Can I use this rice?

[ChatterMonkey]

Im normally pretty laid back about food dates etc, and use my judgement on whether it can be used or reheated, but ive just done a food hygiene course at work and its scared me about a few things that I would do as normal (and have never left me ill...)

Yesterday, while halfway through cooking dinner, we decided that it would.go better with pasta than rice. Rice was already cooking in the steamer. So we decided to let the rice finish cooking, we took it out, cooled it and popped it in the fridge. The plan is to have egg fried rice tonight.

But im worried about whether I can reheat the rice?? The course i did says that you shouldnt ever reheat rice, but any recipe I look at for egg fried rice recomends cooked, and cooled rice to avoid clumping.

As long as we throughouly heat it up, is it ok to use the cooked rice from last night as tonights dinner??

I've always been told you can reheat rice as long as it's cooked very quickly, stored in the fridge, then make sure you heat it properly. I've never had any issues with that way.

It's fine as long as you cool it quickly. I always make extra rice and pop some in the freezer for use later. I put it in a sieve and run cold water through to cool it immediately after cooking.

We always reheat rice as long as it's been in the fridge, is cooked to piping hot and within 24 hours. We haven't ever been ill but we are fussy about it not being left hanging around out of the fridge

Thats good, i was thinking it was the cooling down time that was the dangerous period, so was careful to get it into the fridge as soon as it was cool enough. Looking forward to my egg fried rice with pulled pork and pulled chicken through it!

Dodgy stuff rice - it can carry some nasty bug, so I am told. Bacillus cereus

Try this link: www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/food-and-diet/can-reheating-rice-cause-food-poisoning/

I’m not that careful about cooling rice. Just leave it in the pan while we’re eating dinner and then plate it up afterward to put in the fridge. Also takeaway rice, biryani etc I will just put leftovers in the fridge after we finish eating then microwave the next day. Have never been ill.

I think food hygiene courses etc have to err on the side of caution because of the possibility that you could make several - even hundreds - of people ill with just one poorly prepared/stored dish.

I heard of someone who poisoned a whole pub load of people and one even died from a poorly cooked lasagne. So it isn’t just certain food types that you have to be careful of. However, as a home cook, you’re not going to be leaving food out on the side for a buffet for example, or having to reheat a pre-made meal like some chain pub/restaurants might do who offer many different types of meal and bring them all in ready made.

My sister is a catering professional and her advice is exactly as heysally says , plus I personally only re-heat the day after cooking and not beyond that. The non reheating advice applies I think largely to professional kitchens where huge quantities are cooked all at once and therefore take ages to cool down, and large vats of cooked rice sit for ages in a warm kitchens allowing spores to develop, certain types of which cannot be destroyed by reheating. You obviously still have to be careful in a private domestic kitchen but the quantities you are dealing with are more manageable. But if you are ever cooking large quantities of rice for a party, it is better to err on the side of caution, and cook it on the day.

One thing to add is that the rapid cooling down is necessary for two reasons: one to stop spores developing in the rice and two to avoid raising the temperature of the fridge by putting warm produce in there and making all the contents vulnerable to going off.

We always reheat rice. Happily make frid rice with 3/4day old rice if its sat in the fridge.

Never followed all these strict rules and never been ill from it.

But (finally getting to the point) yes I would say your rice will be fine for tonight! Just make sure it is reheated thoroughly. I have been making nasi goreng like this for years for my family and never had a problem.

Of course you can. Fried rice is always made with previously cooked rice. I just cool it on the side and have never been ill from it.

The reason food hygiene courses advise against reheating rice is that participants may work with vulnerable clients such as seniors and young children, or people with impared immune systems. My advice is, if cooking for your own family, cook normally and immediately run under a cold tap to cool. Drain well. Place in container, cover and put into fridge. When using heat to 75c . Imo everyone should have a food thermometer /probe in their kitchen. Bacteria multiply rapidly at temps between 5 and 63c. So if you store food below 5c and heat to over 65 (75 is preferable) you should be safe

It will be fine. I always reheat leftover rice, whether it is home cooked or from a takeaway.
Often it has been left out overnight on the side too. We've never been poisoned.
On saying that, I tend to eat food that I've dropped on the floor, assuming I can get to it before the dog's do.

@JustWonderingIfYou

We always reheat rice. Happily make frid rice with 3/4day old rice if its sat in the fridge.

Never followed all these strict rules and never been ill from it.

Same here. Have done at least once or twice a week for decades and never been ill.

Should be ok in this case, but with rice the bacillus cereus is not killed by heating and in warm cooked rice it creates toxins (rather than bacteria) that can make people ill which is why you need to cool it quickly and keep it cold before using as soon as possible (or store it in the freezer).
Depends on the quality, age and dry storage of the rice as to how safe it was in the first place.