Table of Contents
- How Long Is Cooked Rice Good For? Things You May Not Know About It
- What exactly rice is?
- What are the benefits from the nutritional ingredients in rice?
- How to cook rice properly?
- Tips to help you cook delicious and nutritious rice
- How long does cooked rice last in the fridge?
- How to tell if cooked rice is going bad?
- Why should we store cold rice properly?
- How to preserve cooked rice properly?
- How to steam cooked rice?
- Top 5 best rice products 2019
- Conclusion
How Long Is Cooked Rice Good For? Things You May Not Know About It
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day but with all the work and hustle, most people do not have enough time to prepare a quality breakfast for the whole family. Therefore, many families choose to cook rice the night before and store it for steaming or frying the next morning.
While others often have the habit of keeping leftover rice after they have finished eating and refrigerating it for preservation. Preserving cooked rice will not pose a health risk if you do not have the habit of accumulating for many days. Users are subjective that keeping cooked rice in the refrigerator will not be contaminated so they do not focus on the preservation period and this is extremely harmful.
Storing cooked rice in the refrigerator is a time-saving solution but rice needs to be properly stored to ensure nutritional quality and safety for the whole family.
What exactly rice is?
Rice is a kind of food made from rice by cooking with enough water.
Rice is cooked from glutinous rice and without spice, is almost daily food for Southeast Asians and East Asians. Rice is also the raw material for fried rice, mussel rice. To change taste, after cooking, rice can be used to fry with chopped sausages, silk rolls, petit pois beans, dried shrimp, duck eggs … commonly known as dishes Yangzhou fried rice. There is also mixed rice, pilaf, rice, lotus leaf, lam rice…
In other regions like Europe, Central America and Africa, people often cook rice with other ingredients such as nuts or vegetables, meat.
What are the benefits from the nutritional ingredients in rice?
When it comes to rice, it refers to the high starch content that it provides in the form of carbohydrates, when starch into the stomach converts into sugar, a chain of glucose molecules linked together with high fiber content. White rice contains very high carb, carb content accounts for about 82 grams / 100 grams. Therefore, 90% of the rice energy provided is mainly due to this ingredient.
– Protein is present in rice in the form of amino acid molecules, forming tissue, creating enzymes and antibiotics. The true protein use value index of rice is 63, compared with 49 for wheat and 36 for corn (based on egg protein of 100).
– In the nutritional ingredients in rice, a special vitamin called thiamin or Vitamin B1 appears. White rice provides 0.07 mg B1 / 100 grams. Vitamin B1 helps support nerve cells, heart activity and appetite. This ingredient cannot be stored in the body and must be supplied daily.
Vitamin B1 deficiency can occur when the diet is poor, monotonous, with little animal food (meat, fish, eggs …), due to some abnormalities of the digestive system, drinking a lot of alcohol … Vitamin B1 deficiency will cause loss of appetite, nausea, skin numbness, decreased muscle tone, memory loss. Lacking much can lead to leg edema, muscle atrophy, mental disorders, coma, heart failure and death.
Children who are currently breastfed may die suddenly from heart failure if the mother is deficient in vitamin B1. Vitamin B1 requirement is calculated according to energy intake. An adult needs about 1 to 1.2 mg of vitamin B1 daily. Foods rich in vitamin B1 such as rice, grains, meat, nuts, fish, eggs…
– The minerals in rice also bring great nutritional values for the body: K (necessary for protein synthesis), Ca (good for bones, teeth and helps regulate the body), salt (works to maintain fluid balance in the body, ensuring nervous system and normal functioning of the muscles).
How to cook rice properly?
With the appearance of the rice cooker, the cooking of the housewives is greatly reduced. Instead of having to wait for the water to boil and then add the rice as before, now just put the rice right into the cold water, then press the button. So when you return, you have a delicious, flexible bow of rice.
But did you know, long-soaked rice in cold water will expand, the nutrients will follow and dissolve in the water. When water is boiled at high temperatures, vitamin B1 will also decompose.
The best way to cook rice is to wait for the water to boil and then add the rice into so that the rice not only absorbs water but also increases heat. Furthermore, during the process of boiling water, the amount of protein precipitates like a vitamin B protective film, avoiding water solubility.
