Freezing rice?

geordie_joe

Missus_Aka wrote: »

Can anyone help ive just made dolmas (lamb mince, onion, rice, parsley, tomato puree mixture) can i put this mix in the freezer to keep for next time as i made too much, just not sure about the rice freezing well, any help appreciated.

I've seen loads of frozen ready meals with rice in them, so I guess you can freeze it.

CH27

Yes you can freeze it but make sure you reheat it thoroughly.

bigchef37

Yes its fine to freeze rice - make sure its cold - run it in a sieve under cold water because rice left to cool slowly can result in food poisoning! Then bag/box up and freeze. Can be reheated straight from frozen in the microwave (only takes a few minutes).

mirrorimage0

rice does have spores in it that can't always be killed by reheating so to stop it multiplying you have to cool the rice fast - take it out of the pot because the pot retains heat, spread it out, cover it, leave it somewhere cool - then portion and freeze it - reheat it to at least 75c for a couple of mins - and eat it hot

the bacteria forms a protective spore in heat - in this form it doesn't make you sick - its when you let it cool and it comes out of its shell and starts partying and making bacteria babies that causes problems

see this link from the british food standards agency

http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/asksam/keepingfoodsafe/asksamcooking/


can i just add on a personal note, i never reheat rice, or use it cold the next day in salad or anything, you are more likely to get food poisening from rice than undercooked chicken,
rice is not expensive and not worht the risk

Missus_Aka

Thanks for all your help everyone mixture now in freezer ready for next time i need it.....

shandypants5

geordie_joe wrote: »

I've seen loads of frozen ready meals with rice in them, so I guess you can freeze it.

Frozen ready meals are sterilised and flash frozen to prevent bacteria growth.

Not something you can achive easily at home.

Mirrorimage has good advice above.

geordie_joe

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

rice does have spores in it that can't always be killed by reheating so to stop it multiplying you have to cool the rice fast - take it out of the pot because the pot retains heat, spread it out, cover it, leave it somewhere cool - then portion and freeze it - reheat it to at least 75c for a couple of mins - and eat it hot

the bacteria forms a protective spore in heat - in this form it doesn't make you sick - its when you let it cool and it comes out of its shell and starts partying and making bacteria babies that causes problems

see this link from the british food standards agency

http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/asksam/keepingfoodsafe/asksamcooking/


can i just add on a personal note, i never reheat rice, or use it cold the next day in salad or anything, you are more likely to get food poisening from rice than undercooked chicken,
rice is not expensive and not worht the risk

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.

alwaysonthego_2

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zippychick

I always freeze cooked rice with no problems. I put it in a plastic bowl(s) in small portions to cool quickly then get it in the fridge/freezer as soon as possible.

I always defrost naturally and thoroughly (none of this microwave defrosting !) and reheat and serve piping hot.

This has been discussed at great length in our freezing rice thread - have a read and Ill merge this later

Zip

shandypants5

More information HERE

Although is not as common as Salmonella or other bacteria species that cause food-borne illness, this bacterium is very specific in the types of food that it contaminates. B. cereus is present in the outer casing of rice and, because it is able to form spores that are very resistant to low or high temperatures, it can easily survive cooking and less-than perfect refrigeration. The spores are also known to be able to withstand pasteurisation, so this bacterium is of special concern for the food industry responsible for the production of processed cook-chill foods.
When rice is boiled and then stored in the fridge without being cooled first, these spores can germinate on the cooked rice and grow well at 4 degrees Celsius. If the rice is then used in a stir fry or similar dish, where the cooking time is relatively short, enough of the bacteria survive to be ingested. It is well-known to occur in people who eat take-away foods that include rice dishes.


I know we have all reheated rice with no ill effects, but like mirrorimage says.
Is it worth the risk for a few pennies?
It takes me 15 min to prepare perfect FRESH rice when I need it.