Can I heat rice three times?

Bluebirdnick

I am quite busy in the evenings, so when I get some time in the kitchen I tend to make a whole load of meals, and re-heat (or finish) them later in the week when I have no time. On Monday I had some time, so I half-cooked a big pile of risotto. I finished cooking it in a few mins tonight, but I misjudged it and there is at least 2 meals-worth left over.

Can I stick this in the fridge or freezer and cook it again on the weekend for lunch? It is really nice, and I'm doing what I can to cut back, but I never know where I stand with rice and food safety!

Actually, I've got a similar question for pork. I also made a quick casserole with some pork leftover from a roast, but only had a bit of this on Monday - the rest of it is sat in the freezer (3 meals at least). Is it OK to reheat this? The pork will have been heated 3 times if I do - notwithstanding the fact that it will probably be a bit tough, is it safe to eat?

Thanks!

Nick

whu

I think the rice is ok but wouldn't personally have the pork re-heated 3 times

ljbnotts

I went on a food hygiene course last year and they said never reheat rice because of the way it cools down, ie slowly, bacteria breeds and when its reheated it doesn't kill 100% of it. To be honest my BF's father has always reheated his rice in an aga and no one has ever been ill so I'm not sure. In theory no but in practice i guess most times its OK! But personally I would play it safe and say unless its been cooled in controlled conditions then no! HTH.

I would guess the porks ok if its been frozen but not 100%.

fedupandskint

I reheat both pork and rice twice and have lived to tell the tale. I do this for my lunch at work when the leftovers get nuked in the microwave for lunch but I don't think a food hygiene course would recommend this!

Meadows

ljbnotts wrote: »

I went on a food hygiene course last year and they said never reheat rice because of the way it cools down, ie slowly, bacteria breeds and when its reheated it doesn't kill 100% of it. To be honest my BF's father has always reheated his rice in an aga and no one has ever been ill so I'm not sure. In theory no but in practice i guess most times its OK! But personally I would play it safe and say unless its been cooled in controlled conditions then no! HTH.

I would guess the porks ok if its been frozen but not 100%.

And yet fried rice is best when the plain rice is cooked allowed to cool and then heated up into the fried rice, the grains are fluffy and not stuck together.

When I do fried rice I pre-cook the rice, then make the fried rice always trying to make more than I need (till other half goes for seconds or thirds) so I can freeze it for a quick meal at another time.

Bluebirdnick

Thanks everybody for the suggestions. I stuck the risotto in the fridge about 5 mins after I cooked it, so I reckon I'm OK on that, given the helpful comments above. The pork casserole thing didn't taste as good anyway, so the risk/reward thing is telling me to stick it in the cooked-food compost bin.

I've actually got loads of questions on how long food can be kept once cooked- are there any general rules? I have a 3-day rule that I apply to pretty much everything once cooked (or a month in the freezer)... are there any obvious exceptions?

What about things like sundried tomatoes, pesto? The jars say use within a few days once opened, but who uses an entire jar of pesto in three days?! Is it safe to trust my nose, and use it if it smells OK?

Thanks!

EDIT: Just read loaner's message... the risotto's going in the bin as well!

Meadows

Just have to trust your judgement on the jar thing, some items only keep for up to a week, other things keep ages.
My home made Jams, Chutneys and Chill Jam etc keep indefinitely.

As for the freezer things will keep in there for a long time, if they suffer freezer burn it may impair the flavour/taste.
My freezers are usually so full I tend to take most things from the top rather than rummage; a few weeks ago I found Pork Chops dated November 2007, they were fine.

Better to cook meal and freeze them rather than hope they get used quickly, if for any reason you don't eat the intended food, it could end up in the fridge for days and then wasted, even if you intend to eat it next few days I would throw it in the freezer.
You can always remove it early in the morning to de-frost ready for that nights meal.

Try using the pour and serve bags (available in supermarkets) to put food in they take up less room than containers (depending what the food is, I will put a meat, veg & roast potatoes in these bags, far less room than putting the meal on a plate).

Try Defrost Trays such as this one on ebay (shop around for a good price) Item number: 360096743752, they work really well when you need something quickly, running warm water over the tray first speeds up the defrost even more!

competitionscafe

There is an article here on reheating rice:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article5205697.ece

Basically it needs to be cooled and then refrigerated asap after cooking and then reheated thoroughly (as with most cooked foods).
I have also done the basic food hygiene course and remember rice being singled out.
I would reheat rice once but probably not twice - even if the risk is small. Having had food poisoning once (not from something I cooked) I tend to err on the side of caution as I would not like to repeat the experience or inflict it on anyone else!

belfastgirl23

You can just eat risotto cold as a type of salad although maybe not so much at this time of year!

pigpen

IF it is frozen it should be fine.. I wouldn't just store it in the fridge and keep reheating.. especially after I gave myself food poisoning this week doing just that!

Caterina

Reheating rice with water is not ok (according to food hygiene) because the Bacillus Cereus (the bug that causes the rice to go off) does not die at 100 degrees centigrades, the temperature of boiling water.

Reheating the rice as fried rice is ok, though, because hot oil reaches more than 100 degrees centigrades and kills the bug.

Having said that, I haven't yet *touch wood* had any problem with multiple reheating of rice in water etc... (I live dangerously LOL)

Caterina