How to Store Short Grain Brown Rice After It Is Cooked

Store cooked brown rice in the refrigerator or freezer.

Brown rice is available in long, medium and short grains. Short-grain brown rice is rounder than the others. When cooked, it tends to stick together, so it is excellent for use in rice pudding and rice balls. In general, brown rice takes twice as long to cook as white rice. After cooking brown rice, you can store it in the refrigerator or freezer.

Things You'll Need

• Shallow container
• Plastic wrap
• Ice cube trays

Instructions

1. Put leftover short-grain brown rice in a sealable shallow container, filling it to near the rim. Or, use a plastic food-storage bag, and squeeze the air out before sealing. You can also make a ball with the rice and wrap it in several layers of plastic wrap. If storing the rice in the freezer, use storage products safe for the freezer.

2. Place the rice to the refrigerator soon after cooking. It can cool in the fridge. Do not leave cooked brown rice out at room temperature for more than two hours.

3. Store short-grain brown rice in the refrigerator for up to seven days. When you reheat it, it will need a little bit of water added, or else it will be too dry. Or, leftover rice makes excellent fried rice.

4. Store brown rice in the freezer after it has cooled in the refrigerator. In the freezer, it will keep for about six months. It's best to freeze rice in small packages good for one meal. It will thaw quicker, and you'll waste less.

References

• USA Rice Federation: Brown Rice
• University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Now You're Cooking with Brown Rice; Anne Henneman
• Food Reference: Rice- Brown Rice
• The Cook's Thesaurus: Rice
• Bob's Red Mill: Short Grain Brown Rice