Would you eat rice that sat out for 4 hours?

[Jenn in Mo]

It's just plain jasmine rice. I boiled it for lunch and then realized I had leftovers to use up. The rice sat on the stove all afternoon, forgotten. Pitch or keep?

[newlifemom]

sure.

[abbeyej]

I wouldn't think twice about it.

[sleepy]

definitely

[Jean in Newcastle]

In Japan cooked plain rice is never refrigerated (it dries it out) - so there is no problem with it being left out.

[JoyfulMama]

Just boiled rice? Oh yeah.

[Jenn in Mo]

Great! I'm off to fix rice for supper. Thanks, y'all!

[stripe]

I do it all the time. (Cough.)

[Ria]

Without hesitation.

 

Ria

[Ria]

Just out of curiosity, would the same people who said yes about the rice eat a chicken that sat out for four hours without hesitation?

 

I would. I'm not so paranoid about stuff like that, but cooked starches have the same "danger" of growing bacteria quickly as do meats (if not more danger). I learned that in culinary school. I found it surprising. I think many people assume meat that sits out is worse than rice that sits out. But that isn't true.

 

Yep. I'd eat chicken, too. No hesitation. I wouldn't eat egg salad that sat out for 4 hours at room temp, though.

 

Ria

[katilac]

I'll eat pretty much anything that has sat out for four hours. Food has to get pretty disgusting before it motivates me to throw it out and cook AGAIN.

[Nakia]

I'll eat pretty much anything that has sat out for four hours. Food has to get pretty disgusting before it motivates me to throw it out and cook AGAIN.

 

:iagree: :D

[Jenn in Mo]

Ack! I ate with confidence, but now I'm questioning the qualifications of my advisory panel! LOL! I guess I'll know come morning.:D

[eternalknot]

In Japan cooked plain rice is never refrigerated (it dries it out) - so there is no problem with it being left out.

 

:D We used to cook it on the stove, and eat out of the pot until it was "clean" - sometimes over the course of a few days. I didn't realize this was just an Asian thing until I married a white guy who found the whole practice questionable LOL

[Doran]

It's just plain jasmine rice. I boiled it for lunch and then realized I had leftovers to use up. The rice sat on the stove all afternoon, forgotten. Pitch or keep?

 

 

I'd eat it if had sat out overnight. I know some folks would find that a risky choice, but I'm just not so easily dissuaded from food! :lol:

[keptwoman]

I'm so glad there are others out there like me! I'd eat pretty much anything that had been out for 4 hours. I'd eat most things that had been out overnight. The exception would be very hot days as we don't have aircon so it can get very hot in the house.

[StaceyinLA]

there isn't much I would hesitate to eat, even after sitting out overnight. I have left out spaghetti sauce with ground meat and just heated it good and thoroughly and served it to the whole family with no concerns that they would die of some strange illness.

 

I keep my butter out in a butter dish and use it at room temp all the time. We never refrigerate ketchup (and my mom never did when I was growing up - I have ALWAYS hated cold ketchup).

 

I think so many of the problems that resulted from leaving stuff out in the past is lack of a/c. That is just not a huge issue anymore.

 

Besides, I am not a germ-o-phobe (so much not that I am questioning if I have even SPELLED germ-o-phobe correctly, or if it is even a real word), and we are generally (with the exception of mono-infected 16yodd right now) very healthy.

[Perry]

Oh, be serious!

 

Ha Ha Ha. Stupid microbiology humor.

 

Be serious.

B. cereus.

 

Sorry. :lol:

 

B. cereus is a bacteria that causes a food borne illness sometimes known as "fried rice syndrome". Rice is often contaminated with B. cereus, which forms heat stable toxin forming spores, which germinate when rice is cooled slowly. The toxin is also heat resistant, so rewarming won't inactivate it. The spores won't germinate if the rice is refrigerated soon after cooking.

 

I don't know how long it takes to germinate, but I doubt if 4 hours is long enough. I would NOT eat rice that's been left overnight though.

 

Here's a pretty good explanation.

