Did you know that foods other than raw eggs and raw meats present a food poisoning hazard? Cooked rice is one of those foods.
The Food Standards Agency is warning consumers that reheated rice is a food safety hazard. Uncooked rice can contain bacterial spores. When the rice is cooked, the spores survive. When cooked rice stands at room temperature, the spores will become active and produce toxins. Those toxins may not be destroyed by heat, so when you eat the reheated rice, you will get sick. The longer rice is left at room temperature, the more likely the toxins will be produced.
When you make rice, cool it within one hour after it finishes cooking. Divide the rice into smaller portions and place in shallow contains; refrigerate immediately. The cooked rice should be kept in the fridge only for one day; after that, discard it.
I keep reading various opinions on canning chicken and rice and vegatables in the form of a soup.
When I look at a typical chicken recipe in my Presto cookbook, it says to process at 15# for 10 minutes. Assuming the chicken is already cooked, is this enough time? I know uncooked meat says 12# for 1.5 Hours, but cooked chicken in soup is only 10 minutes?
Some people say you should not put rice in with the chicken before canning – WHY? Please someone explain….
Lots of canned soups, like Campbell’s Chicken and rice are canned. Are they putting the rice in after the canning is complete?
I’ve found canning recipes on U-tube where something made chicken and rice soup and just put a couple of tablespoons in, along with the raw carrots, etc.
Canning low acid foods can be very tricky; in fact, most experts recommend against it unless you have a pressure canner, which is not the same as a pressure cooker. Pressure canners are very expensive. For the best information, contact your state’s University Extension service. Those experts are the best ones to consult about canning safety.