[Sca-cooks] Re: reheating Rice

[Louise Smithson]

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] reheating Rice
Date: Tue, 12 Nov 2002 17:43:00 -0600
Reply-To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

So, incase I was thinking about re-heating large
quantities or rice,
how
would I do that safely?

Amanda

Lets start with my qualifications, a BSc in
Microbiology and a Phd.
Actually the problem point is not as much reheating it
as chilling it.  Bacillus cereus (the bug that makes
these toxins) is everywhere, it is in your rice when
you buy it.  It is a tricky bug as the spores it forms
(called endospores as it is a bacterium) are not
killed by boiling.  (A similar bug can cause botulism,
Bacillus botulinum).  So when the spores were formed
there was no water (dry rice) and no way to grow.  So
you cook the rice and then leave it to cool at room
temperature, or just leave it at room temperature.
Now these spores have everything they need, warmth,
water, food.  The bacteria start to grow and as they
grow, produce the toxin.  It is the toxin that makes
you sick not the bug.
So how do you avoid it, simple.  Chill the rice in a
fridge so that the time spent by the rice in the
danger zone (40 degrees C to about 15 degrees C) is
limited, or alternatively keep the temperature up
beyond the danger zone (at least 80 degrees C) before
you serve the rice.  Conversely if you are heating
cold rice you need to heat it up as quickly as
possible so it does not sit around in that growth
zone.
There you go kiddies, science in action.  Now we
return you to your normal programming.
Helewyse de Birkestad
mka Dr Smithson :-)



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