#97 - What Type of Rice Should I Store?
Ok, I just received a question from someone about storing rice. They wanted to know what kind of rice they should store as part of their long-term storage plans. They received a recommendation from someone else to store brown rice because of its nutritional values and extended shelf-life over white rice and wanted to double check that recommendation. Unfortunately, I have heard this same recommendation from a few others in the preparedness community, but it is completely incorrect.
If you were to stock up on brown rice and a disaster or something were to happen and you needed to get into your long-term food storage you would quickly come to the realization that all of your brown rice had probably turned rancid.
Because of the natural oils in the outer husk of the brown rice, it starts to go rancid within about 6-months of storage where polished white rice, which does not contain this naturally oily layer, has a shelf-life of up to about 10 years if it is stored at a maximum of 70 degrees in an oxygen-free and dark environment, and up to 20 years if it is stored below 60 degrees, and even up to 30 years if stored below 50 degrees.
Some people say that you can wash the rancid oils off of the brown rice and still eat it, but the US Department of Agriculture and the Food & Drug Administration strongly advise against trying this as it can be very dangerous. Do not play around with food poisoning, especially in a disaster situation where you can't just go to the doctor if you were to get seriously ill from it.
Brown rice also requires more water and requires a lot more time to cook than white rice does. In disaster preps, finding ways to save water, and to save on the fuel required to cook with could be an extremely important aspect to consider.
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON MY FACEBOOK ACCOUNT ON JUNE 9, 2019
