Rice...it's not just for the VC anymore

[win308]

Went to the local Sam's Club the other day, and noticed RICELAND brand rice in 25 lb bags for $5.75. This was "enriched" rice, so they must have thrown in some vitamins in with the rice.

So I can get 100 lbs of white rice for less than $25 and store it in my dry cool basement. Sounds like a lot of food for $25.00. Anyone have any ideas on how long rice lasts if a. no vermin get into it, b. no moisture and c. kept below 75 degrees at all times???

I got 100 lbs and I plan on getting more soon. (Now if I could only find a deal on some surplus fish heads....I'd be all set).

[cycle_rcr]

Jasmine rice tastes better.

[Temp]

Originally posted by cycle_rcr
Jasmine rice tastes better.

,... as opposed to Condeleezza Rice which reportedly has the flavor of yesterday's white perch,...

[ftierson]

A few hundred pounds of rice costs nearly nothing to buy, stores for the rest of your life (almost), and tastes good.

Or, you can wait until the power is off and your cupboard is bare to think about this kind of thing... After all, FEMA will be there for you...

Personally, I like rice.

Forrest

[Da Nerd]

I suggest you store it in mylar bags, with oxygen absorbers and in a plastic food grade pail. It will then last longer than YOU.
You can make equally good buys on dried beans and stored the same way.
Spaghetti will last a long time stored as such also.

[ram]

Rice is actually not one of the better grains for long-term storage. It has a high oil content that causes it to eventually go rancid. Figure on only a couple of years max before it starts to taste bad. Proper storage helps, but not a lot.

[CZ-75a]

I got a bag of basmati from Sam's once. By the time I got around to opening it (5-6 months), I noticed that the inner plastic liner had holes in it and nice tasty mealworm shells were mixed in. Buy only what you need in the short term would be my suggestion, especially based on info in the above post.

[Terick]

I believe they are refering to white rice, not brown. The white rice should be good for about 10 years minimum at room temperature as long as it's sealed up. Keep it cool, dry and oxygen deprived and it's good for a looong while.

-Mealworms smeelworms. More protien! :uhoh:

(just kidding, I hate those buggers too)

[mr fixit]

why the difference in white versus brown rice?

[win308]

As was mentioned.....brown rice has oils that will go rancid over time. Plain old white rice has been milled and all that's left is the white part....like the inside of a potato that has had the skin removed. Nothing left but the carbs, and the white part has no oil to go bad.

Yeah, other types of rice taste better, but they do not store well over time.

[JoeLad]

I too like rice. Never thought of it as long term food store, tho. Good idea!

JoeLad:D

[ftierson]

Originally posted by win308
As was mentioned.....brown rice has oils that will go rancid over time. Plain old white rice has been milled and all that's left is the white part....like the inside of a potato that has had the skin removed. Nothing left but the carbs, and the white part has no oil to go bad.

Yeah, other types of rice taste better, but they do not store well over time.

Sorry, I should have been a little clearer in my post above that I was talking about white rice for long term storage...

However, you can also buy Lundberg (for example) Nutri-farmed Brown Rice in 25lb bags for little over three times as much as the Sam's white rice mentioned above. This stuff tastes wonderful. Buy 100lbs per year and toss what you don't eat at the end of two year's storage.

Of course, non-"commercial grade" products, since they're growth and processed without commercial insecticides, run a greater risk in storage of developing the insect problems mentioned above. Store them appropriately to avoid such problems.

The point is that very little money is necessary to provide a couple of the basic foods to keep you alive for a year. Add protein sources, vitamins and minerals, and you're good to go...

It isn't like there isn't a well developed literature available on the selection and storage of food for long term storage/survival purposes. The survivalist movements of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s worked most of this stuff out long ago...

Some people even paid attention back then...

:)

Forrest

[Artful]

If you fill one of those airtight plastic buckets leave a little room the the top - put a chunk of dry ice and a couple of bay leaves wait for most of the dry ice to turn back into carbon dioxide or nitrogen and the gas will displace the oxygen in the filled the bucket (non windy area please) then seal it. It will last a very long time :wink:

[Da Nerd]

Originally posted by Artful
If you fill one of those airtight plastic buckets leave a little room the the top - put a chunk of dry ice and a couple of bay leaves wait for most of the dry ice to turn back into carbon dioxide or nitrogen and the gas will displace the oxygen in the filled the bucket (non windy area please) then seal it. It will last a very long time :wink:
That is true, but oxygen absorbers are cheaper and easier to use.
Most plastic pail lids will not hold a seal for very long.
Put the stuff in mylar bags and seal them.

