Long term storage of rice?

[Bainter1212]

Hey all,
I am just starting to focus on getting a few months of food stored away for the long term.
Is keeping rice in bulk easy over the long term?
I hardly ever see it mentioned......I see things like beans and wheat covered over and over.

Rice is extremely cheap to buy and maximizes surface area in terms of storage space.

Any downsides to it?

Thanks.

[zapatito92]

same as beans and most grains. if it is a grain rice probably about 6 months give or take I hear that white rice last much much longer basically forever ...

[danfinger]

No downside that I've heard as long as you store it correctly. O2 absorbers, sealed mylar in a 5 gallon bucket should last many years.

[zvardan]

Add a little salt and it will keep bugs out.

[FeuerFrei]

Here's a link that splains it best IMO. Rice Expiration Date

My experience is that white rice is the best to store as in "set it and forget it" style.
Factory sealed (plastic bags) white rice is surprisingly robust for long term. Even without O2 absorbers.
*Storage conditions/containers being stable.

[Bainter1212]

Originally Posted by FeuerFrei

Here's a link that splains it best IMO. Rice Expiration Date

My experience is that white rice is the best to store as in "set it and forget it" style.
Factory sealed (plastic bags) white rice is surprisingly robust for long term. Even without O2 absorbers.
*Storage conditions/containers being stable.

Great link, thanks. Thanks everyone.

My goal is to store it in sanitized and sealed plastic buckets, install a fitting and use my vacuum pump to put the container into vacuum.

Think it's doable?

[KevinB]

The best way is to buy # 10 cans from the LDS Home Storage store near you.

Lowest prices and the food stuffs come in cases that stack and store easy.

Do a search, it has been talked about here a bunch.

Rice, beans, oats, stored in # 10 cans have a longer shelf life than you do.

The LDS Home Storage site has a ton of proven storage foods.

[FeuerFrei]

I have always started with clean white rice in factory sealed bags and stored it in a stable environment. Making sure the rice doesn't get moved around and run a risk of rupturing the bag. Rice really stores well with a common sense lo-tech approach.

I don't O2 or vacuum seal it. I've seen no evidence of the rice getting contaminated or becoming inedible using lo-tech method.

I wouldn't do the buckets. Do the mylar bag thing and O2 the bags before the vacuum.
It's a tried and true method being currently preached.
The buckets are for easy carry and storage protection etc.. Not necessary IMO.

I have transferred rice to 1 gallon ziplock freezer bags and placed them on the shelves without O2 absorbers and it's still good. I have a leftover rice dish in the fridge right now that I cooked last night. Bags's date was May 2000.

So, I started clean white rice. Stable/reasonable storage temps. Bags have no holes.

[moonbeammagstirrup]

Inspired by this thread I have just prepared and eaten some >10 year old rice I kept in a cup on my desk that was used as a pencil holder. Cooked fine, ate fine.

[FeuerFrei]

^^ Yep.

There's a lot of money to be made in the "preparedness" community at large.
"You need to buy XYZ to survive the ABC threat du jour.". "Buy this and you'll survive!".
There are many sales mantras that fit the disaster narratives.

Remember to think and ask "why?" when purchasing gear/stores.
Why do I need it and what else could I use instead?

There are many things around the home that have many real world survival uses and they don't cost a ton of $ either.

[MarinRange42]

I lost 20lbs to maggots just last month while in a sealed container. I have heard you just pour into water and they float, but I just could not do it without being in an emergency situation.
Good to hear of the salt idea and while I knew about O2 absorbers, I have been trying to rotate through constantly.

[VictorFranko]

Originally Posted by Bainter1212

Any downsides to it?

Yes, like beans, requires lots of water to make it edible.
Depending on where you live, this could be a huge downside.

[Ron Swanson]

Mylar bags with an O2 absorber in it. Then put it in a 5-gal. bucket with a lid. Good for 10+ years.

[KevinB]

Plastic buckets are not a good way to store food. Mice and rats gnaw right through them. With bugs, you lose the complete bucket of food.

Mylar bags are worthless if you ask me. Hard to get a good seal and cost a ton of money.

