Rice?

[recon]

Okay I need to start to get some of this in the food storage area. Best way to buy it and store it plus what is a good price to pay for it?

[American Rage]

Don't know about price, but many buy the largest bags they can find and store it in 5 gallon buckets with sealed lids. Read somewhere that white rice, properly stored, can last decades at cold temperatures and high altitudes.

Also, it can last a long, long time in warmer conditions if stored properly.

Brown rice, however, is more nutritious.


Rage

[ubersoldate]

5 gallon buckets.

Ive been thinking about doing the same thing, Ive got three fives in my den, beans, flour, and sugar.
But rice would be a good addition..Man can live of a bowl of rice and beans a day for years!


Well hot sauce as well....

[old Grump]

Unused clean and dry paint cans are handier than 5 gallon buckets, store easier on shelves, less waste when you open them up because you don't have so much you need to cook up right away. Brown rice, white rice, any kind of bean, all will store nicely and the only tool needed to seal the cans is a rubber mallet.

For smaller quantities put them in plastic bags and store them in the plastic or metal 2 pound coffee cans using the seal on the plastic bag. Going that route I would drop a O2 absorber in each can but probably not necessary in the paint cans if you are confident of the seal. Just make sure you have a flood proof label on them. If they are in a fire I wouldn't bet on them being any good but as long as the cans stay sealed flood waters shouldn't affect them.

5 gallon buckets are handier for the individually wrapped foods like MRE's whether commercial or home made where you can take one or two or three of them out and the rest stay sealed and undisturbed in their own packets. You can pack several days worth of individual meals in a 5 gallon bucket which is handy for a family situation, ie. stuck in your attic for 10 days while the flood waters and pirates swirl around you.

A 5 gallon bucket full of loaded magazines and boxes of ammo is a bit heavy to cart around but handy if you need ready access to them from a secure location. Another bucket loaded with fire starting material, compass, knives, sun glasses, cord, rope, gunny sacks, work gloves, rubber gloves, first aid kit makes a handy water proof bugout bag to toss in the truck, car, boat, etc. Items depending on number of people to serve and your locale.

[Flinter]

I keep 2 five gallon buckets of it in storage at all times. No mylar bags or oxygen obsorbers....just the bucket and a press fit lid with a rubber seal.

I had a bucket for at least 10 years that I pitched due to a flooded basement. The rice stayed dry but when you pull the bucket out of a backed up sewer mess....well, I pitched it. Before I did though, I opened it. It still looked like it did the day I stored it. No idea what it would have tasted like, but I assume it was still good.

I also keep 2 buckets of pinto beans and a bucket of sugar. I'd like to store a bucket of salt. I probably should work on that.

Forgot to say, Walmart sells it 25lb bags. Last time I looked I think it was about 12 bucks.

[Solidus-snake]

What kind of shelf life can you expect from a plastic bag of rice, enclosed in another plastic bag? Ive looked but for some reason, 5 gallon buckets are a commodity here..

[AKTexas]

Has anyone considered dropping in a piece of dry ice into the storage container?

[old Grump]

The rice itself will be usable for years but be advised that all grains have meal worm eggs in them and if not frozen or refrigerated they will hatch. When you open it up after 6 months or 2 years or however long you wait the larva will be there. Depending on oxygen content they will be alive and squirming or dead, either way it looks unslightly but the rice itself is still good. You can either clean the rice or eat the extra protein, won't hurt you and if you can handle it it will feed you. Dumping the rice to be used in a large pot of water and stirring till the wiggly squiggly things rise to the top to get skimmed is the usual way to get rid of them. Looks bad but it really isn't a big deal and in a survival situation you can get real unfussy.

[ATAK, Inc.]

The rice itself will be usable for years but be advised that all grains have meal worm eggs in them and if not frozen or refrigerated they will hatch. When you open it up after 6 months or 2 years or however long you wait the larva will be there. Depending on oxygen content they will be alive and squirming or dead, either way it looks unslightly but the rice itself is still good. You can either clean the rice or eat the extra protein, won't hurt you and if you can handle it it will feed you. Dumping the rice to be used in a large pot of water and stirring till the wiggly squiggly things rise to the top to get skimmed is the usual way to get rid of them. Looks bad but it really isn't a big deal and in a survival situation you can get real unfussy.


They are loaded with protein, it's just a mental block for most regarding eating any kind of bug!

What about vacuum sealing the rice, then store in the 5 gal bucket? I sealed up a 25lb bag into 2 and 4 cup bags for simple servings, and to an extent, the bags are re-usable.

