rice - can it be reheated?

[roseyposey]

DP and I have this argument on a regular basis - I say it can't, has to be eaten up when cooked or thrown away, he says you can keep in fridge/freeze, etc. Anybody got any idea? Thanks in advance.

I think you shouldn't - seem to remember something vaguely about reheated rice being one of the biggest causes of food poisoning?

Not sure why though.

Yes, that's what I thought, too - something about bacteria thriving if not at right temperature or something. DP thinks I'm overly fussy, and far too vague in my argument - wants hard facts, etc (never very good at that).

would love to know if this is true, I freeze my risotto on a regular basis

ah now we have this arguement on a regular basis

Asian people, particularly Chinese flavoured like my DH's family, will reheat rice that's been refrigerated ad infinitum, for about 3 days if it is kept in the fridge. And even if it's been left out overnight.

And if you are in doubt you have to wonder why the earth is populated chiefly with Chinese, dyaknowhaddImean?

i freeze and reheat risotto - but it is dangerous apparently. I think as long as you heat it to very high degree it should be ok

DP would love to freeze risotto but I don't let him, cue start of tedious argument...

Google it and look at the eatwell.co.uk advice.

It explains all!

I often freeze things like risotto and jambalaya and then reheat.

You can get something called bacillus cereus (sp?) from re-heated rice but, afaik, that only happens when the rice has not been kept in a fridge and is inadequately reheated. I re-heat rice - but I keep it in the fridge (or freeze it) and make sure it is really well re-heated.

You can buy pre-cooked rice in vacuum bags that you cook in the microwave but that must have something done to it during manufacture as you don't have to keep it in the fridge.

I asked my microbiologist pal who's currently doing a Masters in Food Nutrition about this one.

Basically any left over rice should be chilled to a certain point (can't remember the exact degree) very quickly else the bacteria will develop. It can then be safely reheated (to a certain level for a certain length of time) and is safe to eat. The danger comes when rice is left to cool first before being chilled in the fridge allowing bacteria to develop. Whilst reheating until very hot kills some of it, it does not kill a certain type of bacteria (can't remember which) and this is where the food poisoning comes from.

My dh and I and 10 or so of his colleagues got gastric flu from some rice in a Thai restaurant - we know it was the rice because the people who had the noodles didn't get it.
Basically I think the theory is that rice is a really good medium for nasty things to grow in. So it's riskier than other food, IYKWIN, and probably worth reheating really carefully if you are going to do it.
But I love rice salad, or making a big risotto and eating it over a few days, so I'm not going to be totally put off, just extra careful.

I remember my Dad telling me (he was a food bod, pre retirement) that in the past Chinese take-aways were a prime source of food poisoning from rice as traditionally the cooked rice was not kept in the fridge as it clumped together and wouldn't fry easily.

Thanks for opinions - "chilling to certain point" etc all sound far too technical for our kitchen, I think you've convinced me enough to stick with my method.

But Pagan, isn't it the case of any food left at room temp ? not specific to rice.

Fredly - there is something else in the rice (I can't remember exactly what (shall go and google to find out) which produces something else, some other sort of toxin. This is what sets it aside from other food. Shall try to dig out the email my pal sent me

Here's the blurb from the website which SorenL linked to - it explains why

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 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

[professional microbiologist hat on]

Bacillus cereus is a bacteria that loves to grow in tepid wet starchy food, especially rice.
As it grows it produces a toxin.
When you reheat the rice, you kill the bacteria, but heat doesn't affect the toxin.
It's the toxin that causes the 'food poisoning' symptoms.

Moral of the story:
It's fine to reheat rice that's been cooked once and chilled or frozen, but DO NOT leave cooked rice hanging around at room temp or try and keep it warm.

here endeth the lesson!

whoops, xp Pagan

You summed it up better than me Mrs B

MrsB - I didn't know that

I have been reheating or eating cold rice that has been left around in the kitchen all my life !

I do cook and freeze rice for DS (he loves rice more than potato and bread) - I will be a lot more careful from now on.

I must admit I was shocked to realise that it was dangerous - rice seems like such a safe sort of food. However its one thing I remember from a hygiene and food safety course from a few years back. After cooking rinse the rice in cold water and then place in the fridge or freezer.