Has it happened to you to open your bag of rice and see in disbelief that your rice has lice or worms? You have definitely not forgotten the bitter experience of this issue and are looking for a suitable solution to properly store your rice bags this time. Stay with us to know how you can prevent this from happening or at least postpone it.
1- Be careful when buying rice
When buying rice, take a handful of rice and check closely that there are no pests such as weevils or worms inside the rice.
2- Store rice in a dry and cool place
Make sure the place of the rice is dry and cool. Moisture and heat cause rice to spoil. Most people store their rice in a warehouse, which is usually a warm place, so make sure that if you are going to store your rice in a warehouse, it has good ventilation.
The suitable temperature for storing rice is 4 degrees Celsius and below, in this case it is possible to store it for years. Note that the lower the storage temperature, the higher the aroma, nutritional value and freshness of the rice will be maintained.
In hot and humid areas, raw rice can be stored in the refrigerator. For this purpose, you must use containers whose lids are completely closed, so that moisture does not enter the container.
3- Separation of old rice from fresh rice
The possibility of growth of weevil in old rice is several times higher than that of fresh rice. Old rice is called rice that is for the last crop year or older, and fresh rice is called rice that is for the last crop year. Every year, rice is harvested in the middle of summer and a new crop year begins.
It is better to know that the possibility of insects growing in old rice is higher than in fresh rice, and for this reason, it is better to prepare fresh rice that is for the last crop year.
4. Washing and disinfecting the rice storage area
Rice storage areas should be washed every year and if any insects are observed, they should be sprayed with insecticide and disinfected. Of course, the warehouse should not be used for one to two days after spraying, and after that it should be washed and disinfected again. With this, you can safely store your rice for up to a year by following the above tips.
5- Creating a distance between the rice bag and the ground and the wall
Create a distance between the rice bags and the floor and the wall. This prevents the penetration of moisture from the wall and the ground into the rice bags. To keep rice bags safe from cockroaches, mice and other insects, place them on a shelf or somewhere higher than the ground.
Rice should be placed in a shelf that is about 20 cm away from the ground so that the air flows in it. You should not lean the rice bag against the wall, under this way, air will not flow in it.
Do not pile many sacks of rice on top of each other, as the resulting heat will cause insects to grow.
Rice sacks should be placed on plastic pallets.
Do not put rice in a humid place in the kitchen or in the rooms where the bathroom door is located.
6- Store rice in a suitable container
In general, rice can be stored in cloth bags, opaque glass or plastic containers, and double-walled metal containers (metal outer layer, plastic inner layer), among which storing rice in cotton sacks is better than others.
It is better to use cotton bags for a large amount of rice; Because these bags, unlike plastic bags and containers, cause the moisture of the rice to go out and increase its lifespan, but glass, plastic or metal containers can be used for a small amount of rice.
Note 1: If we want to use glass or plastic containers to store rice, these containers must be dry; Otherwise, they will spoil the rice in a short period of time.
Note 2: Frosted glass containers are more suitable than plastic containers for storing rice; Because if rice is stored in plastic containers, the taste and smell of rice may change under the influence of plastic and the rice loses its quality, but the taste and aroma of rice does not change in glass containers.
Note 3: The places where rice is stored should be washed and disinfected with insecticide every year. It is recommended that you should not use the storage for one to two days after spraying.
The techniques of cooking an excellent rice
7- Prevention of worm corrosion of rice
You have probably seen worm-eaten rice up close. To prevent pests or rice weevils, it is better to put one or two of the following items in the rice container or bag from the beginning.
- Garlic cloves
- Put the dry mint in the container with a cloth or a thin cover.
- Hot and dry pepper repels lice, so you can put chili in a cloth or a thin cover and put it in a rice dish.
- Cloves
- Like nails or rebar
- Matchbox: It is interesting to know that bedbugs are actually fugitive from sulfur and for this reason the use of sulfur can repel them. For this purpose, you can put a match box inside the rice container, which will make the insects escape and thus prevent rice from being eaten by worms.
- Walnut leaf
- Walnut shell
- Neem leaves: In general, the best ways to get rid of rice weevils are neem leaves and neem leaves, which you can put in the rice container to keep the insects away.
- Ginger
- Turmeric
8- Keeping rice in a place away from sunlight
Do not expose the rice to sunlight because it causes the rice to become infected. Direct sunlight also causes rice grains to crumble.
Rice sacks should not be exposed to the direct wind of the cooler, because the wind will cause the rice grains to be eaten during cooking.
9- Buying well-dried rice
The main cause of rice blight is that, they do not place enough rice in the dryer to remove its moisture. Rice should be in the dryer for about 60 hours, but during the harvest season, some factories put rice in the dryer for 30 to 40 hours due to the large volume of work, and this causes the rice to get damaged sooner. At Akam Pro, we ensure that the rice we supply is sufficiently dried so that it does not develop early weevils.
10- Using an oxygen absorber in a rice bag
One of the main causes of food spoilage is due to oxygen in the air, which creates a suitable environment for pests to grow. To deal with this case, you can use an oxygen absorber and by placing an oxygen absorber in a bag of rice or packing other food items, they can be prevented from getting spoiled.