TIL my neighbor throws out leftover rice every time because she thinks it's unsafe to reheat.

She told me she read somewhere that leftover rice can cause food poisoning, so she cooks a fresh batch daily. I've been batch-cooking a $2 bag of rice on Sundays for years and never had an issue, just cool it fast and store it right. Are we wasting a ton of cheap food over a misunderstood risk?

4 comments

4 Comments

fiona_west211mo ago

Did you explain how to cool and store it properly? I just reheat mine until it's steaming hot.

piper_kim1mo ago

My grandma always said to let it cool on the counter first, then straight into the fridge. She’d get so mad if you put a hot pot in there. I still reheat it for like two minutes though, just to be safe.

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joel_jones1mo ago

Man, that's such a waste of perfectly good rice! @fiona_west21 has the right idea about reheating it until it's steaming hot all the way through. The real trick is how you handle it after cooking. You gotta spread it out in a shallow container so it cools down fast, then get it in the fridge within an hour or two. Letting a big pot sit out all day is where the risk actually comes from. Doing it right means you can safely eat it for days.

piperbailey4d ago

My mom used to do the same thing until I showed her how to cool it fast in a baking dish.