[Blacksmith]

What kind of shelf life can you expect from a plastic bag of rice, enclosed in another plastic bag? Ive looked but for some reason, 5 gallon buckets are a commodity here..
Rice is hard on bags. I tried to vacuum wrap some with my food saver and the points of the rice poked holes in the bag.

[Cypher]

I did some research on this and one of the best methods I found to make the rice last as long as possible and keep as fresh as you can is to use a 5 or 6 gallon mylar bag, place oxygen absorber in the bag and then use a iron to seal the bag up, place that in a 5 gallon bucket and seal the lid.

If the rice pokes through the edges you could place it in another bag of some sort first and then the mylar, just make sure the inner bag isn't sealed by itself and then seal the mylar bag like normal. If I remember correctly using the short or medium grain rice is easier on the bags, longer grain rice is more likely to poke through.

Beans are also good to store like this. And from what I have read the oxygen absorbers will kill any eggs or at least prevent them from ever hatching.

Brown rice doesn't last as long as white rice because the bark on the rice has oils in it and will go rancid sooner.

I've read about people keeping white rice like this stored over 10 years and still being fine.

Rice may not be as nutrient filled as a bowl of broccoli but it can provide very necessary energy in the form of carbohydrates. Rice and beans would go a long way in keeping you alive and giving you strength and energy.

[Gunner1558]

Dry ice if available. I have a Helium tank for mig welding and would use that to displace the oxygen in whatever container is used. Vacuum pack in heavy plastic, then in mylar.

[old Grump]

Mylar is good for a lot of things but anything with a sharp edge is pretty much of a no go. If you can get a good seal on your can or bucket I wouldn't bother with mylar. Plastic by itself would be better.

[Integratedj]

We have not only a bunch of rice stored (25-50lb bags of Basmati) but also an equal amount in weight of dried pinto, anasazi, and black beans. A combination of the two is all you need to not starve. Just remember that if you are storing dried beans, rice, and other dehydrated foods to also store lots of water. When you think you have enough water stored, double it.

As far as how to store it, we put ours inside of vacuum sealed bags with oxy absorbers, and then into sealed 5 gallon buckets. It keeps the air, moisture, and bugs/rodents out.

The best place I have found for buying rice is at asian Markets. Huge selection of different types and in good priced quantities. That was the first thing I stocked up on. That, and we love Basmati flavor. For those of you in Arizona, Lee Lee's market is a gold mine of Rice, spices, and hard to find tasty goodness... Along with a chinese foot +Fish smell you will never forget...


As far as what vacuum bags to use, the normal ones you buy at Target and walmart suck and Rip out easily. We got some heavy duty ones form one of my Wife's Mormon friends that she got at the Mormon Cannery in Mesa. Nothing pokes through them. We've got dehydrated potatoes and onions that normally cut up vac bags like a razor blade would but they don't damage the Mormon bags.

[HDR]

Mylar is good for a lot of things but anything with a sharp edge is pretty much of a no go. If you can get a good seal on your can or bucket I wouldn't bother with mylar. Plastic by itself would be better.

Mylar is excellent for food storage. Only use plastic certified for food or your rice tastes like plastic.


When molecules of plastic—or more properly, molecules of the chemicals that get added to plastics during manufacturing—get into picture of plastic storage containers our bodies, it's not a good thing. They can cause unwanted effects in the human body; for instance, some of the chemicals mimic estrogen. Estrogen, of course, is a normal, essential human hormone; but having too much of it (or the molecules that mimic estrogen) has been associated with breast cancer and other health problems. In general, chemicals that fool the body into thinking they are estrogen or other hormones are called endocrine disruptors and are best avoided.
http://www.grinningplanet.com/2004/11-09/chemicals-plastic-storage-containers-article.htm




Mylar Bags and Long Term Food Storage


Like most everyone I use Mylar Bags for my long term food storage because there is no reasonable alternative. To date they have been safe and very effective. As with all plastic resins when subjected to extreme temperatures like high heat any resin will begin to break down and off gas or leach their chemical makeup. Long term exposure of heat is the enemy to all plastics or enamels used in metal can liners. I am perfectly content with using Mylar bags for my long term storage.
http://livingprepared.blogspot.com/2010/11/mylar-bags-and-long-term-food-storage.html

[old Grump]

You want a 4 mil food grade plastic bag. The mylar I'm familiar with is good for a lot of things but anything with sharp edges that can poke through, (like rice), will poke through mylar. Buckets should be High Density PolyEthelene, My problem is I usually only see them in large size containers rated for 5 gallons or 25 pounds.

