As a Nigerian, its hard to go a day without eating rice.
If you manage to withdraw for 24 hours, avoiding rice on your plate for 7 days can be tough.
In a world where we have rice as a regular, it is only normal to buy in bulk and store at home. Up to a full bag of rice would be stored at home;
But is this safe? For how long can you store a bag of rice at home?
On average, a bag of rice remains safe to eat for between 6 and 12 months. Though, the exact period is dependent on the factors such as temperature of where it is stored, the dryness of the rice itself and how safe it is from external influence such as rodents and water. Even the ventilation of the room plays a role in how long a bag of rice would remain edible.
That is why it is advisable that you put in place a couple of storage options to help make your rice last longer.
Afterall, the reason you buy in large quantity is so you can have it in excess at home. Which is why it’s good to ensure you put the following in place.
1. Make sure your rice is dry
This is surprising because even though the rice is already processed for storage, sometimes the moisture content in it is still high. Meaning that the grain would be less dry and have more water within it.
This wont be visible to the naked eyes but insects and other parasites can sniff this out. Making the grain susceptible to attack.
Which is why it is preferable to sun dry your rice if you will be keeping it for a long time. This will make it fit for the long period of storage.
2. Store in a container.
All you need do is to get a big plastic and pour your rice in it.
The essentials for a plastic that would qualify for this would be an air-tight container with no cracks. The lid should prevent inflow of external bodies. The container would reduce air and make it easy to keep rice for longer.
3. Place rice in freezer
The idea here is to reduce the temperature and control the moisture content of the rice – two factors that can allow rice go bad.
The lower temperature also helps to prevent the growth of fungi during of the bag of rice.
All of these help prevent spoilage and keeps the rice for longer.