The $4 bag of rice that sat in my cabinet since March

Found a half-used bag of long grain rice shoved behind some canned beans while cleaning out my pantry last weekend. Date on it said best by March of this year. I figured it was fine, rice lasts forever right? Cooked up a big batch for meal prep on Sunday. Tuesday morning I opened my lunch container at work and the smell hit me. Sour and kind of musty. I checked the bag again and there were这些小 bugs crawling around near the seam. Turns out rice can go rancid if it gets warm and humid. I live in Nashville and my cabinets get hot in the summer. I tossed the whole batch and the bag. Spent $14 on new rice and a plastic container with a good seal. Now I check every grain bag I bring home. Has anyone else had rice spoil on them or am I the only one who trusted the 'it lasts forever' rule?

1 comments

1 Comment

the_dakota11d ago

Wow, that's nasty! I actually read something last year about how rice can go bad if it's stored wrong, especially in humid places like the South. The article said the oils in the rice can go rancid and that bugs can hatch from eggs already in the grain if it gets warm enough. Sounds like that's exactly what happened with yours. Good call on the sealed container though, I've started doing the same thing after watching a video about pantry pests. Might be worth checking your other dry goods too, those little bugs can spread fast.