My family isn't that big and once open you want to use up that particular commodity which is why I suggest individual size or family size portions in a bag and put in smaller containers or stacked in the large container. It is a lot easier for me to stack a pile of 1 gallon or 2 pound cans than it is 5 gallon cans and my sister has worse arthritis and back problems than I do. She can handle the smaller containers fine. The big ones would be a no go for her.

If you are all young and healthy with unlimited storage space with a lot of mouth's to feed than 5 gallon buckets may be the way to go.

[Uncle Scary]

Don't know about price, but many buy the largest bags they can find and store it in 5 gallon buckets with sealed lids. Read somewhere that white rice, properly stored, can last decades at cold temperatures and high altitudes.

Also, it can last a long, long time in warmer conditions if stored properly.

Brown rice, however, is more nutritious.


Rage

I've read that the only difference between white and brown rice is that white rice has the hull removed. It is basically the center of the rice grain. Brown rice still retains the hull. The hull is super nutritious, but contains oils that will become rancid with long time storage. So white rice will last longer than brown rice if you can keep it reasonably dry.

[Schuetzenman]

I've read that the only difference between white and brown rice is that white rice has the hull removed. It is basically the center of the rice grain. Brown rice still retains the hull. The hull is super nutritious, but contains oils that will become rancid with long time storage. So white rice will last longer than brown rice if you can keep it reasonably dry.

Rancid is oxidation of the oils. Eliminating O2 should prevent that. Vacuum seal and or Nitrogen filled container to displace air.

[HDR]

You want a 4 mil food grade plastic bag. The mylar I'm familiar with is good for a lot of things but anything with sharp edges that can poke through, (like rice), will poke through mylar. Buckets should be High Density PolyEthelene, My problem is I usually only see them in large size containers rated for 5 gallons or 25 pounds.

The 25 pound bags of rice are Mylar as the rice is bagged in Thailand then shipped all over the world it is pretty stout stuff.

Food grade Polypropylene (PP) or Oriented Polypropylene (OPP) or high density polyethelene (HDPE)

[old Grump]

Have to admit I haven't seen the 25 pound mylar bags, I'm used to rice in cloth bags at that size.

[Integratedj]

Have to admit I haven't seen the 25 pound mylar bags, I'm used to rice in cloth bags at that size.

Me to. Almost all of the rice I have purchased came in the cloth mesh bags.

[Crash]

I've purchased mylar bags that fit inside and line the 5 gallon buckets and then throw in an O2 absorber and seal it with a food saver and then a permanent seal with an iron. It works great but it's to much to open at once in my case.
I really like the idea of using the paint cans for storing items using the process I described above, I've never heard of that till now and would be perfect for smaller amounts. I'll be getting some cans the next time I'm at the hardware store.
I may be going overboard with the sealing and storing but I prefer to be sure it's there when I need it.

[Mark Ducati]

I just bought a 10 5 gallon mylar bags with 10 2000cc Oxygen Absorbers from amazon.com...

I'm going to pack my rice up like this:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVMDBVJCodI&feature=related

[HDR]

Have to admit I haven't seen the 25 pound mylar bags, I'm used to rice in cloth bags at that size.

A lot of rice is shipped in Mylar bags to avoid mold. Rice doesn't keep well in high humidity and cloth lets humidity in. My Thai Jasmine came in a 25 pound bag. My Indian Basmati came double bagged; the outside bag was a burlap and the inner bag was Mylar.

Many space or emergencu blankets are made of Mylar. Mylar is more common than we believe.

[old Grump]

Bought my space blanket in 1974. I have to admit the package has never been opened so I have no idea how tough it is. I have however tried to put things in the little grocery store bought mylar bags and if what I put in it had a hard or a sharp surface it was soon history. That is all I have to go by.

[HDR]

They come in different thicknesses 2mil to 6mil. Supposedly the best is Mylar protected with nylon; MREs are packaged with nylon protecting the Mylar.

Edit:
Mylar bags and buckets are a lot cheaper online. :D

[Mark Ducati]

A lot of rice is shipped in Mylar bags to avoid mold. Rice doesn't keep well in high humidity and cloth lets humidity in. My Thai Jasmine came in a 25 pound bag. My Indian Basmati came double bagged; the outside bag was a burlap and the inner bag was Mylar.

Many space or emergencu blankets are made of Mylar. Mylar is more common than we believe.