[TheOtherChris]

A lot of good stuff so far.

Just to add:

Medium grain rice (or better yet, short if you can find it) has more flavor than long grain but it is also more "sticky"

If you eat rice and beans in the same meal, you will get a complete protein. There are many cultures that have lived on these for centuries.

One method of storing in buckets is to fill with product, lay about 4 sheets of paper towel on top and a chunck of dry ice (about the size of a deck of cards), then loosely lay the lid on top.
As the dry ice sublimates or 'melts', the heavier CO² will sink and displace the air in the container. As mentioned, the air in the room needs to be still. Then seal the lid. You're not trying to maintain a vaccuum seal; just preventing the CO² that is now in the bucket from being replaced by O².
(whoops, just noticed that part was mentioned in an earlier post)

Store a variety of grains and legumes and add them to your diet now. Can you imagine having to live on rice and beans only to discover that you only know one way to prepare them???:cry:

[ftierson]

Originally posted by TheOtherChris
Store a variety of grains and legumes and add them to your diet now. Can you imagine having to live on rice and beans only to discover that you only know one way to prepare them???:cry:

And, don't forget that other living on rice and beans "problem."

Of course, any good survivalist does have gas masks... :)

However, you'd hate to have to use up all of your filters for protection from bean products alone (if you catch my drift ;))

Keep in mind that there are a lot of canned meat products out there that store well, taste good with rice, and are reasonably priced (especially when purchased on sale). Don't wait until the night before you think that you might need all this stuff to buy it...

Forrest

[MTS]

The bay leaf works.

I'm just using up the last of some rice I stored in a metal can, similar to the ones you get that popcorn in around Christmas. I think it was in there about 4 years.

It was bagged in 1 gallon ziplocks with a bay leaf of 2 in each bag and a few more in the can. The can lid was taped on with shipping tape and the whole thing put in a closet.

[dillhole]

where do you get mylar storage bags? or may be a better question .... what is a mylar storage bag? please forgive my ignorance there was a slight negligence in my education

[dillhole]

why the bay leaves

[Will+1]

Others aids in storage protection are diatomaceous earth and simple freezing of the product. Keep the bags in your deep freeze for several days prior to long term packaging, this will kill any eggs etc...in the product.

[Da Nerd]

Originally posted by dillhole
where do you get mylar storage bags? or may be a better question .... what is a mylar storage bag? please forgive my ignorance there was a slight negligence in my education

Mylar bags are a bag that is fairly tough and after you insert a number of oxygen absorbers, you heat seal it with an iron.
If you do it right, the absorbers will suck all the air of the bag and leave it kinda like you vacuum sealed it.
Go to... http://www.frugalsquirrels.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi
and sign in there, lots of information on use and care of food storage.
HTH

[Da Nerd]

Originally posted by Will+1
Others aids in storage protection are diatomaceous earth and simple freezing of the product. Keep the bags in your deep freeze for several days prior to long term packaging, this will kill any eggs etc...in the product.

True, but make sure you get FOOD GRADE diatomaceous earth.

[idsubgun]

Originally posted by dillhole
why the bay leaves

Yes, why the bay leaves????????????

[TheOtherChris]

Originally posted by idsubgun


Yes, why the bay leaves????????????

Insect repellant. Weevils don't care for them.

[idsubgun]

Originally posted by TheOtherChris


Insect repellant. Weevils don't care for them.

Okay...thanks!

[Jez Cruzen]

I stopped by a local bakery some months ago and asked if they had 5gal buckets for sale. They did, and they were food grade.

Ordered some of the Gamma Lids talked about here. Once they arrived I cleaned out the buckets and sanitized the inside with a weak solution of .5% bleach.

Sam's here locally sell white rice in 50lb sacks for less than $11. Good deal, I think! I started off by buying two sacks. (Two 50lb sacks of white rice will fill three five-gallon plastic buckets, BTW) I didn't do the dry ice thing, but think maybe I will. I didn't know about the bay leaves - thanks. I'll add those, too.

We already store extras. My wife has always picked up extra food items if a good sale was on. Now with a pandemic looming we pay more attention to buying extras, especially items like dried beans, pasta, and the like that stores well for the long-term. Flour, coffee, sugar, and salt are also high on the list as are non-food items like toilet paper (can't forget THAT, now can we?) soap, toothpaste, and similar items whose absense would make life a little less comfortable.

