Re-heating Rice
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Discussion

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

70 months

Monday 6th October 2008
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[redacted]

mrsxllifts

2,501 posts

215 months

Monday 6th October 2008
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Never had any trouble re-heating it, even if its been frozen after cooking it. A drop of water in the bottom of the bowl stops it going dry in the microwave.

Stu R

21,410 posts

231 months

Monday 6th October 2008
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Just make sure you reheat it properly and it's been stored well. Rice is one of the most common for food poisoning smile

Scraggles

7,619 posts

240 months

Monday 6th October 2008
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don't leave it to cool, pop it right in the fridge, the cool down period can allow bacillus spores if present to germinate

re-heating the rice will not kill the toxins that are preduced

smack

9,755 posts

207 months

Tuesday 7th October 2008
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mrsxllifts said:
Never had any trouble re-heating it, even if its been frozen after cooking it. A drop of water in the bottom of the bowl stops it going dry in the microwave.
+1

End of the day, when you have cooked the rice it was heated to +100C, as long as you put it into a clean bowl/Tupperwear/Lock & Lock/ whatever, and transferred it into a fridge (that is clean), in my experience you will be fine.

I usually put a few drops of water on the rice if I am going to re-heat it, as it is going to dry out when in the fridge. Crunchy rice = bad.

I usually only do this if I am going to eat it the next day.

HundredthIdiot

4,456 posts

300 months

Tuesday 7th October 2008
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Reheating rice is like wearing contact lenses in the swimming pool.

You're told the consequences are horrific but very rare; you hear the "very rare" bit and do it anyway.

mechsympathy

55,851 posts

271 months

Tuesday 7th October 2008
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smack said:
End of the day, when you have cooked the rice it was heated to +100C, as long as you put it into a clean bowl/Tupperwear/Lock & Lock/ whatever, and transferred it into a fridge (that is clean), in my experience you will be fine.
As Scraggles says, heat doesn't get rid of the toxins. The important part is to cool it quickly.

bobfrance

1,323 posts

283 months

Tuesday 7th October 2008
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I think reheating leftover takeaway rice is more risky as you don't know how many times it has been reheated/kept warm already.


smack

9,755 posts

207 months

Tuesday 7th October 2008
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The from the Food Standards Agency:

Ask Sam from the FSA said:
Q: I've heard that reheating rice can cause food poisoning. Is this true?

A: 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.
AICMFP


Edit for formatting

Edited by smack on Tuesday 7th October 19:19

Scraggles

7,619 posts

240 months

Tuesday 7th October 2008
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used to be a microbiologist many years ago smile

HundredthIdiot

4,456 posts

300 months

Tuesday 7th October 2008
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Scraggles said:
used to be a microbiologist many years ago smile
Then you got bigger?

Scraggles

7,619 posts

240 months

Wednesday 8th October 2008
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yeah and wiser smile

started working out on site, company was not brilliant, but current one is much better

HundredthIdiot

4,456 posts

300 months

Wednesday 8th October 2008
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thegavster said:
Also, for those that like making fried rice, make sure your rice has completely cooled/dried in the fridge before frying it, you get a much better end result than if your rice is still warm/hot.
Top tip: put the cooked rice in a metal roasting dish, and put outside to cool (in my case on the metal lid of the gas grill).

The combination of conduction and wind chill cools the rice much faster than the fridge, particularly on blustery autumn/winter evenings, and it doesn't warm up the fridge in the process (bad idea for food safety).

Usually ready to fry in a few minutes.

spikeyhead

18,901 posts

213 months

Wednesday 8th October 2008
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I stick mine in a sieve and run it under the cold tap. Cold in seconds, then straight into the fridge.