea of eat clean is to eat as much nutrients and not anything empty. Why should I pay 2000 and get a cooker to remove sugar and starch from an already unhealthy rice. I’d rather use that money and eat high quality grain rice. The idea of eat clean is lost here.

ANSWER 1:
Yes it is true that white rice does not have any nutrients except lots of carbohydrates and Our bodies need energy from carbohydrates. This is the reason why white rice today accounts for a staggering 36% of daily energy intake in calories for four billion people around the world. It is also true that Many educated people today are making an informed decision to give up rice in order to keep their blood glucose levels and weight gain in check. The reason for this is the high sugar content in rice which is the culprit when it comes to diabetes and obesity.

Many of us turn to fiber rich slowly digestible carbs such as brown rice. Some opt for oats and others opt for whole grain bread or cereal. However, none of these are really part of a typical Asian diet. The reason these options work better than white rice as far as health is concerned is because of the high fiber content. When we eat large amounts of fiber it slows down the digestive process resulting in a gradual rise of blood sugar as opposed to a rapid rise which usually happens after eating white rice. However, having said that, a high fiber diet is not always agreeable with most Asian people. It causes a range of other digestive issues such as lower absorption of nutrients, tummy aches etc. apart from not being very palatable.

Now lets look at things from a scientific perspective:

Rice just like any other carbohydrate is made up of 2 starches. The 2 starches that make up rice are Amylose and Amylopectin. It is the ratio of these starches that determine if a particular carbohydrate classifies as RDS (Rapidly Digestible Starch) or SDS (Slowly Digestible Starch). Rice has a higher Amylopectin to Amylose ratio therefore classifying it as an RDS while Oats has a higher Amylose to Amylopectin ratio classifying it as an SDS. During the cooking process the RDS molecules which are usually heavily branched leave the rice grain and dissolve in water at a certain temperature which is called the gelatinization temperature of rice. This gelatinization temperature varies for different varieties of rice depending on whether the particular rice is short grain, medium grain or long grain. The end result is that rice cooked in the Grayns Rice Cooker has a higher Amylose to Amylopectin ration as opposed to a higher Amylopectin to Amylose ratio almost on par with oats thereby classifying it as an SDS. With the RDS removed, rice is no longer the sugar that it would be. Rather it becomes a healthier carbohydrate that provides the energy while digesting slowly into our blood stream without spiking blood glucose levels.

“Altering the amylose/amylopectin ratio changes physiologic responses which could influence satiety. High-amylose starches are associated with a lower glycemic response than low- amylose starches, and they may also empty more slowly from the stomach. As would be predicted from these physiologic effects, increasing the amylose/amylopectin ratio has consistently been found to be associated with high satiety.“ Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. http://www.fao.org/docrep/w8079E/w8079e0m.htm

When Rice cooked in the Grayns Rice Cooker is consumed, it absorbs slowly into the blood system. Yes, you will not get the feeling of instant gratification but your energy levels will rise gradually in a way that is beneficial for your health. Grayns rice also keeps you full for longer just like oats or fiber rich brown rice.

Cooking rice the Grayns way does not make it empty. It retains all the good carbs and discards the bad ones. This is how rice used to be cooked in the old days. Our great grandparents had the time, the will and the patience to do things correctly. Today we have none of these. The automatic rice cooker which was invented almost 4 decades ago is now the highest selling home appliance. No doubt, it brought us a lot of convenience but made us forget the proper way of cooking rice. The solution is not in giving up rice. Rice need not be unhealthy. It can in fact be a healthy source of carbohydrate if it is cooked the proper way. Will forward you lab reports to prove this point.

QUESTION 2:
There is no nutrients in white rice. so why eat white rice at all??

ANSWER 2:
Yes it is true that white rice does not have any nutrients except lots of carbohydrates. However our bodies need energy from carbohydrates.
This is the reason why white rice today STILL accounts for a staggering 36% of daily energy intake in calories for four billion people around the world.

QUESTION 3:
Isn’t it cheaper to just consume brown rice? It’s more delicious. How on earth does the rice cooker eliminates sugar? The rice is still there.

ANSWER 3:
Refer to answers for Q1 and Q2.

QUESTION 4:
I would wait for an unbiased view from a nutritionist before making the purchase. You can get the same effect if you boil rice over the stove and drain the starch water.

ANSWER 4:
Of course you can cook rice manually and get the same benefits which you would get when you cook using the Grayns Rice Cooker. The question is whether you can guarantee that its done correctly every single time and do you have the time and patience to go through this inconvenience despite having a busy schedule.

Assuming that you have both of the above, here is the method you need to follow in order to ensure most of the sugar from the rice is removed.

1. Heat the rice in lots of water to its correct gelatinization temperature. Gelatinization temperature does not mean boiling the rice. It is a temperature that is anywhere between 75 to 90 degrees Celsius depending on the variety of rice you cook. Note: Gelatinization temperature varies for different varieties of rice

2. Once gelatinization temperature is reached, hold that temperature for between 5 to 9 minutes depending on the type of rice you are cooking.

3. After this remove the cooking pot from the stove and discard all the water which now contains most of the sugar which has moved out of the rice grain and is now dissolved in water.

4. The final step is to heat the rice in order to de-moist all the excess moisture that is present.

It is never advisable to boil the rice as boiling shatters the cell wall of the rice grain and allows some of the sugar that has been released into the water to actually go back into the rice grain. The end result if rice were boiled is 10 to 15 % reduction in Glycemic index as opposed to 30 to 35% reduction if the proper method is followed.

So who’s in to be a guinea pig?? Drop me a comment below! 🙂

To buy: Drop me an email for a demo and potential discount. 🙂
Price: Grayns rice cooker (RM1999) – interest free instalment plans TBA
More information:
https://www.facebook.com/GRAYNS/info
http://www.grayns.com

This Post Has 8 Comments

  1. Karthik Ram Dasari

    Hi I want to purchase one and i am in Australia do you post it to australia and am happy to pay for the postage

  2. Lim

    i wish to buy one and i staying at Kota Bharu, Kelantan. May i know what is the best way for me to buy the rice cooker and also there are how many models you have and the prices. Thank you.

    1. Rebecca Saw

      Hi Lim!
      Do check your email as I have replied your queries there! 🙂

  3. Max

    Hi Rebecca, how much is this? Any warranty in Malaysia?

    1. Rebecca Saw

      Hi Max
      It is RM2888 – the 2015 price.
      Warranty = yes of course! 🙂

  4. Tony Comia

    Hi I am curious if you have done validation on this with blood sugar monitoring device already? May we know results?

  5. Kristine

    Hi, any update on the glucose testing?

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