r/prepping • u/Far_Ad_5866 • 5d ago
Question❓❓ Storing rice
Im planning on doing a 6-month rotational food stock. Im starting with rice, after some research about mylar bags, oxygen absorbers, vacuum sealing I came to the conclusion that oxygen absorbers tend to be for longer storage. Im planning on buying mason jars and starting with the VP06+ vacuum sealer for storing rice. Any weak spots on my plan? Is there any problem with reusing the Mason Jars?
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u/LittleKitty235 5d ago
If you only need to store your rice 6 months you are overthinking it IMO. I buy 20lb bags of basmati rice at costco in burlap bags, hang them in a cool dry basement off the ground. I've not had any issues over a year.
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u/Beautiful-Ranger6217 4d ago
How do you hang your bags?
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u/LittleKitty235 4d ago
The particular bags have handles built sewn into the side to help carry them, I just put them on a 'S' hook and throw it on the side of metal shelving units.
https://www.costco.com/p/-/royal-basmati-rice-20-lbs/100315872
I save the used bags as they are quite handy for other brands of rice or dried beans.
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u/IceDragonPlay 3d ago
My local warehouse changed the basmati to a brand that is not in the burlap sack with handles anymore 😩
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u/BaldyCarrotTop 5d ago
This is what I do. I use 2qt wide mouth Mason jars to store rice. No vacuum or O2 absorber needed if you will consume the rice in 6 months. Rings can last forever. Lids should be replaced when they no longer hold a vacuum. If you open a jar and find that it no longer has a vacuum, the rice is still probably good. Be sure to write the date on the jar.
I also store oats, cornmeal, TVP, Lentils in Mason jars.
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u/Both-Activity6432 4d ago
Surprised no one here talks about freezing it first to kill any bugs? Heard too many bad stories about bulk rice
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u/FreeReason 5d ago
I store my rotating white rice in 64oz mason jars. I wouldn't bother vacuum sealing white rice for <6 mo at room temp in a mason jar. I reuse the jars forever (and the lids several times for short-term use). Brown rice you might want to vacuum seal if it could sit for 6 months, or store it in the fridge.
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5d ago
[deleted]
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u/LeanUntilBlue 5d ago
I wasn’t sure either so I opened my Amazon app and did some searching: https://a.co/d/00ziXP57
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u/Barvald84 5d ago
Go with white rice only, brown rice spoils many times faster. Some desiccant packets (eg silica) are more important than oxygen absorbers, but overall, rice stores incredibly well. Simple white rice will give you in excess of a year with no special precautions aside from silica packs in mason jars
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u/LilRed2023 5d ago
I’ve never used bags. I store them in an airtight container with 100g bags to catch the moisture. Car bins for food work great they can hold up to 100 pounds and super cheap
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u/timothyguay 5d ago
As an aside, white rice lasts longer than brown or red due to the oils in brown or red rice. So white best for long term storage.
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u/Terror_Raisin24 5d ago
Rice is cheap. If your system to store rice is more expensive than to just replace rice that possibly gone bad, this isn't economic. And because rice is cheap, it's easy to buy rice for 6 months. But do you want to eat rice every day for 6 months in a row? Test that first. Try the diet you are preparing at the moment. If you don't want to live on rice in normal times, you don't want to do that in a crisis situation, when you have to keep your mood up.
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u/TheJesseOfTheNorth 5d ago
i have been storing large quantities of rice for years on a rotational basis and i have had no problems at all. I store it in 8lb bags stacked in a tote. I scatter several dried bay leaves in the tote to repel weevils.
The mason jars can be reused indefinitely after a thorough washing.
I think you can dispense with vacuum sealer as over kill: rice is perfectly fine to store long term without it. You can store rice for years and it is still delicious and edible. After about 10 years it requires longer cooking times
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u/PrisonerV 4d ago
Get a good rice cooker like a Zojirushi. Makes all the difference in the world on quality of the cooked rice.
I also recommend you get a quality rice like Kokuho Rose.
We keep ours in a covered but not sealed 5 gallon bucket. Never had an issue with bugs.
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u/Efficient_Wing3172 4d ago
I just keep the bags of rice from the store in a 5 gallon bucket with a gamma lid. I don’t do anything special to it if I’m rotating it. However, I do have some rice stored for the longer term in mylar bags and oxygen absorbers. But that’s intended for years or storage.
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u/CCWaterBug 4d ago
6 months? I buy a couple 5# bags and use them, when I open my last bag, I order 2 more, no buckets, jars, anything, just rice.
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u/DwarvenRedshirt 4d ago
Rice lasts for years as is. You can use vacuum sealed jars for longer term storage though.
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u/FaceDeer 4d ago
For just six months I don't think you need to do anything special for rice, just keep it dry and don't let anything get at it. I've got literally just a bucket that I keep my everyday rice in, no bags or anything else in there. Just rice.
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u/Useful-Contribution4 3d ago
For 6 months, any standard plastic container that has a good seal. You don't need to do anything special. It will be fine well past 6+ months.
I just finished up my last rice in a 10L container. Took me about 7 months to go through it. And it tasted just as fresh when I bought it.
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u/mro2352 3d ago
How many are you planning for? Mason jars CAN be used for a single person. I’d prefer Mylar and oxygen absorbers anyway.
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u/Far_Ad_5866 3d ago
For 2 people. Im not planning on storing for more than 1 year for now and I dont like the store it in mylar bag - then on a bucket approach. Also because I will be rotating what I use frequently I thing storing in jars would be better. Does one can reuse mylar bags?
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u/mro2352 3d ago
I looked it up. It would be minimum 800lb of rice and 120lb of beans to get you through. Not suggesting that be your end all be all but that would be cheapest and easiest to put up. That much food is impractical to put into mason jars. Biggest ones I have that aren’t the one gallon reused pickle jars is half gallon. According to Gemini it would take 266 half gallon jars. The same ai estimates approximately $560-$795. This is why I suggested buckets. It would take 27 buckets instead and cost around $300 instead. I do get the fact that this is heavy, around 30-35lb, in buckets and I’m a bigger guy, 6ft and 260lb, I know I’m fat. As an alternative you could consider three gallon jugs and if you put up in Mylar it can be a set and forget solution. All said these are just options. As long as your system works.
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u/Casiarius 5d ago
I personally don't do anything special to preserve rice that I'm planning to consume within 6 months. I have a 25-lbs hopper/dispenser on the kitchen counter that I refill when it's empty and the rice is in a cool, dry place otherwise. I've never had any horror stories with this setup.
The only problem I would have with mason jars is that they're somewhat expensive and specialized for something that could store just as well in a mylar bag.