[Tara D]

Somehow, I've managed to collect a lot of bags of rice over the last few years. I've eaten relatively little of it until the last few months. Now I eat rice pretty much every day. I've now gotten to my older bags, and I'm really not sure exactly how long I've had them around. They look okay. Any idea of whether rice can actually expire? I hate to throw it away since I have so much!

[kaplods]

As long as it's been kept dry and reasonably cool and looks and smells ok, it should be fine. I know I've used dry grains (rice and tapioca) that were at least a couple years old. And my grandmother used the same box of instant tapioca for YEARS (using about a tablespoon or two every year).

Colleen

[Suzanne 3FC]

Brown rice can go bad quicker than white rice since the outer bran contains a small amount of oils that can oxidize and go rancid. Brown rice has a shelf life of about 6 months, though some sources recommend eating it within one or two months. You can extend the life by storing it in the fridge or freezer.

[Tara D]

The rice I have is white jasmine rice.

[kaplods]

That's good to know about brown rice though, because I've been buying and cooking brown rice more often, and I've been storing it in the cabinet in a ziploc bag, like I do white rice. I know I have some in the cabinet that's about three months old, looks like I should pop it in the freezer.

I've only had one experience with rancid oil (macadamia nut oil that a friend had given me because she didn't like it. I'd bought it before and liked it). When I went to use it in a salad dressing, I knew it had gone bad from the smell. It wasn't terrible like bad veggies or meat, but it smelled wrong enough that I knew I didn't want to eat it.