Steel # 10 cans is the way to go. When the LDS store cans their stuff all the food stuffs are heated enough to kill all the bugs and eggs.

[Dutch3]

I have been vacuum sealing white rice using the heavy bag rolls from Cabela's. Since it is now just my wife and I here, I bag it in quantities of two cups (approx. 1 lb.), which we will use in a day or two. If we need to feed more, it is easy to pull out another bag or so.

No issues with bugs or rodents so far. We are just finishing up some that was sealed 3-4 years ago with no problems. I am reminded I need to seal up some more.

I would agree with KevinB that #10 cans are the best long-term solution, although storage volume and using smaller quantities are considerations as well.

[Bainter1212]

OK....I called my local LDS cannery and am going to go there next week and spend a few hundred bucks.

Will see if they sell bulk rice and how it is packaged.

[55BlackShadow]

Originally Posted by moonbeammagstirrup

Inspired by this thread I have just prepared and eaten some >10 year old rice I kept in a cup on my desk that was used as a pencil holder. Cooked fine, ate fine.

Taste like lead? One way to put lead in your pencil.......Just kidding

[KevinB]

Originally Posted by Bainter1212

OK....I called my local LDS cannery and am going to go there next week and spend a few hundred bucks.

Will see if they sell bulk rice and how it is packaged.

They sell it by the case in # 10 cans.

https://providentliving.lds.org/self...-form?lang=eng

[ChuckD]

Originally Posted by KevinB

Plastic buckets are not a good way to store food. Mice and rats gnaw right through them. With bugs, you lose the complete bucket of food.

Mylar bags are worthless if you ask me. Hard to get a good seal and cost a ton of money.

Steel # 10 cans is the way to go. When the LDS store cans their stuff all the food stuffs are heated enough to kill all the bugs and eggs.

This WAS the way to go back when you could buy bulk & borrow their can sealer (or use it on site). That was too convenient and made too much sense, so of course the government stopped it. If you buy rice in bulk & buy cans at the LDS store, how will you seal the cans? The LDS store does sell prepackaged #10 cans, but it is more expensive than buying bulk rice at Costco.

I buy Costco vodka and save the bottles, when I get several (doesn't take long) I buy a bag of rice (or beans, oats, flour, sugar, salt, etc.). Put an O2 absorber in the bottle then fill it up with rice (or beans, oats, flour, sugar, salt, etc.), screw cap on and dip in hot wax (just to be sure it seals. That is the cheapest way to buy rice, the storage container is free, and the only expense is O2 absorbers. This size container is perfect for using, if one bottle did some how get contaminated it would not automatically spread to the other bottles, and at the price of rice, even if you loose 1/2 of it your only out $10 (& you could eat it in an emergency).

This technique could be used with any bottles that you use regularly and a lot of. It does help to standardize on a couple sizes of bottles as they store better than a random assortment of bottle sizes.

Not sure if this is a valid storage technique - but I haven't seen any bugs yet: I store citronella candles in the same cupboard with staple foods. Bugs don't like citronella . . .

[Bainter1212]

^^^ plus you know the bottles will be sterile ^^^

I have heard the LDS Cannery pre-canned stuff is still cheaper than other 30yr shelf life foods. Guess I will find out next week.

[KevinB]

Originally Posted by ChuckD

This WAS the way to go back when you could buy bulk & borrow their can sealer (or use it on site). That was too convenient and made too much sense, so of course the government stopped it. If you buy rice in bulk & buy cans at the LDS store, how will you seal the cans? The LDS store does sell prepackaged #10 cans, but it is more expensive than buying bulk rice at Costco.

I buy Costco vodka and save the bottles, when I get several (doesn't take long) I buy a bag of rice (or beans, oats, flour, sugar, salt, etc.). Put an O2 absorber in the bottle then fill it up with rice (or beans, oats, flour, sugar, salt, etc.), screw cap on and dip in hot wax (just to be sure it seals. That is the cheapest way to buy rice, the storage container is free, and the only expense is O2 absorbers. This size container is perfect for using, if one bottle did some how get contaminated it would not automatically spread to the other bottles, and at the price of rice, even if you loose 1/2 of it your only out $10 (& you could eat it in an emergency).

