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This is the first batch of rice I've had from my stash in a while, primarily because I've been working seven days a week since losing my wife two years ago and haven't had time to cook much at all at home. I finally got caught by the Omicron variant this past Friday, the worst of the symptoms seems to have abated about 48 hours ago, but I'm still self-quarantining until probably Monday. So I thought I would throw some rice, veggies and spicy brats in the crockpot to simmer for several hours, but when I thought I'd try a bite about six hours into the cooking, while the rice wasn't yet fully cooked, as I hadn't expected it to be yet, I couldn't get over how much it tasted literally like chalk. This batch of rice has a rather off-putting aftertaste that I don't think I'm going to be able to stomach. This rice actually came from a gallon-sized mason jar that hadn't been opened in years, rather the one of the large mylar bags full of rice that comprises most of my stash. I'm wondering if this is what has given the rice this taste, although it doesn't seem metallic per se. I really need a rice cooker to give it a more thorough cooking than the crockpot, but I'm wondering if the problem is the rice, the way it has been stored or the way I was cooking it. I really don't want any rude surprises with my food supplies and am open for advice.

Nickelless wrote:I finally got caught by the Omicron variant this past Friday

I had that a few weeks ago. I had a few days where my sense of smell was dulled. Taste didn't go away but was a little off. For me that didn't happen until about a week after the initial symptoms. Of course everybody is different. I was just talking to friend over the weekend who had it and everything tasted metallic to him for a week. I'd wait a couple weeks and cook a little more of that rice just to see if it seems any different then. It's probably the rice, but you've got a potential extra variable in play right now too.

I think the issue is probably my sense of taste at the moment, but also the fact that I need a rice cooker specifically for the rice, which turns really mushy and gross in the crockpot, I've discovered. I figured I'd try to experiment with some things with the downtime I've had this week, and it seems kind of dumb in the big picture, but at least I know now I need to find a better way to cook rice when everything hits the fan. I had too much rice and too little of everything else, and when the rice turned to this chalky paste, I knew I'd screwed up. Both of my brothers are chefs, but I'm obviously not.

White rice is essentially hydrophobic and supposedly nothing can stay alive (if there was anything to start with) in a sealed waterproof container of white rice. But I haven't checked my old rice supplies, so who knows. In my later buckets I added O2 absorber just to be sure, so I'm feeling pretty good about those.

Slightly off-topic, but on cooking rice....

Cooking white rice, unless it is Uncle Ben's-style parboiled, is best rinsed well first anyway (unless you are seeking sticky rice). That gets rid of the powdery rice dust starches that have accumulated on the outside kernels during shipping and handling.

Rinse 3-4 times in a fine colander, then set aside to drain. To cook it works best to use a very deep pan (prevents boil-overs) with a vented lid. Measure two cups of water for each cup of rice you will add (later), set the water on high to boil, then after a rolling boil, turn heat down to medium (or lower) and add the rinsed rice and the lid. Bring the mixture back to a simmer and depending on your burner, adjust heat until it stays at low simmer. Set timer for 15 minutes, come back and check on it. As it approaches being done, the rice will create boiling "holes" to vent steam from the bottom of then pan - do not stir those holes while it is cooking. At worst, tilt pan to check on amount of water left in the bottom. When the water is essentially gone, then stick a spoon in to check in one area. If it is starting to get sticky to the bottom, it's done. Stir it up and put the pan on a warmer until you are ready to eat it.

For brown rice - use 2-1/2 to even 3 cups water for each cup of rice. Brown rice may take 5 minutes longer.

Alternate method that I love (especially for par-boiled white rice) - is to first lightly "fry" the rice in the bottom of the pan with butter, *before" adding the water and bringing to boil. Melt about a tablespoon of butter for 2 cups rice, add the rice, and stir continuously while heating on medium heat. As the rice heats it will eventually crack and lightly brown. (Be careful not to burn the butter on the pan.) When the rice is mostly cracked and slightly tan, add the water, bring to a boil, and continue with the same method as above until done. It has a bit of a toasted buttery taste (and more calories and fat, which can be a bad thing).

Butter in rice. My silent ninja assassin of death wife would summarily dispatch you to the next life if she found out you had desecrated sacred rice like that.

For rice that has been stored a long time, a pressure cooker can help.

shinnosuke wrote:Butter in rice. My silent ninja assassin of death wife would summarily dispatch you to the next life if she found out you had desecrated sacred rice like that.

For rice that has been stored a long time, a pressure cooker can help.

Lol. Nothing like it. Also like fluffy rice better than sticky rice, which I know is another hot button for many. It is a religious argument...

The Puerto Ricans (as I am told by friends) prefer to use rice cookers and deliberately create a rice crust on the bottom that is often fought over as a delicacy.