After putting the rice in, it is recommended to turn the heat down, so that the water evaporates less. By doing so, the amount of vitamin B1 retained will be 30% more than the cold water method.
Tips to help you cook delicious and nutritious rice
#1 Cooking rice with tea
It is not always necessary to use an expensive type of rice that you can cook delicious rice. Using tea to cook rice not only helps the rice taste aromatic, delicious but has beautiful colors.
Eating rice cooked with tea can reduce the amount of excess fat, help prevent cardiovascular diseases.
Middle-aged people, who regularly eat rice cooked with tea can soften the veins, thereby reducing the risk of cardiovascular neurasthenia.
#2 Cooking rice with rice cooker
Wash rice gently with water for about 1 minute, if not rinse the rice first, the cooked rice will be hard.
Pour boiling water into the pot and submerge about 2 knuckles.
Do not put rice in cold water immediately, so it is easy to harden and lose vitamin B1 in rice, rice does not hunt nuts.
#3 Cooking rice with beans
Cooking rice with beans is a method that can both add nutrition and change the taste for the family.
For this method, you should soak the beans with warm water first (about 8 hours) and then add beans to cook with rice as usual.
#4 Notes
Remember to rinse the pot and lid before cooking rice, taking care to clean the rice balls at the bottom of the pot and the lid.
Add a pinch of salt when washing rice. If rice is moldy, rinse it with plenty of clean water.
You can also cook rice with a little salt, similar to cooking sticky rice. This not only helps the rice more bold but also preserves the longer-lasting rice.
If you do not use salt, you can add vinegar to the rice cooker when cooking in a ratio of 2 ml of vinegar for 1.5 kg of rice. This work ensures the cooked rice is white and can last very long.
How long does cooked rice last in the fridge?
Rice is one of the few foods that do not have a certain shelf life. However, this is only true for uncooked rice. Cooked rice has a limited time to use, usually very short. So exactly how long does cooked rice last?
Cooked rice shelf life depends on how the rice is cooled as well as how it is preserved. Usually cooked rice can last for 2 hours at room temperature, after that time cooked rice will produce many harmful bacteria.
For storing cooked rice in fridge, it can last for 2 to 4 days depending on how you store it. If you store them properly, their lifespan will be significantly extended.
How to tell if cooked rice is going bad?
Unlike other foods that show clearly signs that they are going bad, cooked rice often has to be carefully observed to know whether it is bad or not.
Here are some signs to help you know whether cooked rice can be used further or not.
#1 Cooked rice is dry and hard
Cooked rice becomes hard and dry is one of the signs that it is getting worse. Usually cooked rice if stored in the refrigerator will be quite susceptible to dryness, so if they become too hard and dry it is a sign that it’s time to throw it away.
The best time to reheate rice is after 1 to 2 days of storage in the refrigerator. You can also maximize their shelf life in the refrigerator by storing them in airtight containers or zip bags.
#2 Cooked rice was left a long time at room temperature
The external environment with high air humidity and temperature provides ideal conditions for the growth of pathogenic bacteria. So when the rice at room temperature for 6 hours or more will cause an unpleasant odor and produce harmful bacteria to the body when eating.
And if you leave the rice outside for too long, and then put it in the refrigerator, it can’t be saved. The low temperature of the refrigerator only slows down the growth of bacteria but does not prevent that growth at all.
#3 The rice is cooled and heated too many times
Absolutely do not reheat the cold rice more than 2 times after storing them in the refrigerator, otherwise the rice will become gelatinized and lose nutrients, may even cause side effects such as abdominal pain, vomiting.
Leftover rice should only be steamed once only after being stored in the refrigerator for 2 to 4 days. Don’t be too thrifty but ignore this principle if you don’t want to harm your family’s health
#4 Cooked rice has unpleasant odor
This is the clearest sign that it’s time to throw them away. Usually, cold rice last for more than 5 days in the fridge will cause an unpleasant odor because the pathogenic bacteria have grown significantly, and they are certainly no longer safe to eat.
Why should we store cold rice properly?
In rice there is a bacterium called Bacillus Cereus. This bacterium appears in the process of growing and harvesting rice. When rice is cooked into cooked rice, this bacterium is not destroyed but transformed into spore – a “dormant” way – to protect itself. If we eat rice was cooked less than 6 hours, the spores will not be harmful but if the rice is cold for more than 6 hours without proper storage, the bacteria in the rice will work again and harmful to the digestive system.