On payday I also buy a few more boxes of ammo, mainly for my sporting arms that I don't have a lot already put aside for. Heck, a couple of bricks of .22s don't cost much, but certainly might prove useful in adding a little meat to all that rice and beans.

[kchunter]

you know we all jokingly talk about adding a little meat to the table by shooting some meat, just my opinion but if and when the SHTF im not so sure that every living little creature will quickly disappear to the people who have not prepared, not saying anything is going to go extinct, but I think local game populations will suffer dramatically, just something I was thinking about earlier in the day.:?

[ephv]

We already have several Chinese establishments around here. The local pet population has been under control for awhile now.:tongue: When shtf drops the Chinese will go out of business quick.

[kchunter]

your bad lol

[Da Nerd]

Originally posted by kchunter
you know we all jokingly talk about adding a little meat to the table by shooting some meat, just my opinion but if and when the SHTF im not so sure that every living little creature will quickly disappear to the people who have not prepared, not saying anything is going to go extinct, but I think local game populations will suffer dramatically, just something I was thinking about earlier in the day.:?

You are 100% right, and that includes such animals as deer. elk, bear etc.

[Da Nerd]

One little 'heads up' on using dry ice to store grain etc.
Once the time comes to use the grain, DO NOT tip the bucket to pour out the grain. Use a scoop to get it out. When you pour out the grain you also pour out the gases created by the dry ice.

[Diesel45]

umm Rice my wife is from the Philippines EVERY meal has something to do with rice anything else she cooks is just rice topping. Good thing I like rice the rice that is left over is breakfast it is fried with garlic. In Tagalog it is called Sinangag man that is my favorite. I got a taste for a lot of food there during time spent in the Philippines.

I have stored rice for a good while. one other storage tip glad trash bags are food grade plastic or at least they were I am referring to the heavy green bags. also rotate your storage Date it so you can use it in order that it is stored.Do not store food that you do not regularly eat children and elderly people will not adjust well to food that is not in there regular diet.I store Mandarin oranges for my daughter she likes them and they store well it would be a treat in a SHTF sit. I keep some MREs for bug out sit. and when I add new ones I open the older ones and we eat those just so they are acclimated to them before there is a stressful situation. Just my .02 worth and it is not worth that.....:biggrin: One last thought Stock lots of meds.Ammocicilin, asprin,Clove extract exct. in a spot there is not going to be a handy Doc. or drug store I get my Ammocicilin in Mexico becuase you do not need a scrip.very cheap there..I also go to the doctor there for most things no waiting no HMO hard to beat.

[ftierson]

Just finished some chicken and rice for dinner...

Yummy.

Rice isn't just for storing for hard times anymore...

:)

Forrest

[Seventh Fleet]

Hey Diesel do they still make San Miguel beer in the PI. I learned to love that stuff when we spent a lot of time at Subic during the Nam. After enough San Miguels, the bbq monkey meat on sticks they sold outside the main gate at Subic Naval Base was downright good. Never got around to trying any balutes though. http://asiarecipe.com/cgi/web/webbbs_config.cgi/noframes/read/1510


7th

[Palo]

Don't forget a little rat meat to go with the cold rice............:rofl:

[StealthCarry]

Originally posted by Palo
Don't forget a little rat meat to go with the cold rice............:rofl:

damn, Palo, you're bringin' back some realllly bad memories...:cry:

Anyhow, a co-worker was married to a person of the chinese persuasion for ten yrs. Now, you couldn't get a grain of rice in him at the point of quad-mounted .50 cal:rofl:

[Palo]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Palo
Don't forget a little rat meat to go with the cold rice............
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



damn, Palo, you're bringin' back some realllly bad memories...

Sorry, it's one of my favorite lines from the movie 'Apocalypse Now' when the Captain waxes on about "all the R & R charley ever gets is some cold rice and a little rat meat".

:wink:

[cycle_rcr]

People around the world eat things and animals we don't because we are not hungry enough......Yet

[Da Nerd]

Originally posted by cycle_rcr
People around the world eat things and animals we don't because we are not hungry enough......Yet EXACTLY
That is why i store plenty of gravy mixes, hot sauces, chili's. marinates, seasonings.

[jerrymrc]

Originally posted by Da Nerd
EXACTLY
That is why i store plenty of gravy mixes, hot sauces, chili's. marinates, seasonings.

