Freezing rice?

Olokia

I watched a documentary on BBC1 that included using leftover rice and they showed the bacteria that started growing on when it wasn't cooled properly.

They also explained why ready meals were ok with rice in. They had these huge expensive machines that killed the bacteria before it had a chance to release any toxins. I am sure they would have saved money on not buying these machines if the rice thing isn't true.

Rice doesn't always have this bacteria so you could chance it but apparently the effects of the toxin give you quite bad food poisoning. So the internet says don't cook it.

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geordie_joe wrote: »

I have my doubts about this, for one thing you took the above from yahoo answers, about as reliable a chocolate fire guard. The link doesn't go the that site, it redirects to an nhs page which worse than useless.

To take the first point, highlighted in bold above. If rice has spores in it, surely they would have been killed the first time it was cooked. If reheating them doesn't always kill them, then they were there and alive after the first time it was cooked.

If you think about it, heating the rice twice would be safer as it kills more spores, so it could be safer to eat reheated rice than it is to eat once cooked rice.

ok wrong link i apologise

nope not at all the spores form whilst the rice is cooling down, it can be extremely dangerous, i am chef trained, have run pubs and kitchens and have done a lot of the courses on health and safety and food management etc etc etc
if i was ever to reheat rice at work i would be sacked immediatley it is a sackable offence because it is highly dangerous.

i dd copy some of my post from the internet as i was being to lazy to type one out myself but it is true. it is not advisable to reheat rice.

LemonFizz_2

We always cook a bit extra - the dogs love it! If freezing, it is so important to cool the rice down quickly to avoid nasties though, as many other posts here mention. I'm getting more wary about using the microwave, though - remember to stand 5-10 feet away when it is switched on!

MrsCrafty

I have always run under cold tap in sieve and then freeze in portions. Never had any problems.

To be honest, over the years, hubs has heated up Chinese food including rice a zillion times the next day and never had any problems.

thewifie

Hi, I too am a transplant patient and have been advised not to eat rice after reheating, unless you cooked it yourself as rice can cause food poisoning. This reinforces what I was taught on a food hygiene course.
To prevent a repeat performance, I use one teacup of washed basmati rice to one and a half of the same cup of water. Add salt, bring to the boil, reduce the heat to the lowest your ring will go, cover tightly, and cook for twenty minutes. Switch off and leave to stand for a while if you can. It makes a nice dry rice, and you are not throwing all the nutrients down the sink with the water as when you cook by the immersion method. This amount serves two people. I don't use long grain, but I would be very surprised if it didn't work for that too, it works for thai rice, and red and brown rices. I often put cumin seeds in the bottom of the pot and fry them with a chopped onion before adding the rice, and add frozen peas with the rice. It tastes nicer for very little extra money, especially if you buy the cumin seeds at the asian or oriental grocers, they are very cheap and I use only a couple of tsps per cup of dried rice. A good hevy pan helps a great deal for this.

thewifie

Apologies, I do know that heavy has an a too, should have checked my spelling!

julie777

In Malaysia and Thailand, families have rice several times a day. It is standard practice to cook a big batch in the morning and leave it out all day just with a teatowel over it. They've clearly never found a problem.
So if we do forget to chill it I wouldn't panic any more.

fatal1955

I prefer using brown basmati rice (traditional brown rice is too heavy) but it takes so long to cook that the only way I can cope is to bulk cook, cool rapidly & freeze in portions. Microwaving back to steaming hot is quicker than cooking white rice from scratch (and brown is better for you too).:)

grimerking

I freeze rice all the time. The best way to judge amounts is to weigh it before cooking. I usually cook 300g (75g per portion) of Waitrose easy cook wholemeal rice and then split it into 4 portions for the freezer.

Let the uncovered rice cool completely before placing it in the freezer.

It microwaves perfectly and is a really good accompaniment for my home made ready meals. When I go to work, I simply grab a frozen meal and a portion of frozen rice.

simmed

I have hardly any experience cooking, so bear with me. Would this work?

- make & cook a big pan of fried rice (something I can happily have as a meal just on its own, e.g. fried rice, spring onions, beansprouts, egg, and a bit of meat)

- separate it out into plastic containers (or just keep it in the pan..) and put it in the freezer

- take a bit out of the freezer and microwave it/heat it on the hob when I fancy a quick meal

I ask because I really like the thought of making big batches of tasty and healthy food, all at once. Not only is it financially economical but also time economical, especially if you make for lots of other people too.

I know some so called "nutrition Nazis" might criticise the dish but I'm not a calorie counter myself.