Always cook rice with plenty of salt; it is insipid without it. It is sometimes cooked in a steamer, with milk, without stirring it; although it is more quickly cooked by soaking it an hour or two, and then throwing it into salted boiling water in the brightest of saucepans. To half a pound of the rice use about five pints of water. Let it simmer about twenty minutes. Handle it carefully, not to break the kernels.