I agree. having eaten almost every critter out there there are a few that I would not want to revisit. The only one I have not that comes to mind is dog or cat. I never went to Korea but was a little shocked to see Rin tin-tin hanging from a hook in Bolivia.

Since I did eat alot of so called "dishes" while I was there who knows? I did buy a couple of sacks of the rice. Now I just need to get it in the bucket.

[FTW2012]

A third world treat is to starv a dog for about 4 - 5 days
Then feed him a bunch or rice, as soon as the dog will not eat anymore
kill it and gut it, only leave the rice stuffed stomach in.
You get a nice stuffed roasted mutt




Another thing for thought,
In some of the Egyptian pyramids grain was found in a still usable state.
5,000 year old stuff! Pretty wild

[Diesel45]

Originally posted by Seventh Fleet
Hey Diesel do they still make San Miguel beer in the PI. I learned to love that stuff when we spent a lot of time at Subic during the Nam. After enough San Miguels, the bbq monkey meat on sticks they sold outside the main gate at Subic Naval Base was downright good. Never got around to trying any balutes though. http://asiarecipe.com/cgi/web/webbbs_config.cgi/noframes/read/1510


7th

hey Seventh Thank you for your service!!! as far as I know it is still made there it is very popular there as my wifes brothers drink it I do not drink so did not really pay to much attention to where it was manf. Man I have eaten some strange stuff over there yea even a balute I even kept it down with some effort my wife loves those things.. I live on the boarder of Mexico and have spent a good deal of time down there I thought those people were poor until I went to the Phillipines makes me get down on my knees and thank God I was born in the USA Me and my wife were on a bus valintines day when 3 of the 4 bombs put on buses blew one failed to go off. Just lucky I guess but I allways feel I have a target stuck on me when I am there I am 6'2'' 285 lbs I stickout with blond hair and a 54'' chest I really stand out over there I have a firearm collection over there that will sadly remain there forever well I guess they are my wifes as a non citzen cannot own a gun there but when we visit my wife leaves one on my side of the bed.

Diesel45

[Seventh Fleet]

Diesel45, when I was over there in the PI, I was impressed with the people and by how they were able to survive under conditions that most Americans can't even begin to comprehend. I also felt very blessed in being born an American, especially in the Nam and all of the other third world countries I went to in the West Pac. I was talking yesterday to my best friends son, who's an Army Captain, who is home on a short leave from Iraq. He said exactly the same thing about Iraq as we're talking about here. He said most of the Iraqis that he's met are just normal everyday people trying to make it and survive through a very crappy situation. He also said most American's don't have a clue as to how good they have it and how very bad much of the rest of the world has to live. His Dad and I knew exactly how he flelt and could really relate with what he was saying, since both of us had served tours of duty in the Nam.

My oldest son joined the Navy last July and he didn't have to because he had options that I didn't have when I graduated high school back in the 1960s. We had a draft obligation hanging over our heads and he didn't. He was able to go to college right out of high school and I wasn't. He also was going to college part time while working with a computer company, so he didn't have to go...

What he told me, when he dropped the bomb on me and his mother that he'd just signed up in the Navy, made me feel like crap. He said, dad, I grew up listening to you talk about your war stories from Vietnam and I just wanted to make some of my own. I told him son, you didn't have to do this and risking your life accumulating a bunch of memories that you really might wish someday that you could forget.

His mother and I are very worried about the way things are going in the world. Because if we get into a war with Iran, they have weapons, such as the sunburn missle that can really put the hurt on our Navy and since he's an Airdale he's stationed on an aircraft carrier they will be in harms way. All we can do is keep him, his crew and our country, in our prayers and hope for the best...

7th

[Diesel45]

Originally posted by Seventh Fleet
Diesel45, when I was over there in the PI, I was impressed with the people and by how they were able to survive under conditions that most Americans can't even begin to comprehend. I also felt very blessed in being born an American, especially in the Nam and all of the other third world countries I went to in the West Pac. I was talking yesterday to my best friends son, who's an Army Captain, who is home on a short leave from Iraq. He said exactly the same thing about Iraq as we're talking about here. He said most of the Iraqis that he's met are just normal everyday people trying to make it and survive through a very crappy situation. He also said most Americana's don't have a clue as to how good they have it and how very bad much of the rest of the world has to live. His Dad and I knew exactly how he felt and could really relate with what he was saying, since both of us had served tours of duty in the Nam.

My oldest son joined the Navy last July and he didn't have to because he had options that I didn't have when I graduated high school back in the 1960s. We had a draft obligation hanging over our heads and he didn't. He was able to go to college right out of high school and I wasn't. He also was going to college part time while working with a computer company, so he didn't have to go...