Besides, rice is a form of starch and when starch is heated up to 60 degrees C or more (reheated or steamed or fried many times) will turn into a paste – like manual glue, this process is called “Gelatinization of starch”.
You will find that cold rice tends to be softer and softer after heating but actually, when eaten, this “gelatinized” part of the rice will harden and become harder to digest than usual.
The longer the rice is at room temperature, the more likely it is to cause poisoning. That means you need to store rice properly quickly if you want to reheat it later.
How to preserve cooked rice properly?
Ideally, you should cook rice just enough to eat because not only rice but any food if left in the environment and reheated many times will be metamorphosed, nutritional loss and affect health your family.
If your home cooks rice with a rice cooker, do not forget to use the “heat preservation” mode (denoted by “warm”) – to help keep the temperature in the pot always at 60 degrees C to prevent micro Bacillus cereus grows again as well as does not allow starch pasteification.
If you have taken the rice out of the rice cooker, you should use it all within 5 hours. If you want to preserve rice for the next day, please apply the following method:
– After the rice is cooked, put the rice cooker in a cool place to cool it, not let other food stick to the rice. Note: You should use a colander instead of lid to cover the rice cooker because it will cause the rice to burn quickly by steaming it.
– When the rice has cooled down, put the rice in a airtight container and place it in the refrigerator.
– The next morning, you just need to take the container to reheat with the microwave or steam it again and can be used immediately.
Note, rice that has been left outside for more than 6 hours or stored in the refrigerator for more than 4 days should not be used.
How to steam cooked rice?
#1 Steamed old rice with new rice
Absolutely not stir the steamed rice with new rice. It is best to eat all the steamed rice and then eat it the new rice, if still excess, continue to steam the new rice to prevent the same amount of steamed rice to steam again and again.
For rice cookers, it is easier, just put the rice in and turn on the cooker again (pay attention to the rice and then turn it on).
#2 Steamed with electric rice cooker
Put some hot water in the pot and then put the cold rice in, stir the rice well with water, turn on the cook button and wait after a few minutes, we have obtained a hot and delicious rice as new.
#3 Steamed with microwave oven
Put cold rice in glass bowl, wrap the food wrap (do not allow the film to come into direct contact with the rice) and put in the microwave, after a few minutes we will get the rice bowl which is very delicious without drying out.
#4 Added way to cook leftover rice
It is possible to put cold rice in bamboo steamers and do not forget to add some salt to steamed water.
In addition, you can prepare cold rice leftover into a dish of egg fried rice or attractive Yangzhou fried rice.
Top 5 best rice products 2019
#1 Aroma Housewares Digital Cool-Touch Rice Cooker and Food Steamer
Rice cookers are indispensable in the kitchen of every family. This is a tool that facilitates your cooking more easily and quickly. With a rice cooker, you do not have to worry that the rice will not cooked evenly or clump like cooking on the stove.
One of the top rated rice cookers on the market is Aroma Housewares’ versatile rice cooker. With luxurious, modern design and integrated features, the model ARC-914SBD brings absolute satisfaction to users.
The outside of the rice cooker is an extremely durable 304 stainless steel, combined with high-quality plastic that does not contain BPA, which is harmful to health. Moreover, users can easily use the digital cool- touch control panel, designed neatly and beautifully on the front of the rice cooker.
The rice cooker can cook up to 8 cups of rice (equivalent to 16 bowls of rice) in one cooking session. So you absolutely can rest assured cooking in family parties with large rations.
The rice cooker integrates many features such as cooking white rice and cooking brown rice, keeping warm, steaming, fast rice and daylay timer. So you can easily manipulate with just one touch.
However, to talk about the disadvantages of the product, it is the lid with a rather classic design compared to an intelligent multi-purpose rice cooker. The lid is still not completely sealed and is somewhat loose, so many users have not been able to give an absolute rating for this product of Aroma Housewares.
#2 Stand Rice Paddle Shamoji White K-386W by Marna
Currently there are many types of rice paddle on the market and are made from various materials such as plastic, wood, silicone and metal. So it is not easy to choose the most satisfactory rice paddle among countless products.
Among them, the rice paddle of Marna – a brand from Japan, is the product that I highly reccomend for you.
