MYTHS OF PAELLA:

You already know me, the last thing I want is controversies, but I see there are many MYTHS that prevent many of you from advancing and improving in the preparation of any paella.

THE RICE SHOULD NOT BE TOUCHED: In a paella, the rice is not stirred like in a risotto or a soupy or creamy rice, but it must be well spread across the paella. We can't achieve this if we don't move it with a spoon throughout the cooking process, taking it from the center –where it accumulates due to the concavity of the paella– towards the sides. If we don't do this, there will be edges with excess broth and other areas with no rice.

3/1 PROPORTION: The rice needs boiling broth throughout the cooking time. If we make half a kilo of rice in a 42 cm paella, we will need less broth than if we make the same amount in a 65 cm paella... The proportion of broth depends on many variables (type of rice, fire intensity, altitude...), but the most important factor is the relationship between the amount of rice and the size of the paella. The larger the paella, the MORE broth we will need to cook the same amount of rice. Therefore, the proportion can vary from 3/1 to even 7/1.

FIRE INTENSITIES: It's not true that to make a good paella you need to use half the time on high heat and the other half lower it. To make a paella, you need to evaporate the broth you've added in the necessary time for the rice to cook. If you evaporate the broth before this time, the rice will be hard... If the cooking time has passed and there is still boiling broth in the paella, the rice will turn mushy.

ONIONS SOFTEN THE RICE: In the province of Valencia, there is a widespread belief regarding the Valencian paella, while in many other areas of Spain and the world, it's not. What "softens" the rice, meaning, the only thing that makes this "hard" cereal get the texture to be consumable, is the boiling water inside the paella. In fact, the rice becomes overcooked due to excess water, not because of adding or not adding onion to the sofrito. It's a pity that many chefs miss the flavor that onion brings to a paella due to the false belief that it will make the rice mushy. The onion is only added to fish-based paellas, as they don't have the fats that meat provides, and the onion gives them that fattiness that meat has.

COVERING THE PAELLA: Many think that during the rice resting period, the paella should be covered with wet cloths or aluminum foil... This can ruin the paella. It should only be covered if you notice that you didn't add enough broth and the rice will be too hard. In this case, a good option is to cover the paella so the residual heat finishes cooking the top layer of rice. But if the rice is perfectly cooked and you cover the paella, that residual heat can overcook the rice. Be careful!