# How the heck are ricecakes made? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 15, 2004, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-heck-are-ricecakes-made/269474 "2004-10-15T22:30:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![whatmove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecc23a/32.png) [@whatmove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whatmove)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-heck-are-ricecakes-made/269474/1 "2004-10-15T22:30:24Z")
I love a good organic unsalted ricecake, but they’re so flippin’ expensive. Rice is reasonably priced and I enjoy a culinary challenge, so I’d love to try and simulate them at home from scratch. Are puffed rice and popcorn made in a similar way? I imagine a combination of heat and pressure are involved. Two questions: 1. How the heck are commercial dry rice cakes made? 2. Can I do it at home? -wm ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-heck-are-ricecakes-made/269474/2 "2004-10-16T02:56:18Z")
> [@whatmove](#): > > 1. How the heck are commercial dry rice cakes made? > -wm Make some rice flour paste/glue analagous to wheat flour paste and glue the puffed rice into cakes. > [@whatmove](#): > > 1. Can I do it at home?-wm Why not? ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-heck-are-ricecakes-made/269474/3 "2004-10-16T19:21:03Z")
One way of doing it is with [ultrasound.](http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=/netahtml/search-bool.html&r=5&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=ptxt&s1='puffed+cereal+cakes'&OS=%22puffed+cereal+cakes%22&RS=%22puffed+cereal+cakes) > [@](#): > > Abstract > The invention provides processes for the preparation of puffed cereal cakes, in particular puffed rice cakes. The processes comprise molding puffed or unpuffed cereal grains under pressure with the application of ultrasound. The ultrasound assists bonding of the cereal grains to form a solid cake. The ultrasound reduces fouling of the mold and increases processing speed. In one aspect, the starting material is prepuffed cereal grains, and these grains are coated with a binder agent and then bonded together at low temperature using ultrasound energy. This permits the formation of puffed cereal cakes with edible inclusions of temperature-sensitive foodstuffs, and also the rapid formation of puffed cereal cakes with shaped or profiled top and/or bottom surfaces. FW that’s W. ---
**Author:** ![InvidiousCourgette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@InvidiousCourgette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InvidiousCourgette)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-heck-are-ricecakes-made/269474/4 "2004-10-16T20:49:47Z")
I believe that rice is “popped” in a similar way to corn, but it needs to be done in conditions that can not be easily replicated in the home. High pressures are required and hence it is in practise an industrial process. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-heck-are-ricecakes-made/269474/5 "2004-10-16T22:54:08Z")
> [@whatmove](#): > > I love a good organic unsalted ricecake, but they’re so flippin’ expensive. Just eat styrofoam. More taste and very inexpensive. Always glad to help. Let me know if you need to know anything else. 😉