What he told me, when he dropped the bomb on me and his mother that he'd just signed up in the Navy, made me feel like crap. He said, dad, I grew up listening to you talk about your war stories from Vietnam and I just wanted to make some of my own. I told him son, you didn't have to do this and risking your life accumulating a bunch of memories that you really might wish someday that you could forget.

His mother and I are very worried about the way things are going in the world. Because if we get into a war with Iran, they have weapons, such as the sunburn missle that can really put the hurt on our Navy and since he's an Airdale he's stationed on an aircraft carrier they will be in harms way. All we can do is keep him, his crew and our country, in our prayers and hope for the best...

7th

7th
I will include your son and all of the people who wear our countries uniform and place themselves in harms way for others in my prayers.
I think you are right as things heat up the world is going sideways and we are just along for the ride.
You are right until you have broken bread in another part of the world with a family who is just trying to survive you cannot understand reading about it or telling it is not living it.
The first time I ate at my now wife's home I was served a plate of rice and a fish (tilapia) was put on the table I though my wife put it there for me well how do I describe my feeling when I found out that that fish was for the whole family after I put it on my plate....well I felt like a real jackass that next day me and my wife went to the market and we bought SOME food wife thinks she has won the lottery because I asked her to marry me hell I am the lucky one to have her.You have been there you know how the girls treat there men..and for the rest of you I do not mean the bar girls If that was all I wanted Zona in Mexico is only 8 miles from my house.My wife had never had a boyfriend she was 26 years old we never went anywhere until after we were married that we were not chaparoned and I was 35 and divorced but her and her family are very traditional. We are trying to understand and adjust to each other our cultures are so different but we have fun and can laugh at ourselves so it has been good but it is different.

Stay safe , Diesel45

[Seventh Fleet]

Diesel I had quite a few good friends while I was in the service who married Asian women, primarily from the PI, while we were in the Westpac. I 've often wondered if the women that they married over there, continued to treat them as good, once they made it over here to the land of the big PX? This has now been forty years ago in a lot of cases and I've often wondered how well the marriages worked out, once the women came under the influence of their caucasian female counterparts.

7th

[STGThndr]

American Woman numbah 10, GI. Find a traditional girl to take good care of you, raise family!
Fer godsake keep her away from the "bimbo" culture of the spoiled consumerist/feminists.

[Windustsearch]

I don't really forsee a huge declination in numbers of wild game should SHITFP or whatever. People that know how to hunt mostly already do. The vast majority of our population has no clue how to hunt. Even most hunters don't know how to really hunt for food, just for sport. Sure the numbers will dwindle a bit, just enough to discourage most sport hunters from relying on it. Cattle will be extremely valuable, best way to store meat is to not kill it till you need it.

[BRONZ]

After reading this thread I think I will step up my rice store....Thanks

[olsarg]

Having lived there (orient) for many years and being an white europeon type I'll continue to stock up beans, peas, and grains because rice don't fill me or feed me. Check the stories about our POWs who starved to death on rice diets. As moma says eat rice and in a hour you are hungry again. especially the polished rice they sell here. Rice with beans is ok We keep a couple hundred pound of rice on hand but wheat and barley plus 200 pounds of rolled oats are more for our stocking, shelf life is longer than ours.

[Rifleman 7.62 NATO]

Originally posted by BRONZ
After reading this thread I think I will step up my rice store....Thanks


Me too.........:D

[Da Nerd]

I like cream of mushroom soup poured over rice or just brown gravy also.
Rice is not meant to be the SOLE food, just replace potatoes etc as it stores so well.

[Thomas]

Talking about local game. In the '30s, after the crash, my grandmother talked about how they lived on the banks of the Ohio river near Huntington, West Virginia. It was not long until deer were killed out of Southern West Virginia and were not restocked until about 1955.
She talked about how people ate every rabbit, bird and small animal until there was just nothing left.
She lived on the river and her family farmed and ran trot lines for catfish.
They had food, but no money, they got by.

[Ak_guy]

Where'd ya get the gamma lids?? I am looking for the best deal on them... :D


Originally posted by Jez Cruzen

Ordered some of the Gamma Lids talked about here. Once they arrived I cleaned out the buckets and sanitized the inside with a weak solution of .5% bleach.

[Da Nerd]

I would still use Mylar bags and oxygen absorbers for food products stored in plastic pails and gamma lids.