A piece of advice I'd never actually seen before.

[theweaselking]

Originally expressed as "DON'T FUCKING REHEAT RICE", the NHS clarifies it to "Never eat rice that has been at room temperature after cooking. Cook it, eat it hot, put it in the fridge still hot, then reheat it to hot once and only once, and you're okay. But if it cools to room temperature, or you're tempted to fridge it a second time, don't."

I did not know this.
I am learning more cheffery.

Comments

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

I knew this due to unfortunate experience

A local take away apparently did not know this and also caused many many many unfortunate experiences before the powers that be intervened

[arielstarshadow.livejournal.com]

Huh - I didn't know this, either. And as a single person living alone, I frequently cook enough rice for a week's meals, and reheat all week. Guess I better figure out a way to cook just enough rice for a single meal.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

If you're not getting sick, you're obviously doing SOMETHING right. The trick is to avoid letting it sit near room temperature.

[arielstarshadow.livejournal.com]

Or could be I've just been lucky thus far! Basically, I cook it up, then it stays in the fridge and I reheat just enough for my dinner. The rest stays cold. But from that website, even that's bad, as it's more than one day in the fridge.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

I suspect they're specifically being paranoid. Like how food safety says that in order for beef to be safe for consumption it must be well-done and you will die horribly from medium-rare.

[sucrelefey.livejournal.com]

Freeze portions and thaw as needed when you do up a batch.

[arielstarshadow.livejournal.com]

Good idea!!

[tisiphone.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Also, don't eat lukewarm rice. No good.

[aeduna.livejournal.com]

You've clearly never been a pregnant lady. :) There's a lot of "nope, no rice for you unless you cooked it." advice over here.

[crazy-alexy.livejournal.com]

Ironically, at eight months pregnant, I haven't heard that one.

[aeduna.livejournal.com]

Its part of the lysteria avoidance set told to pregnant women here. Along with blue cheeses, unwashed salads, etc.

[franklanguage.livejournal.com]

And "Stay Away From The Cat Box! (http://www.webmd.com/baby/toxoplasmosis)" (although that has to do with toxoplasmosis.)

And on that note: Never Flush Cat Litter (http://www.theunclogblog.com/2010/10/why-you-should-never-flush-kitty-litter-down-the-toilet.html)!

[moiread]

I think I break this rule pretty much every time I eat rice, but between the Chron's and the vertigo barfs and the chronic fatigue, HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO TELL WHEN I'VE LOST THE GAMBLE? Bah!

[rattsu.livejournal.com]

It is all because of Bacilus Cereus, which can pop up in many kinds of foods but is especially nasty in rice.

Why?

Because rice is generally not cooked long and hard enough to destroy the spores, and if you let it stand around and be nice and lukewarm, those spores hatch and grows into new bacteria. Which you will then eat, because just reheating the rice tends not to be so through that it kills off the bacteria (you just want it warm and tasty, not nuke it).

Of course this relies on there being spores in the rice in the first place, if there are none, you are safe, but since you can never know...

Essentially if you keep reheating and cooling, you can grow your own little bacteria culture from a single tiny spore into a nice colony big enough to get you sick.

[jsbowden.livejournal.com]

That only applies to ground beef; it that beef happens to have staph or e. coli contamination, medium rare WILL cause you to get sick. With steak, as long as you sear the outer surface, you can eat it pretty much raw and not worry.

[peristaltor.livejournal.com]

It's been known for years. The problem is small restaurants that all too routinely cook a new batch of rice, serve, and store the remains in the fridge. Next day, reheat and add new rice. If business is too slow, the first day's rice can remain in the serving batch for too long. Each time one cools and heats, the batch enters The Danger Zone. After a few days, this incomplete turnover turns the serving bowl into a Petri dish.

By only heating/cooling/reheating once, there is no worry about repetitive bacteria culturing. It's less convenient to completely empty the rice warmer, but it's a bunch safer.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

I'm sure it's been known for years.... but I didn't know it. And from the other comments, it's the food safety version of a missing stair, apparently.

[peristaltor.livejournal.com]

Yup. Now that I think about it, it's probably one of those things that has been around soooo long that people in the teachy biz take for granted that everyone must have heard about it, so they don't bother mentioning it. Kind of like, "NO! Don't grab the knife there—" (drawn out intake of breath) "That's gonna leave a mark."