[Tammy]

When I cook....all my food sits out probably at least 7 or 8 hours.....and we still eat it, LOL.

[elise1mds]

I would, but I'll eat almost anything.

[secular_mom]

I KWYM, reading things like this really reinforce my phobia of eating other peoples food, and eating in other peoples homes. :ack2: ;)

[LoriM]

When I was growing up, my grandmother cooked lunch, then covered the table with a table cloth and left the food on the table (under the cloth). We just pulled the cloth away and fixed a dinner plate for later whenever we were hungry again. Food was *always* out all afternoon. Every day. Meat, veggies, whatever. And we ate the evening meal at room temp, since we didn't reheat anything. At least not often--and no microwaves. GRIN.

[secular_mom]

That's similar to the way my grandmother and aunt did things too. We only ever ate lunch with them though, when the food was freshly made. ;)

[Jean in Newcastle]

When I was growing up, my grandmother cooked lunch, then covered the table with a table cloth and left the food on the table (under the cloth). We just pulled the cloth away and fixed a dinner plate for later whenever we were hungry again. Food was *always* out all afternoon. Every day. Meat, veggies, whatever. And we ate the evening meal at room temp, since we didn't reheat anything. At least not often--and no microwaves. GRIN.

 

That's what they did when we were visiting in the Philippines. They put a mosquito net over the food to keep away flies and other bugs but then left everything out in 90 degree heat! They would supplement the left-overs with newly cooked foods. We were careful to stick to the newly cooked foods - esp. the fish and meat.

[melissel]

Four hours wouldn't bother me at all, for meat or rice. Overnight definitely would though.

[Jill]

So there are some compounds, one is acemannan which is found in aloe vera, that are beneficial compounds (to human nutrition supposedly) that yeast or something produce on food when it is left to sit for a few hours or overnight. My family and I laughed heartily over this since we come from that tradition also. Acemannan is currently used in vet medicine but my understanding is that it has not passed the snuff yet for humans, maybe the application hasn't been figured out. The best reference to it I found in a book by a qualified nutritionist but I can't make any recommends or anything; this just reinforced my lack of fear in eating rice that has sat for four hours in my 66 degree house. In the heat of summer I might be a little less inclined to leave it out.

[keptwoman]

I KWYM, reading things like this really reinforce my phobia of eating other peoples food, and eating in other peoples homes. :ack2: ;)

Ah but you see what I would eat myself and let my kids eat is quite different from what I would serve a guest. I know that I have an excellent digestive system which doesn't upset easily. I know other people don't so I would never serve food that had been sitting out to those outside of our immediate family. In fact WRT chicken; I don't even let the kids eat it when I would.

[keptwoman]

I KWYM, reading things like this really reinforce my phobia of eating other peoples food, and eating in other peoples homes. :ack2: ;)

Ah but you see what I would eat myself and let my kids eat is quite different from what I would serve a guest. I know that I have an excellent digestive system which doesn't upset easily. I know other people don't so I would never serve food that had been sitting out to those outside of our immediate family. In fact WRT chicken; I don't even let the kids eat it when I would (after 4-5 days in the fridge for example).

[Nestof3]

Yes -- it's just rice.

 

Oh, and I've never had "food poisoning."

[3littlekeets]

Rice? You bet. Heck, in College, I'd order a pizza (cheese and pepperoni) for dinner and eat the rest for breakfast and lunch the next day. Never got sick---couldn't be worse than dorm food :lol::confused::lol:

[Jenn in Mo]

Thanks, y'all. We ate and lived. Perhaps I need to relax a bit with my food phobias.

[LaMere Academy]

Yes

[HS mom]

Well, I checked in to see how you were feeling. ;)

 

I'm careful about food preparation and storage. I try to have everything served up and leftovers refrigerated within 20- 25 minutes after cooking.

[unsinkable]

Well, I checked in to see how you were feeling. ;)

 

I'm careful about food preparation and storage. I try to have everything served up and leftovers refrigerated within 20- 25 minutes after cooking.

 

Our meals take longer to eat than 20 minutes.

 

There is no way this could happen in my house if we want an enjoyable meal.