This technique could be used with any bottles that you use regularly and a lot of. It does help to standardize on a couple sizes of bottles as they store better than a random assortment of bottle sizes.

Not sure if this is a valid storage technique - but I haven't seen any bugs yet: I store citronella candles in the same cupboard with staple foods. Bugs don't like citronella . . .

Vodka bottles, well don't that beat all. We buy bulk rice directly from the growers co-op, by the ton. That is the cheapest way. We have owned a can sealer for many years and vacuum sealers that are commercial units. The missus helps run the Bishops Pantry up here and knows a thing or two about storing food. For almost every family the LDS store is the best value in bulk food there is.

It is a shame that the Gooberment stepped in and won't let people can at the stores anymore.

The great thing about # 10 cans and cases is they stack nicely in the cases and you can write on the boxes to keep your inventory correct. How many vodka bottles does it take to store 100 lbs of rice, and when is your liver transplant.

We store our bulk grains in 55 gallon stainless steel drums. We measure our stores by the ton. We have a large amount of people to take care of in lean times.

God bless you and your family.

[FeuerFrei]

I know people that use Ball 64oz jars to store rice/beans etc. with great success.
Easy to reuse and clean/sterilize. They do make sure that extra lids/seals are stored.

[FeuerFrei]

Originally Posted by ChuckD

This WAS the way to go back when you could buy bulk & borrow their can sealer (or use it on site). That was too convenient and made too much sense, so of course the government stopped it. If you buy rice in bulk & buy cans at the LDS store, how will you seal the cans? The LDS store does sell prepackaged #10 cans, but it is more expensive than buying bulk rice at Costco.

I buy Costco vodka and save the bottles, when I get several (doesn't take long) I buy a bag of rice (or beans, oats, flour, sugar, salt, etc.). Put an O2 absorber in the bottle then fill it up with rice (or beans, oats, flour, sugar, salt, etc.), screw cap on and dip in hot wax (just to be sure it seals. That is the cheapest way to buy rice, the storage container is free, and the only expense is O2 absorbers. This size container is perfect for using, if one bottle did some how get contaminated it would not automatically spread to the other bottles, and at the price of rice, even if you loose 1/2 of it your only out $10 (& you could eat it in an emergency).

This technique could be used with any bottles that you use regularly and a lot of. It does help to standardize on a couple sizes of bottles as they store better than a random assortment of bottle sizes.

Not sure if this is a valid storage technique - but I haven't seen any bugs yet: I store citronella candles in the same cupboard with staple foods. Bugs don't like citronella . . .

One or two layers of plastic wrap+cap will seal the bottles. Me thinks the wax may melt off or become brittle with temp changes.
Easy enough to try it and see. Maybe red cheese wax and not "regular paraffin" canning wax?
Good idea Chuck.

[ChuckD]

Originally Posted by KevinB

Vodka bottles, well don't that beat all. We buy bulk rice directly from the growers co-op, by the ton. That is the cheapest way. We have owned a can sealer for many years and vacuum sealers that are commercial units. The missus helps run the Bishops Pantry up here and knows a thing or two about storing food. For almost every family the LDS store is the best value in bulk food there is.

It is a shame that the Gooberment stepped in and won't let people can at the stores anymore.

The great thing about # 10 cans and cases is they stack nicely in the cases and you can write on the boxes to keep your inventory correct. How many vodka bottles does it take to store 100 lbs of rice, and when is your liver transplant.

We store our bulk grains in 55 gallon stainless steel drums. We measure our stores by the ton. We have a large amount of people to take care of in lean times.

God bless you and your family.

I can fit about 3/4 of a number 10 can into one of the large vodka bottles. I don't know how many it would take to store 100 Lbs, but it likely would be enough to give you liver failure.

I agree #10 cans are great. I used them until I didn't have access to a sealer anymore. They may still be cheaper than prepared food, but not cheaper than Costco.

