Store Leftover Rice In The Freezer To Prevent It From Drying Out

Rice is a versatile staple food that goes with almost any dish you'd care to try, but even if you've cooked the perfect rice just like celebrity chef Bobby Flay, it probably won't taste very appetizing once it's spent a night in the fridge. Leftover cooked rice has a bad habit of drying out, and few people really want to eat a plate of crunchy, dried rice. Fortunately for your next meal, you don't have to.

To keep leftover rice moist, all you have to do is store it in the freezer instead of the fridge. It may seem counterintuitive, but, in the fridge, water evaporates and leaves the rice dry and hard. Pop it in the freezer, and that water evaporates much more slowly and keeps the rice fresh for longer. The best time to store it is when it's cooled down a bit but is still warm and relatively moist. In other words, don't expect your rice to come out of the freezer with the right texture if it was sitting on the counter all day.

This trick won't keep the rice moist forever, but, done right, it will last much longer than in the refrigerator. Stored correctly, cooked rice keeps well for up to six months. Even after that, it should still be safe to eat, if dry and unpleasant.

To get the most out of your leftovers, keep a few things in mind while you're storing and reheating your cooked rice. First, only use freezer-safe containers. Some types of glass containers can shatter at freezing temperatures, and even freezer-safe glass can break if you put it in while the contents are still hot. To be safe, use a different container than the one you placed the rice in after cooking.

While we're talking safety, be sure to store your rice within two hours of cooking. Starchy foods like rice and potatoes can carry Bacillus cereus, a spore-producing bacteria that causes gastrointestinal distress. Reheating kills the bacteria but not the spores, so if it's stored improperly, even microwaved rice can be dangerous or at least really, really unpleasant to eat. Freezing it promptly will prevent the spores from forming and keep your leftovers safe.

When it comes time to reheat your rice, it should still be moist and delicious. If you find that it's still too dry for your taste, try one of our hacks for reheating leftover rice in the microwave and put an ice cube in the center while it reheats. The ice cube will release steam, adding moisture to the rice and helping to make it tender once again.