I cooled the rice quickly and it's been in the fridge ever since - can I keep it for 48 hours or should I use it earlier? I usually keep cooked foods for that long but I know rice can be dodgy. Or is the quick-cooling the only issue with rice and as long as you do that you can keep it as long as other foods?

I have some leftover butternut squash risotto t hat is flippin' delicious and I want to turn it into risotto balls for DD who "hates" butternut squash unless she doesn't know it's there in which case the meal is delicious, apparently <pesky kids>

I always throw rice away. It's got something to do with the conditions being right for bacteria to thrive - I know a lot of people who cool and re-heat it once though.

Don't know the answer, sorry, but I would chuck it.

24 hours is the 'official' amount of time you can keep rice. From the food standards agency:

I've heard that reheating rice can cause food poisoning. Is this true?

It's true that you could get food poisoning from eating reheated rice. But it's not actually the reheating that's the problem – it's the way the rice has been stored before reheating.

Uncooked rice can contain spores of Bacillus cereus, bacteria that can cause food poisoning. When the rice is cooked, the spores can survive. Then, if the rice is left standing at room temperature, the spores will germinate into bacteria. These bacteria will multiply and may produce toxins (poisons) that cause vomiting or diarrhoea. Reheating the rice won't get rid of these toxins.

So, the longer cooked rice is left at room temperature, the more likely it is that bacteria, or the toxins they produce, could stop the rice being safe to eat.

It's best to serve rice when it has just been cooked. If that isn't possible, cool the rice as quickly as possible (ideally within one hour) and keep it in the fridge for no more than one day until reheating.

Remember that when you reheat any food, you should always check that it's piping hot all the way through, and avoid reheating more than once.

Rice is the only thing I'm really funny with for the reasons Seona gives.

At home I cook and eat straight away. Throw away any left overs.

I never touch rice salads or anything like that when out and about.

Gawd, I must sound like a right one... I'm not that picky with anything else honestly

Thanks Seona - guess I have to use it today then.