I am in the process of moving to Texas & hope that the LDS stores there still offer to loan the canner and sell cans & lids.

I can't imagine how long a 55 gallon barrel of rice would last me? Probably longer than my life expectancy.

God Bless you as well.

[ChuckD]

Originally Posted by FeuerFrei

One or two layers of plastic wrap+cap will seal the bottles. Me thinks the wax may melt off or become brittle with temp changes.
Easy enough to try it and see. Maybe red cheese wax and not "regular paraffin" canning wax?
Good idea Chuck.

Red cheese wax is a great idea. I like those Baby Bell mini cheese rounds, in the future I will save the wax outer coating, then I can melt it and use it as a sealer.

[ChuckD]

Originally Posted by FeuerFrei

I know people that use Ball 64oz jars to store rice/beans etc. with great success.
Easy to reuse and clean/sterilize. They do make sure that extra lids/seals are stored.

I use mason jars also. I use used lids and an attachment on my vacuum sealer. Works great, but mason jars cost money. I usually use mason jars for things like nuts & dried fruits.

[olhunter]

Originally Posted by Ron Swanson

Mylar bags with an O2 absorber in it. Then put it in a 5-gal. bucket with a lid. Good for 10+ years.

You can get 5-gal buckets for free at pretty much any bakery. They ship the cake frosting in those buckets. Sams Club, Costco, grocery stores, etc. Just ask. They are usually happy to give them away. I have piles of them. Wash and dry them and they're like new. With sealed lids.

Seal it in mylar bags and O2 absorbers and you're GTG.

But like KevinB said, they are susceptible to rodent chewing.

Unless you have a serious rodent issue, it probably won't be a problem.

Also good for beans, salt, sugar, wheat, etc.

[KevinB]

Originally Posted by ChuckD

I use mason jars also. I use used lids and an attachment on my vacuum sealer. Works great, but mason jars cost money. I usually use mason jars for things like nuts & dried fruits.

Two quart mason jars are treasured at my house. I swear my wife can smell them at a garage sale. She will gladly share the bounty in the jars but she wants her jar back. I don't cross her.

Several years back she bought 2 pallets of 2 quart jars. I think she still has them all.

The vacuum sealer for jars works well.

[ireload]

Another here for mason jars. I use quart size jars (which measures to 4 cups per jar), lids, and bands. I vacuum seal the jars using a cap attachment I puchased separately. Food Saver vacuum appliance. I also have Mylar bagged rice with 02 absorbers in 5 gallon buckects.

[stubblejumper]

Honestly, so long as you eat white rice, and store it in a cool dry dark place, it will last for many years.

Just buy a 25 lb sac of white rice from your local supermarket, and figure out how long it takes you to eat that. Buy 4 years worth at the rate you eat. Rotate your stock and you're good.

[sovereign2b]

Originally Posted by zvardan

Add a little salt and it will keep bugs out.

I will try this. I lost 10lbs of brown rice last month to some kind of small, black bugs that had turned a good amount of the rice into dust, and were prolific throughout the rice. I had last checked it one month prior, and it looked as it did when I bought it. I had the same problem with a store of white rice some years' back. These bugs are not weevil/small beetle-like in appearance. I should have taken some pics. I'll try the salt. Thanks!

[KevinB]

Originally Posted by sovereign2b

I will try this. I lost 10lbs of brown rice last month to some kind of small, black bugs that had turned a good amount of the rice into dust, and were prolific throughout the rice. I had last checked it one month prior, and it looked as it did when I bought it. I had the same problem with a store of white rice some years' back. These bugs are not weevil/small beetle-like in appearance. I should have taken some pics. I'll try the salt. Thanks!

Most of the bugs you find in your food stores come from the package they came from. Once they get in your pantry they are tough to get out.

It is a good idea to put all your rice and grains in the freezer for a couple of days before you put them away to kill all the eggs and pests. The Saw Tooth Grain Beetle can bore right through plastic. Weevils also like pasta, spices, tea, and lots of other things.

When you find them you just toss the stuff out because they will infest all your foods.

This site will show some of the pests.

http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsh...d-pantry-pests