[peristaltor.livejournal.com]

I learned of that second one the, er, hard way. What a mess.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Seriously, I didn't know rice was more dangerous than other food-substrates. And I can see *how*, given the explanations, but it would never have occurred to me on my own.

[sucrelefey.livejournal.com]

You may have to change the type you are using. Some getting chewy others pasty with freezing and thawing but whatever kind the frozen dinner companies use works.

[torrain.livejournal.com]

Huh. Do you happen to know what is "long and hard enough to destroy the spores"? (E.g., boiling water vs steaming, how long?)

[cleodhna.livejournal.com]

Yup-- it is dangerous, especially white rice, and it's not just Cereus (this is cereus!). The same holds true for any carbohydrate with a lot of surface area. It basically provides a wonderful, sweet, tasty, rich, spacious environment for any bacteria that happens to be around to live on and flourish, so this applies also to pasta, beans, couscous, &c, &c... and potatoes. Oh mercy, do not keep cooked potatoes at room temperature. Danger, Will Robinson!. If you need to keep your rice for longer, the less sticky types (like Thai or basmati) tend to suck up less water than the sticky ones (like sushi or arborio), so they're slightly less hospitable, and you can lessen the risk by squeezing it into tight little balls and freezing it. Better, though, to make up only how much you need, and if you have too much chuck a sardine or two on it and give it to the dog.

[kytheraen.livejournal.com]

I thought it was bad to put hot stuff in the fridge! We've always left the takeout to cool before sticking it in the fridge. Oops. I'm not dead though.

[rattsu.livejournal.com]

The toxin that is most commonly created in rice (yep, just not spores but toxin too) needs to get up to 121 C (250F) for 90 minutes so I think you're better off making a new batch of rice...

[torrain.livejournal.com]

Oh, probably. I was just thinking it would be nice to create a batch of rice that didn't have the potential of sporulating in the first place.

Oh well. Prompt away-putting it is, then. :)

[glenn-3.livejournal.com]

No, no, definitely don't wait to put stuff in the fridge. Bacteria grows best between about 40 and 140 degrees (F, obviously--dumb American here*), so it's best not to leave anything in that range for longer than you have to. As soon as the food stops steaming, it can be put away in the fridge or freezer. More often than not, you won't get sick by ignoring that rule (the customers at our Walmart deli are all still alive, after all), but better safe than spewing out both ends, eh?

*Quick search says Celsius is between about 5 degrees and 60 degrees (http://www.foodsafety.asn.au/resources/temperature-danger-zone-keep-hot-food-hot-and-cold-food-cold/).

[kytheraen.livejournal.com]

I meant bad for the fridge, we didn't care about the food XD

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

A large amount of hot liquid will make your fridge work harder for a while and might warm up the other food a bit, but "working harder" won't hurt the fridge.

[sucrelefey.livejournal.com]

What you want is rapid cooling throughout. Slow cooling results in the section of food that has already gone to bacteria friendly tepid getting a chance to grow bug a boos while the rest is still dropping in temperature . For large pots of stuff move it into smaller multiple containers to cool faster and evenly.

[sucrelefey.livejournal.com]

A lot of this gets covered in the basic Food Safety course for hospitality workers offered by your local continuing ed and they often give you the case examples to show how horribly wrong it can go. It doesn't hurt to learn why health code is the way it is though you may be suspicious of every food outlet you walk into from there on in.

[crazy-alexy.livejournal.com]

I've heard those. Had a relative ask when I'm getting rid of my kitties, who have been exclusively indoor for 7+ years.

[peristaltor.livejournal.com]

Back in the 70s when power was in general more expensive, yes, people regularly cooled food a bit to save on power bills. The key, if you are still concerned about power usage, is to let things cool no more than (insert "danger zone" threshold temperature du jour here).

When I was in food service, it was 140º F; now it's probably more like 150ºF+.

[almostwitty]

It has to be said that when I grew up in a Chinese takeaway, that's regularly how fried rice was/is made. Heat the rice, serve/eat it, put the leftovers back in the fridge, cook it as fried rice the next day, voila.

Happened ALL the time. I ate it always. Don't recall getting any food poisoning as a result...

[tsunami-ryuu.livejournal.com]

Well, damn. That is good to know. Like many of the folks here, I'm one of those people who tends to cook larger-than-needed batches of rice and refrigerate the leftovers. I usually stick the rice into the fridge while it's hot, but still, now that I know better, I'll be changing my habits.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Again, nothing wrong with refrigerating the leftovers. Just don't let them get cold *first*, and reheat them only once.