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hahabogus

Sheldon > wrote in news:23c08db1-7bfc-4684-9cf1-
:

> Anthony Ferrante wrote:
>
>> I checked two bags of rice I had stored and both had little bugs on
>> the inside. What is the best way to store uncooked rice to avoid bugs
>> or is there no way to prevent it? A friend told me that she stores her
>> bags of rice in the fridge until needed.
>
> 99.9 pct of the time insect eggs are in rice (and other grain
> products) when you buy it, how you store it wont change anything in
> that regard... you can freeze rice to keep the little buggers from
> hatching but they're still in there. It's a good idea to store rice
> in an airtight container but only because rice is a magnet for
> nefariuos odors, and rice also readily absorbs moisture... but all
> airtight does for bugs is keep them from escaping. If the rice you
> buy regularly contains bugs buy a different brand, but better is to
> shop elsewhere. I've heard that some zap raw rice in their microwave
> to kill the insects but I've never tried.
>

It would make more sense to stick it in a 170F ish oven for a while...I
have seen fruit flies survive in a microwave. But heating the rice would
probably dry it out more... making it taste stale. Your best bet would be
to store it in an air tight container and replace the air with
nitrogen...That's how they are supposed to keep coffee fresher longer. But
getting the equipment to do that would probably be too costly for home
use. Next best choice would be a air tight container in a freezer. Or buy
rice in smaller amounts that you can use up before the bugs become
apparent.

--

The house of the burning beet-Alan