Trust me I'm a Doctor

Fresh rice tonight then, and throw any left into the recycling bin!

I have been ill after going to a Chinese restaurant, so perhaps it was the rice not the other food.

I ate reheated rice and it had a very bad effect on my stomach.

I think anyone who has IBS or similar should be careful about eating reheated rice.

Posted before I finished.
This seems to refute the idea, but certainly a friend was involved in the original investigations in the 1970s where it is was established that pre-cooked rice, kept warm, caused problems with bacteria developing, which cannot be destroyed by reheating.

That is right, pompa .
It is when it is pre-cooked and left in large, warm heaps that causes the problem.

www.salford.gov.uk/d/904004_report.doc

If I remember my food safety course correctly, rice has a particular problem. If pre cooked and cooled slowly it develops a toxin that does not get removed by subsequent cooking. This is a problem for chinese/indian restaurants where large amounts of rice are pre cooked to be re-heated later. It is not the re-heating that causes the problem but the slow cooling. If rice is to be re-heated at a later time it must be cooled quickly to prevent the toxin developing. I have not heard of a similar problem with pasta.

This is a toxin not a bug, toxins are not affected by heat in the same way as bugs. (the toxin in kidney beans requires cooking to break it down)

Do we have any food techs that can confirm or rubbish this ?

There is a problem with reheating rice, which is why in rice-based cultures it is always stir fried in a very hot wok. That deals with the problem, just as cooking chicken properly deals with any possible salmonella.

I cannot see that cooking pasta/rice/potatoes at 9.00am, cooling them and then reheating them at 12.00am for lunch will do anyone any harm.

Lets face it most of us eat heated, cooled and reheated bread every time we have a slice of toast and the gap between heating and cooling bread and then toasting it is often days. Pasta and bread are both primarily made from flour and water. I cannot see the difference.

Many of us also recook cold potatoes in all kinds of ways without thinking twice.

In spite of reassurances I'm still not sure about it especially as I have a sensitive tummy. However I have been for a walk today - for a reason; I have to have a reason - and got half an hours dose of Vitamin D!

I'm looking forward to the next programme.

Marmight I am cooking and reheating rice and pasta quite deliberately for the reasons given in the links further up the thread. DH has diabetes.

While we're on the subject of pasta, does anyone know where I can buy lasagna verdi from? Used to be able to buy it from most of the main supermarkets but they only seem to stock the white stuff now.

I often keep pasta and reheat it, the flavour is more intense the next day especially tomato sauce. I don't reheat rice, it never looks that good after it has been stored in the fridge.

Woman's Weekly had an item on rice this week saying that it is perfectly safe to reheat it as long as it has been cooled quickly and then refrigerated. But not to reheat it more than once.

Pasta is fine to reheat (presuming you have been normally hygenic) Last night's spaghetti is routinely fried up for breakfast, possibly with an egg or two broken into it, or cooked up as a frittata. (I am not suggesting that any of this is healthy - just traditional)

Reheating - even a lot - cannot always kill toxins. I am told that this is a particular problem with rice.

The occasion when we fell foul of this was some rice eaten in a pub - so we have no idea how it had been treated prior to arriving on the plate.

We've always re-heated both, and survived too. But SIL is really strict about NOT re-heating rice and insists it is REALLY dangerous- but hey ho.

Of course some rice are much more starchy than others, and therefore have a much higher glycemic level- which is why we always have washed and slightly al-dente basmati and never risotto - and new potatoes rather than old/baked.

I dislike pasta so I don't eat it but I have reheated rice with no problems - maybe people aren't reheating it enough? I had a West Indian friend and she would cook rice ahead of time and then when the rest of the meal was ready, she would just put the rice into a pan of boiling water for a minute or two - didn't do her any harm either.

I also wash rice thoroughly before use. My mother said that when she's on her global travels, the rice is spread out on the roads (can't remember why) and cars drive over it, animals and people walk over it! So it is always washed until the water runs clear and then cooked.

Can't see the point in 2nd hand rice - its so cheap, why chance it? Just start again the next day

It is when rice has been pre-cooked and left in piles which stay warm for a long time that causes the toxins to develop. Reheating does not then kill off the bacteria that merlotgran mentioned.

If cooked at home, chilled quickly (rinse thoroughly with cold water) and re-heated thoroughly I have always found it to be fine.

The rice in chilled food has been treated in a certain way to make it safe. I reheated rice for years until I read about it being dangerous so I stopped doing so a couple of years ago. I always think pasta [especially lasagne] tastes better when cooled and reheated.

jingl Here is another the link that explains it. www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-29629761

I reheat both pasta and rice, but safety depends on how long between the cooling and reheating. Since yesterday I have cooled and reheated spaghetti and noodles. In each case there was only a few hours between cooling and reheating. Tomorrow I will do the same with rice. Would I reheat rice after it had been in the fridge for two days? Emphatically not.

I wouldn't reheat rice as it can harbour bacilli but I often take leftover pasta dishes in to work for lunch the next day and reheat them in the microwave. Hadn't realised it was actually good for me till I saw last night's programme!

Our Friday treat is takeaway style rice and curry meal deals from supermarket. These have containers of precooked rice and what about Uncle Ben's (similar products available).
I reheat pasta or eat cold leftovers depending on my mood.
Have been eating both for years.

Thanks Elegran. Will watch.

Love cold pasta, so I'm halfway there with the blood sugar thing.

It was a chemical thing - cooling affects the starch and make it less "sugary" (those in the test eating cold pasta had less of a blood sugar rise than those who ate it hot) and then somehow reheating it makes it even less "sugary" so those who ate it reheated were even lower.

You can watch it on here - www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04m0bt4
and there are other episodes too www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04m0bt4 . They all sound very interesting.

I don't understand. How can reheating pasta have any effect on your blood sugar levels? Presumably you have to eat it, but why reheated?

I heard that varicose veins fact, too, and spent an hour this afternnon reading with the kindle on my crossed knee.

I reheat pasta but not rice.