Energy conservation in cooking rice is an important area for scientific investigation. Experiments were conducted to measure the energy consumption during normal and controlled cooking of both unsoaked and presoaked rice using two types of domestic cooking appliance, namely, an electric rice cooker and a pressure cooker. Cooking rice with controlled energy input, under pressure and with presoaking were the three approaches, which resulted in saving of energy. Electric rice cooker was found to be the most energy-efficient among the different combinations of cooking appliance and the types of heat source used in the study. The energy consumption was much less (23-57%) compared to other methods. Prior soaking of rice generally reduced energy consumption as well as cooking time, more prominently during normal cooking. Controlled cooking offered more savings in energy compared to presoaking rice. Considering the energy consumption and cooking time, controlled cooking of presoaked rice was found to be the best among the several approaches investigated. Measurement of water evaporation loss appears to be a good indirect method of assessing the efficiency of heat utilization. Controlled energy input is another useful method that optimizes the energy utilization for cooking, besides presoaking and pressure cooking. Controlled cooking is desirable in all types of rice cooking. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.