How do you cook brown rice properly?

Follow the water/rice ration on the package exactly. Boil the water, add the rice, turn down to simmer and cook exactly 40 min. It should come out fine.

Thank you Marina, but I have done that already. Followed them exactly and…MUSH :-(
@ztraffic: Thank you! I read it and am going to try. Perhaps the secret is in the pot. Lurve for you for finding that for me! :-)

Sorry, beadholder. Those two things (ratio and cooking time) have usually done the trick. I hope the other suggestion works. Here’s wishing you fluffy brown rice that is not mushy.

NEVER PEEK. (never stir) Do you have good, heavy pots with even bottoms?

get a proper rice cooker

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=zojirushi+rice&x=0&y=0

Thank you AlexChoi! My Thai friend in Seattle had one of those with rice in it at all times (mmmm…traditional Thai food). I, on the other hand, do not have the space nor the money for a fancy rice cooker like that (perhaps one day).
@gail: peeked and stirred at the end when there was still water after the allotted time. ztraffic’s post cleared the pot up for me but thank you :-)

@Bead: I agree with you about not needing a fancy rice cooker. I make brown rice all the time; I follow the proportions, keep it on very low simmer (I use a heat infuser between pot and flame due to high efficiency of gas heat) and cook it for 50–55 minutes.

If you are going to sin, peeking is better than stirring. After several pots of wallpaper paste, you’ll get the hang of it. Make a lot and freeze some, too.

Oh, our zojirushi makes perfect rice every time. Every. Time.

Every.

Time.

Thank you gail and andrew and everyone that gave advice in this thread. i am going to master the brown rice!

Good, grasshopper.

Rule of thumb: if it’s mushy, add less water/soak for less time.