heating it up to the gelation temperature again Rice is easily softened by reheating to 160ºF/70ºC or above, either with a little added water in a pot or in the microwave oven, or fried to make fried rice, rice cakes, or croquettes Keeping Rice Safe Cooked rice turns out to be a potential source of food poisoning Raw rice almost always carries dormant spores of the bacterium Bacillus cereus, which produces powerful gastrointestinal toxins The spores can tolerate high temperatures, and some survive cooking If cooked rice is left for a few hours at room temperature, the spores germinate, bacteria multiply, and toxins accumulate Ordinary cooked rice should therefore be served promptly, and leftovers refrigerated to prevent bacterial growth The rice in Japanese sushi is served at room temperature, but the surface of its cooked grains are coated with a flavorful and antimicrobial mixture of rice vinegar and sugar Rice salads should be similarly acidified with vinegar, lemon or lime juice Some Other Rice Preparations and Products Cultures across the world have found many different inventive uses for rice Here is a brief sampling Rice Flour Rice flour is notable for being around 90% starch, and for having the smallest starch granules of the major cereals, a half to a quarter the size of wheat starch granules When used to thicken sauces or fillings, it provides an especially fine texture And thanks to its low protein content, the dry flour absorbs relatively little water This means that when it’s used to make a frying batter for Japanese tempura, rice flour gives a thin consistency with relatively little water, and so the batter readily fries to a crisp, dry texture Because rice flour contains no elastic ...antimicrobial mixture of rice vinegar and sugar Rice salads should be similarly acidified with vinegar, lemon or lime juice Some Other Rice Preparations and Products Cultures across the world have found... Rice flour is notable for being around 90% starch, and for having the smallest starch granules of the major cereals, a half to a quarter the size of wheat starch granules When used to thicken sauces... fillings, it provides an especially fine texture And thanks to its low protein content, the dry flour absorbs relatively little water This means that when it’s used to make a frying batter for Japanese tempura, rice flour gives a thin consistency