That cheap bulk rice lesson I needed to learn

I used to buy the biggest 20 pound bag of rice at the grocery store thinking I was saving money. It was $12 and seemed like a steal. But after 3 weeks it started smelling a little musty and I ended up throwing half of it away. My neighbor pointed out that I don't actually cook rice 5 times a week and a smaller 5 pound bag would last me fine. Now I spend $4 on a smaller bag and don't waste anything. Has anyone else overbought bulk items and regretted it?

3 comments

3 Comments

king.robin28d ago

Nah I gotta disagree here. The big bags are still the way to go if you just store them right. I buy the 20 pounders all the time and they last me like 4 months easy because I throw them in a big airtight container with a bay leaf in it. Bugs hate bay leaves for some reason. Works like a charm and I save way more than if I was buying little bags every other week.

clark.alex28d ago

Freezing rice is the move nobody talks about. A lot of people don't know you can stash it in the freezer for months without it going bad. I toss my bulk bag straight into the deep freeze and just scoop out what I need each time. Keeps it from going stale or getting bugs in it.

price.gavin28d ago

Dude have you ever had those little grain moths show up in a big bag of rice? I learned that lesson the hard way too. I remember buying a 25 pound bag of jasmine rice and it just took forever to get through. By month two I was finding little webbing inside and had to trash it. @clark.alex is totally right about the freezer trick though I tried it with my last bag and it kept the rice fresh for almost half a year. Now I just buy the 5 pound bags and toss one in the freezer right when I get home.