Freezing Rice

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GA Home Cook

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I may have put this in the wrong section, sorry if I did.

Anyone ever freeze white rice, or brown too? I like to throw together fried rice or just to have some quick rice for a side. It's just as easy to make a large amount of rice as it is to make 1 serving, so just wondering if anyone does this and how it turns out?

Hal
 
Folks make and freeze boudin, so I don't see why plain white rice shouldn't freeze well. Especially if it was rinsed well before cooking to get rid of excess starch.
 
I regularly freeze rice pilaf with good results. Rice is cheap enough. Freeze some as an experiment.
 
My wife regularly freezes white rice. She will make a batch of rice and as soon as it is done will bag some in individual servings with the bag open. Let it cool a few minutes then seal and put in the freezer. Taste almost as good as when it went in.
 
I may have put this in the wrong section, sorry if I did.

Anyone ever freeze white rice, or brown too? I like to throw together fried rice or just to have some quick rice for a side. It's just as easy to make a large amount of rice as it is to make 1 serving, so just wondering if anyone does this and how it turns out?

Hal
I'm coming to this rather late but I think it's important to stress the importance of cooling, packing and freezing cooked rice very quickly (I run mine under the cold tap to cool it and drain it well).

"Uncooked rice can contain spores of Bacillus cereus, a bacterium that can cause food poisoning. When the rice is cooked, the spores can survive.
If the rice is left standing at room temperature, the spores can grow into bacteria. These bacteria will multiply and may produce toxins (poisons) that cause vomiting or diarrhoea.

The longer cooked rice is left at room temperature, the more likely it is that the bacteria or toxins could make the rice unsafe to eat." (courtesy of the NHS site)

I try to get mine into the freezer within 10 minutes of cooking it. "Fried rice syndrome" is very, very unpleasant and can be fatal in some cases.
 
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I do freeze rice. But I first make fried rice and then freeze it. Works like a charm for me. I reheat in the oven after it is defrosted. Never tried to freeze plain white rice.


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We almost always cook enough brown rice to have some for freezing. We usually just nuke the frozen rice and that works fine. Before I had a MW, I used to take frozen chunks of rice and steam them in a vegi steamer. Took a couple of minutes.

Since we always use brown rice, we don't worry too much about getting it in the freezer quickly. I checked, the microorganism that causes the problems with cooked white rice won't survive the 5-10 minutes of boiling and then another 30-55 minutes of simmering required to cook brown rice.
 
As MadCook points out above rice is one of the best sources of food poisoning if not treated correctly.
Another is orange juice.
A lot of people always blame tainted chicken or meats, whereas there are other more dangerous foods that people don't know about.
 
I actually don't freeze rice but I've just bought a very nice sushi book where the autor confirms that even when you make sushi at home you can put it immediately into the freezer and then eat it when brought again at room temp. She also freezes white rice, washing it for not less than 5 min under flowing water before the cooking process.
 
I may have put this in the wrong section, sorry if I did.

Anyone ever freeze white rice, or brown too? I like to throw together fried rice or just to have some quick rice for a side. It's just as easy to make a large amount of rice as it is to make 1 serving, so just wondering if anyone does this and how it turns out?

Hal
I usually freeze rice as, like you, I feel it's a waste to cook just enough for one. As long as it isn't overcooked in the first place it freezes well.

It must be cooled quickly (I usually run cold water through it and drain it well) and frozen straight away. Do not keep it for any length of time at room temperature, especially if your kitchen is warm. Badly handled cooked rice can cause a particularly nasty bout of food poisoning. Take care, too that it is reheated thoroughly. If I just want plain rice I tend to reheat it in the microwave.

I have to say that I haven't frozen brown rice as I don't use it but I expect it behaves the same.


EDIT: Oh hell's teeth! I think I'm becoming senile. I've just read Cronker's last post which reminds me that I've already replied to this thread. (Wanders off shaking head sadly)
 
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I make rice for just about every meal, well mostly.
I have an electric rice cooker,
I cook enough rice to fill the pot (I don't measure it),
we have a meal from it,
once the leftovers are cooled,
I scoop out single servings into zip-top freezer bags,
freeze flat on a quarter sheet pan,
and when ready to reheat,
I un-zip each bag, place on a plate,
and microwave for approximately 1 1/2 - 2 minutes ...
Perfect rice, tastes just like freshly steamed rice.
Let me preface the above, I use Medium Grain Calrose or Sushi Rice.
 
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