Rice Reheating

[Mew]

So I'm getting a rice cooker and after reading up on rice reheating I'm a little nervous. The idea was to get the cooker and make enough rice so that I could take it to work the next day. Apparently bacteria grows on the rice after you cook it and can cause v*.

Anyone have any insight on rice cooking and reheating?

[Syrup]

What? Where are you getting this info? We have a rice cooker and reheat rice ALL OF THE TIME! The worse thing that we've had happen is that it gets hard overnight. I used to work with a large Korean population and they also ate rice a few days after it was boiled. Perhaps your talking about cooking rice and then leaving it at room temp.? I wouldn't suggest it. My rice cooker has a 'warm' setting that keeps it warm once it's done cooking. We either leave it in the cooker until we're ready to eat or pop it into the fridge once it's done. ANY food can grow bacteria if left in certain environments. Follow the directions, don't google the possibilities in the 'worse case scenarios' and you'll be golden.

[JadeNight]

I've never had a problem with rice. I am also quite careless on how long I leave stuff in the fridge for. I can guarantee I've eaten rice that I've cooked that was about 4-5 days old at most and was fine.

If you're gonna google anything about rice, google some delicious recipes!

[5.0ben]

I think you are referring to a type of food poisoning that can be caused by improperly cooked rice:

Yes. You can get food poisoning from eating reheated rice. However, it's not the reheating that causes the problem but the way the rice has been stored before it was reheated.
Tips on serving rice safely:

• ideally, serve rice as soon as it has been cooked
• if that isn't possible, cool the rice as quickly as possible (ideally within one hour)
• keep rice in the fridge for no more than one day until reheating
• when you reheat any rice, always check that the dish is steaming hot all the way through
• do not reheat rice more than once

<sup>Sources:

http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/can-reheating-rice-cause-food-poisoning.aspx?CategoryID=51
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacillus_cereus</sup>

[5.0ben]

I think you are referring to a type of food poisoning that can be caused by improperly cooked rice:

Yes. You can get food poisoning from eating reheated rice. However, it's not the reheating that causes the problem but the way the rice has been stored before it was reheated.
Tips on serving rice safely:

• ideally, serve rice as soon as it has been cooked
• if that isn't possible, cool the rice as quickly as possible (ideally within one hour)
• keep rice in the fridge for no more than one day until reheating
• when you reheat any rice, always check that the dish is steaming hot all the way through
• do not reheat rice more than once

<sup>Sources:

http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/can-reheating-rice-cause-food-poisoning.aspx?CategoryID=51
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacillus_cereus</sup>

[joubes]

+1 here. Often, my wife makes a large batch of rice and we'll put what we don't use in a container and refrigerate it. Throughout the week, we'll take some out and reheat it to have with dinner. Super easy, works great, and definitely has never made anyone v* that I know!

[punchbuggy]

Honestly folks this is probably guna be the least emet thing ill ever say or you will ever witness me saying but here we leave everything on the stove overnight. Stew, meats , soup, rice .. Any foods that's are cooked that evening. This is the way we did it In Russia and now we do it in Canada. You are quite fine to eat reheated rice .

[Dairyfreelife]

I eat reheated pasta and rice all the time. Just get it warmed through and you will be fine.

[rexymeteorite]

yes, at room temp cooked rice can grow bacteria as well as anything with >20% moisture content. The moisture creates an ideal environment in which the bacteria can grow. As long as you properly refrigerate rice, it will be fine for up to 5 days, as was said elsewhere in this thread. Seriously, just take normal food safety precautions and everything will be alright...

[Mew]

Actually rexy it's a very specific bacteria to rice. I should have linked it haha. Apparently there's a very specific way you need to cool and store rice be cause of it D: I just want to make sure I do the right thing lol

[kam00096]

I just did a food hygiene course and the hazards of reheating rice was one of the things they emphasised the most. It's a bacterium called bacillus cereus and it causes severe nausea, vomiting*and dia. I often wonder how they get round it with rice that comes with microwave meals. Must be the way they prep it!

[mamacat]

I doubt you will have any issues if you refrigerate the uneaten rice in a timely manner and eat it over the next 3-4 days. I almost always make double what I need with rice and eat the leftovers for several days for my lunch (black beans with rice....yummmmm). I also regularly make a dish called "artichoke rice salad" for family gatherings in the summer. It is cooked rice, chilled, and mixed with diced artichokes, olives, green onions, etc. It makes a ton and we usually eat on it for 3-4 days. Nobody has ever been sick and it gets requested every year. I really don't think you need to be worried at all.

[Kaktus]

What can cause problems with rice is that it can contain a special bacteria called Bacillus cereus. This bacteria can hide in spores that survives cooking, and if you don't cool the cooked rice fast enough the bacteria can start to grow and form a toxin. This toxin can't be destroyed by heating the rice again, so that's when you can get sick. So - if you just make sure to cool the rice quickly (I usually put the pot in cold water) it's not a problem to reheat it the next day!

[rexymeteorite]

weird, we cool it normally -- 30mins left out at room temp then put in the fridge, my fiancee eats it reheated like that for up to 5 days, and has never gotten sick from it.

Perhaps because we only cook a little bit at a time usually less than 2 cups, maybe it cools quicker and never has enough time for rice specific bacteria to grow...maybe larger amounts take longer to cool to below, what 40 degrees F?

[Ckforsy]

Good comment Kactus. I actually read somewhere that most of the time when people get fp from sushi it's due to improperly handled rice NOT raw fish like you would think.

[MaybeBaby]

Never had a problem with rice. It's definitely a safe food for me. I make my own, or get it from a restaurant, put it in the fridge when I am done. Maybe I have just been lucky. But I really haven't had a problem with it.