This is a rice paddle made of plastic, and it has characteristics that make you sastify to use and those characteristics make a difference from the products available on the market.
First of all, it must be thin and light, but it can stand upright on the kitchen counter. Its handle is flattened at the end and has a suitable weight that allows it to stand on the kitchen counter. Of course it can fall if you impact them, but to say this is a special feature that not all rice paddles have.
The second difference is that the surface of the rice paddle has raised dots, making it easy to scoop out the rice, as well as help the the rice not to stick when you drop it in a bowl or plate.
This model has two colors black and white for your choice. At affordable prices, just under $ 7 you can have a handy and useful rice paddle for your cooking.
#3 Bellemain Micro-perforated Stainless Steel 5-quart Colander
When it comes to cooking rice, colander is next to a rice cooker, which is an extremely necessary item for your rice washing process. Without colander, I bet a lot of people would pour half of the rice with water out. Whether you boil noodles or rinse rice or wash vegetables, Bellemain Micro-perforated Stainless Steel 5-quart Colander will make your life easier and more comfortable.
This is a widely used product and one of the best- selling colanders on the market. There is a reason for all this.
This colander is made of stainless steel, ensuring no harm to food contained in it. It also has two side handles with a high base that makes it easy to move and places on the kitchen counter or sink. Moreover, with the high base, it can be easily drained when you doing other works.
It is noteworthy that the holes are very small in size but can be drained very well. They are made from mesh of excellent quality, ensuring that small sized food like rice cannot pass through.
The design of many holes with small size allows the water in the colander to be released quickly but ensures food remains safe in the colander. And of course combined with large volumes turn them into the most welcomed products on the market.
Do not forget that this product is fully usable in dishwashers and can be easily stored in a cupboard or hung up with handles on either side.
Usually the rice cooker is accompanied by steamer, but it is plastic so the families are also afraid to use it because the plastic in contact with heat in the long time is not conducive to health.
In addition, some stainless steel saucepans are accompanied by steamers, which are also convenient and very durable but if display it on the table, the dining table is not really aesthetic.
If you do not want to reheat rice with a rice cooker, consider bamboo steamer.
Bamboo steamer is an indispensable tool in restaurants and eateries with delicious dumplings and dimsum. This is also an item associated with Chinese chefs or those who are learning bakery. However, this is also an effective tool to help you steam rice, vegetables or seafood in a delicious and easy way.
In which VonShef’s bamboo steamer is made of natural bamboo wood. With the steamer set made from 100% natural bamboo, you can rest assured to eat all kinds of food directly on this. And of course the food is always delicious and fresh by keeping its flavor.
This steamer kit is equipped with two floors steamer, so you can steam two dishes at once, for example, you can steam the rice on the upper floor and steam the vegetables downstairs.
#5 Helen’s Asian Kitchen 97123 Rice Washing Bowl
Unlike colander with dozens of small holes to drain water and can hold many kinds of food, rice washing bowl is a specialized tool for you to wash and soak rice.
This is an integrated tool that allows you to soak the rice before you cook it, and you can pour it easily without falling the rice out.
Helen’s Asian Kitchen 97123 Rice Washing Bowl is the most outstanding product on the market currently. This is a product of Japan, a country famous for quality kitchenware with an affordable price. So you do not have to worry about choosing between other products in the market.
This rice washing bowl has a capacity of up to 3 liters, large enough for you to wash rice easily. It is made of stainless steel, ensuring safety for user health and durability over time. The sturdy base helps the rice washing bowl stand stable when soaked rice.
Inside the rice washing bowl, one side was perforated enough to allow water and debris to escape. Other side is not perforated to keep water to soaked rice. With the shield above, it helps keep rice from being spilled out with water. You do not need to use your hands to keep the rice as when washing rice with colander.
Made of stainless steel, the Helen’s Asian rice washing bowl is very light and durable. Because of this, it is completely safe to use in the dishwasher and can be cleaned easily.
Conclusion
Rice is a nutritious dish and is one of the dishes that we can eat every day, even an indispensable dish in every meal of Asian families. However, it can also pose dangers if you do not fully understand them. Not warming rice, roasting rice or steaming rice causes problems but the problem is how you store leftover rice after the first cooking. So make sure you know enough to take care of your family’s health.
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