On a side note regarding Mylar Blankets... they work great, and work even better if you take your shirt off, wrap it around your chest and abdomen and put your shirt back on... works best against your bare skin.

[Uncle Scary]

Mylar bags also make good Faraday cages (EMP shields) for your electronics.

[HDR]

On a side note regarding Mylar Blankets... they work great, and work even better if you take your shirt off, wrap it around your chest and abdomen and put your shirt back on... works best against your bare skin.

They do work great!

I've never heard that they work better against skin.

[riceone]

I guess I ought to start hoarding food. I been hoarding ammo for years. I grow rice and we store it on the farm in huge metal grain bin for 15K bushes to 50K. We cut the rice when the moisture is down to a bout 17%, put it in the bins and dry it down to 12%. It is safe for storage under 15%. We try to keep the temperature of the rice close to the outside temperature. So if the weather cools of 10 to 15 degrees we blow air through the rice to equalize the outside and inside. We do that as the temp goes up and down. The rice we have on the farm now was cut in early September and will be delivered in the next two to three months. It is still in the brown hull.

I don't know anything about keeping cooking rice for a long time, but I would think if it was kept dry, free of insects and temperature equal to the enviorment it would be safe. Rice will sweat and thats the reason for blowing air. The company that we sell rice to gives us bags of rice to eat and its packaged in plastic bags just like the grocery store. Sometimes he gives us enought to last a couple of years or more and justs stay in the pantry with the other foods.

Hope this is of benefit to someone. I've learned something from reading all the comments you have made. I'll keep watch here to see if I can learn more.

riceone

[sisyphus]

Locally, we have access to bulk foods, #10 cans and a sealer that allows us to put the food up for long-term storage. Small oxygen absorber packets are sealed in the cans with the food and this helps eliminate any bugs hatching or living in there. I hear the absorbant is basically processed iron filings sealed in a perforated plastic pouch that will begin to rust as soon as it's exposed to air. This corroding of the metal (oxidation)requires oxygen, so as the metal rusts the oxygen is used up. If it's sealed in well enough and the amount of air inside is minimal, it prevents the life cycle of bugs from progressing past an early stage, or kills the adult bugs altogether.

They do make large (3 to 5 gallon) square metal cans with paint top type lids that you could use with those oxy packets to take care of the bug problem. Metal keeps rodents and bugs out but can rust. Plastic won't rust but is not rodent proof. Everything has its pluses and minuses when considering for food storage.

[HDR]

Any food we buy probably has a bug egg inside the box or bag. The TV show "Life After People" showed bugs hatched inside sealed boxes.

Don't worry, they are a source of protein. :D

[MOP]

Rice kept in a nice, and dried environment (like a 5 gal. plastic bucket) tasted just as good

10 years later. I did it.

20 lbs. of enriched white rice are under $12.00 at Walmart (Great Value Brand).

5 gal. plastic bucket are available at Walmart for $3.50~4.00, and the lid $ 0.96 (Made in USA

by "Encore").

I also stored beans of nearly all color/flavor to go with the rice.

Someone posted above that plastic buckets in his area are costly. If you have a home depot type of store in the region, they should have them cheap....with their logo on the buckets.

Hope this would help ...

[HDR]

MOP,
Thanks for the input.

(Note: to lurkers, we would appreciate your input also.)

I knew very little about Mylar when this thread started. LOL


On a side note regarding Mylar Blankets...

Mark's side note reminded me Mylar is used in many different products; a lot more common in our every day lives than most of us originally thought.

[MOP]

Aldi Supermarket has rice @ 10 lbs. for $ 4.50

I bought 150 lbs.

Don't worry, there're still a lot of bags in the bin.

[Partisan1983]

Has anybody looked into long term storage of couscous ?

I know it's more nutritious (healthy) for you than rice, but can it be stored the same way ?

[HDR]

Couscous is made from wheat so my guess is you'd stored it in a similar fashion as pasta??

[Partisan1983]

Couscous is made from wheat so my guess is you'd stored it in a similar fashion as pasta??

I have no idea ????

[HDR]

I did a quick search and freezing was the most common hit.

[HDR]

I found this: http://www.wheatfoods.org/_FileLibrary/Product/43/Couscous.pdf

"Couscous is best stored in sealed containers or bags to keep moisture out. It will keep well at room temperature or cooler storage. It is not a whole grain product, but optimal flavor will be achieved if heat in storage is avoided."

However although they say how they don't mention for how long. :D