reheating rice

[kbaby]

Is it safe to reheat rice. Ive been cooking risotto and curry and rice for my 8 month old. Ive been freezing it and then microwaving it when needed. But my friend said rice should never be reheated.
If this is the case is cous cous ok or not?
Also some recipie books say its ok to freeze pasta and others say not to. Does anyone know why?

Sorry they are silly questions but i'm no delia smith

[starlover]

rice can contain a nasty food poisoning called bacillus cereus
You can reheat it ONCE... but do make sure that it is properly heated all the way through... like anything else really.

I have frozen pasta before and it's been fine... well... i haven't died yet anyway

[nailpolish]

there was another good thread on this recently, its under the food bit

[starlover]

nailpolish... this IS the food bit!

[Blu]

Isn't the thing about rice that even at v high temperatures the bacteria survives, so re-heating isn't the issue - I think the important bit is that when it is first cooked it must be cooled quickly and frozen asap so that the bacteria can't develop at that point?

[nailpolish]

er i know that

i mean there was another thread about this very same subject just 2 days ago, i tried a link but it didnt seem to work

[starlover]

well.. that's the same for all food if you're going to freeze it.
Bacteria will thrive in warm temperatures, so the longer it takes to cool down the longer they have to multiply.

heating to a certain temp will kill bacteria, but unless you have a food thermometer it's impossible to tell!

[moondog]

Don't shuffle away np!! I know what you mean!
Wish I could do links/remember anything that happened longer than 3 minutes ago. I'm impressed!
(Also impressed by the fact you had three men making flattering comments about your boobs! Speaking of boobs....ds is griping..)

[beansontoast]

thats it blu

[nailpolish]

thanks moondog (petty lip)

[Blu]

Starlover - it may be worth looking on the other thread, where a chef and food hygeinist posted, but from what I re-call the main point is that NO, heating at even a v high temperature doesn't stop the food poisoning from re-heated rice. (possibly because it is the by-products from the bacteria rather than the bacteria itself)

[starlover]

maybe... we used to reheat rice in the restaurant I worked in, and it wasn't a problem.
Have done my basic hygiene training several times too... although that said, it was a few years ago now!

[Blu]

300 people were poisoned by re-heated rice in Halls of Residence at my university!
But you can buy loads of ready meals with rice to e-heat.

[Easy]

I believe microwaving is safer, cos the microwaves zap the bacteria from the inside, whereas conventional heating encourage the bacteria to grow as the temp around it gets higher.

[beansontoast]

i did food hygiene 2002..

as with all these things it is just about higher risk food groups and stats.

[starlover]

300!!!!!!!! blimey

it's enough to put you off rice isn't it!

[Easy]

Blu

Was the rice actually reheated, or just left to keep warm for ages. Cos that nicely incubates all the bugs so they can multiply really well.

[Blu]

Yeah, but Easy, the whole point about this rice baciilus thing is, it doesn't matter how hot you zap it - if it was infected it will still poison you: thinking you have heated it hot enough is a false sense of security!

[Blu]

Re-heated!
Definately. Was big detailed inquiry (of course!).

[starlover]

no, if you cook it to over a certain temperature it will be killed.

"Since bacteria grow best at temperatures ranging from 40 to 140°F, infection may be prevented if cold food is refrigerated and if hot food is held at greater than 140°F before serving"

that's from a bacteriological website, and relates directly to bacillus cereus

[starlover]

otherwise food outlets wouldn't be allowed to ever reheat rice because it would poison everyone!

[starlover]

bacillus cereus

[Blu]

Aha!
thanks S'lover.
I was confused - the spores survive the initial cooking to multiply nastily later at leaisure - if allowed!
Will now return to my normal life which does not include obsessing about reheated rice!

[starlover]

yes! we can now all feel safe in the knowledge that we are not poisoning ourselves.
lol

[samwifewithkid]

I've reheated rice on loads of occasions and I haven't died yet. There is a risk, but only if you take risks in the first place (ie: leaving it out at room temp etc... not getting it frozen straight away) but really it is common sense.

[kbaby]

So is it safe to cook dd risotto, freeze it and then microwave it or shall I just stay away from rice altogether.