Many people that are interested in food storage realize the importance of storing grain and rice for use in hard times or states of emergency however few people completely realize how easy and simple it is to store a sufficient quantity of rice. One person I spoke with recently was concerned about placing such a large quantities of the product in the popular five gallon plastic pails. To be honest with you I have never lost a single grain of rice the way that I store it.
Most survivalist major concern is the possibility of their rice developing a rancid taste after a few months of storage. The fact is that long grain white rice should never begin to go rancid. I once had some stored in Ziploc bags and then packed all the bags I could into a five gallon bucket and I never experienced any sort of problem. In addition, I have known of people who stored theirs in the original 50 pound bags that they come packaged in. Once again these people did not develop a problem. I believe the major factor affecting the storage and shelf life of your rice is actually the environment for which it is being stored.
Of all the survival foods that I store up on I have discovered rice to be the simplest item to safely and successfully store for long term use. My particular method is slightly different then many others but it is still very effective and can be accomplished inexpensively. I reuse the two liter plastic soda bottles. These are food grade approved container and readily available. After using up the contents of the bottles I then clean them very well with hot soapy water and rinse each of them out thoroughly. You don't want the odor of soap to remain in the plastic bottles. Let them dry completely before you use them. Fill each of the bottles completely full of rice and in each two litter bottle place one small bay leaf.
Another popular method for storing your rice is to get some empty five gallon buckets, O2 absorbers, desiccant packs and a few Ziploc bag. Rice should normally be stored the same way as wheat would be stored. Of course the shelf life is dependent upon the light, air, heat and humidity present in the storage area. I would like to point out at this time that brown rice will go bad fairly fast.
I would like to conclude this article with a recipe for homemade Rice A Roni. This homemade version of Rice A Roni in made in your microwave oven.
Ingredients
- 3/4 of a cup of uncooked white rice
- 1/2 cup of orzo pasta
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 2 1/4 cups of chicken bouillon
- 1/4 teaspoon of parsley
- 1/8 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon of onion powder
Place the rice, the orzo and olive oil in a 2 quart glass microwavable bowl. Set your microwave on high for 4 minutes making certain to stir the contents after every minute. Increase this frequency as you get to the end of the microwave cycle. The pasta should be a golden brown when it is finished. Stir in the bouillon and the additional spices. Continue to microwave for another 12 minutes on the high range. When it has completed its cycle let the complete meal sit for 3 minutes in the microwave. Fluff the rice with a fork and serve warm.
This mixture can be made ahead of time leaving out the olive oil and using it for emergency food supplies.
