# Rice to Water Ratio Calculator

> Computes the water needed for a quantity of uncooked rice (cups or grams) using absorption-method ratios by rice type: long-grain white 1:1.5, jasmine 1:1.25, basmati 1:1.5, brown 1:2, sushi 1:1.1, wild 1:3.

- Calculator id: `rice-water` · Category: Food & Cooking (`food`) · Tool name: `calculate_rice_water_ratio`
- Canonical page: https://tttkmbb.com/food/rice-water · This document: https://tttkmbb.com/food/rice-water.md · JSON definition: https://tttkmbb.com/food/rice-water.json

## Purpose

Computes the water needed for a quantity of uncooked rice (cups or grams) using absorption-method ratios by rice type: long-grain white 1:1.5, jasmine 1:1.25, basmati 1:1.5, brown 1:2, sushi 1:1.1, wild 1:3.

**Use when:** You are cooking rice by the absorption method (tight lid or rice cooker) and need the water amount for a given quantity and type of rice.

**Do not use when:** You boil rice in excess water and drain it (ratio irrelevant), cook risotto or paella, or follow a package instruction that specifies a different ratio for that product.

## Input

| Parameter | Type | Unit | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `rice_cups` | number | cups | optional | Uncooked rice in US cups (236.6 ml). Give this or rice_g. (> 0, max 100) |
| `rice_g` | number | g | optional | Uncooked rice in grams; converted at 185 g per cup. Ignored when rice_cups is given. (> 0, max 20000) |
| `rice_type` | enum: white_long \| jasmine \| basmati \| brown \| sushi \| wild |  | optional, default "white_long" | Rice type; sets the water-to-rice volume ratio. |

## Output

| Field | Type | Unit | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `water_cups` | number | cups | Water in US cups. |
| `water_ml` | number | ml | Water in millilitres (cups × 236.6). |
| `rice_cups_used` | number | cups | Rice quantity used, in cups. |
| `ratio` | string |  | Volume ratio applied, rice : water. |
| `cooked_rice_cups_approx` | number | cups | Approximate cooked volume: about 3× for white and brown rice, 4× for wild rice. |

## Formula

`rice_cups = rice_g / 185 (if grams given); water_cups = rice_cups × ratio; water_ml = water_cups × 236.588; ratio: white_long 1.5, jasmine 1.25, basmati 1.5, brown 2, sushi 1.1, wild 3`

Ratios are by volume for rinsed rice cooked covered with minimal evaporation (rice cooker or tight lid). Stovetop guides such as USA Rice quote up to 2:1 for white and 2¼:1 for brown rice because more water boils off; larger batches need proportionally less water.

## Data Sources

- USA Rice – How to cook rice (liquid-to-rice ratios by type) — https://www.usarice.com/thinkrice/how-to/how-to-cook-rice (reference, retrieved 2026-09-23)
- America's Test Kitchen – Nailing the perfect ratio of water to rice (absorption vs evaporation) — https://www.americastestkitchen.com/articles/1692-nailing-the-perfect-ratio-of-water-to-rice (reference, retrieved 2026-09-23)

Data freshness: `static`. Deterministic formula with fixed constants; results never go stale. Inputs supplied by the caller determine the output.

## API

- `GET https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/rice-water?`
- `POST https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/rice-water` with JSON body `{"inputs": {…}}`
- Response: unified envelope (`success`, `request`, `result.values`, `result.units`, `sources`, `freshness`, `timestamp`, `next_actions`, `links`); see https://tttkmbb.com/docs/response-format.md
- Schema: https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculators/rice-water · OpenAPI operationId `calculate_rice_water_ratio` in https://tttkmbb.com/openapi.json
- Authentication: none. Rate limit: fair use, see https://tttkmbb.com/docs/rate-limits.md.

## MCP

- Server: `https://tttkmbb.com/mcp` (Streamable HTTP, JSON-RPC 2.0, no auth)
- Tool:  `run_calculator` with `{"calculator_id": "rice-water", "inputs": {…}}`

## Example

- 2 cups jasmine: inputs `{"rice_cups":2,"rice_type":"jasmine"}` → `{"water_cups":2.5,"water_ml":591,"rice_cups_used":2,"ratio":"1:1.25"}`
- 300 g basmati: inputs `{"rice_g":300,"rice_type":"basmati"}` → `{"rice_cups_used":1.62,"water_cups":2.43,"water_ml":575,"ratio":"1:1.5"}`

```
GET https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/rice-water?rice_cups=2&rice_type=jasmine
```

## Limitations

You boil rice in excess water and drain it (ratio irrelevant), cook risotto or paella, or follow a package instruction that specifies a different ratio for that product. Ratios are by volume for rinsed rice cooked covered with minimal evaporation (rice cooker or tight lid). Stovetop guides such as USA Rice quote up to 2:1 for white and 2¼:1 for brown rice because more water boils off; larger batches need proportionally less water. All values are computed from the formula above; no measurement or live data is involved.

## FAQ

**Should I rinse the rice and does it change the water?**

Rinse until the water runs mostly clear for fluffier long-grain and sushi rice; drained rinsed rice carries a little water, so the ratios already assume rinsing. Soaking basmati 20–30 min lets you use slightly less water.

**Why does my pot need more water than a rice cooker?**

Evaporation. A loose lid or long simmer loses water that a rice cooker retains; add about ¼ cup per cup of rice on the stove if the rice comes out dry.

## Related

- [Cooking Measurement Converter](https://tttkmbb.com/food/cooking-converter.md) — Convert the water to millilitres or fluid ounces.
- [Recipe Scaler](https://tttkmbb.com/food/recipe-scaler.md) — Scale the whole meal by servings.