On Thu, 24 Jul 2008 07:56:16 -0700 (PDT), Sheldon >
wrote:

>
>I use those O2 absorbant packets (Honeyvillegrain.com sells them) but
>they do nothing to curtail insects in grains, all they do is retard
>oxidation [a little], thereby maintaining general quality just a wee
>bit longer; flavor, aroma, color, texture. The best way to store rice
>(or any food) long term is *don't*, for rice do not buy more than you
>can use within six months, three month's worth is better. Rice is
>harvested somewhere in the world on a regular basis, unless one lives
>in extreme poverty there is no reason to cache rice... for anyone
>living anywhere in the US it's absolutely imbecilic to store any food
>longer than the USDA recommendations. And rice is very inexpensive,
>and there isn't anymore than a few pennies per pound savings by buying
>in large quantities (this is true for all grains). and for those who
>devote major freezer space to store grains it's costing them more in
>freezer space than the few pennies lost by buying smaller quantities,
>I've never seen a time in my life when rice was unavailable at every
>grocery store in the US.... freezing grain products is false economy,
>investing in food is no economy at all.
>
>I don't use a lot of rice so I almost always buy rice in the 5lb size,
>however I will buy a 10 lb size of basmati because that seems to be
>the only size I ever see, it's imported and comes in a cloth sack....
>basmati is an unclean product and must be washed, washed very well.
>Rice grown and packaged in the US is clean and needs no washing, in
>fact fortified rice should not be washed. Fortified rice has vitamins
>and minerals added, washing removes them. Plain unfortified white
>rice, like basmati, other than carbos contains practically zero
>nutritional value... living on a diet composed entirely of basmati
>rice results in a slow painful death by starvation.
>

You can get basmati in smaller quantities, but it is usually not worth
it - the markup on the smaller quantities is ridiculus. Better brands
of basmati are very clean - I prefer Tilda brand myself. The Costco
brand is an 'OK' quality.

The upside of basmati is that stored properly it will keep for years.
Really. All Indian basmati rice has been 'aged' for some time to reduce
the moisture content. The longer it is aged, the higher the price it
commands in India.

The 'secret' of cooking basmati rice is that, once you have washed it,
let it sit for half to one hour in the water you will cook in in before
putting it on the heat. This will let is rehydrate some and produce a
fluffier rice.