From time to time, the previous rice rumor will swirl round—one thing alongside the strains of “consuming leftover rice will certainly make you sick if not kill you.” Enable me to be the bearer of excellent information: You don’t must toss out the chilly hen and rice you saved, as a result of rice can keep within the fridge longer than you may assume.
Is consuming leftover rice harmful?
The favored rumor you could have heard about leftover rice being toxic is probably going an exaggeration. Leftover rice isn’t in itself unhealthy, or inedible—no extra so than different meals. Whereas all meals poisoning ought to be taken critically, there are easy methods to keep away from it.
To be clear, the offender in query right here is Bacillus cereus, and the spores can exist on a whole lot of totally different leftover meals, together with rice, but in addition beans, meats, cheese, potatoes, and pasta. That’s as a result of bacillus cereus is frequent in the environment and located in soil. (Recent cucumbers are well-liked with bacillus cereus.) So I believe we will get away from the follow of calling getting sick from it “fried rice syndrome.”
How lengthy can rice be saved within the fridge?
Rice, like all meals, is finest eaten once you’ve adopted the common meals security guidelines, in accordance with the USDA. Particularly, after rice has been cooked, don’t depart it sitting out at room temperature for greater than two hours. Wrap it or field it up in a container with a decent becoming lid and put it within the fridge after that point stamp. There, it might probably keep safely for as much as 5 days, or (hack alert!) you may freeze your rice for as much as three months.
Credit score: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann
Once more, as with all leftovers, you’ll wish to reheat your rice earlier than you eat it. Achieve this in any method you want—microwave, range, steamer, or soup. The aim is to carry the rice’s temperature as much as a minimal of 140°F, getting it safely out of the “hazard zone.” The end result will appear to be steaming rice, and the rice might be sizzling to the contact.
What do you assume thus far?
Easy methods to simply and safely reheat leftover rice
To reheat rice, I often scoop the quantity I would like right into a microwave-safe bowl, add a small spoonful of water, cowl it in a microwavable lid ,and nuke it for a couple of minute. (It is likely to be longer in case you are heating a whole lot of rice) Once I uncover the bowl steam will billow out and the rice might be fluffy, renewed, and protected to devour.
Personally, I’ve lived a wholesome life sometimes disregarding the principles by consuming hazard zone-y room temperature rice. I don’t make it a behavior and positively I don’t recommend others make a behavior of it. From a textural standpoint, I by no means eat fridge chilly rice, or any chilly starches for that matter, as a result of starches seize up once they quiet down, turning into onerous and gritty. Why threat micro organism and an disagreeable mouth-feel?
Don’t waste your leftovers, reheat your rice, and benefit from the prospects with heat rice salads, creamy rice dishes, and exploring the vast world of beans and rice.
