# How Long Does Cooked Rice Last?  (Need Answer Fast)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-cooked-rice-last-need-answer-fast/663605>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [July 15, 2013, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-cooked-rice-last-need-answer-fast/663605 "2013-07-15T22:40:23Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\
**Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-cooked-rice-last-need-answer-fast/663605/21 "2013-07-23T00:38:14Z")

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I have found the smell test to be quite reliable, and will eat anything that  
does not smell bad.

Normally rice lasts ~48 hr from when cooked at room temperature for me.  
I never refrigerate it because that makes it way too chewy.

However, I have found that most _raw_ vegetables last last a week to 10 days  
if each item is individually wrapped and stored in the lowest section of the  
refrigerator. I do not know if that applies to cooked vegetables, which I never  
keep for more than about two days.

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**Author:** ![emacknight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ec8ea/32.png) [@emacknight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emacknight)\
**Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-cooked-rice-last-need-answer-fast/663605/22 "2013-07-23T01:30:35Z")

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> [@sylmar](#):
>
> I did mention water activity associated with cooked rice is on the lower side of the scale…
> 
> [If a product is kept below a certain water activity, then mold growth is inhibited. This results in a longer shelf-life.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_activity)
> 
> Of course, since the original posting was in March, I’d definitely take a pass on the rice now.

Do you normally cook your rice that dry?

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**Author:** ![sylmar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@sylmar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sylmar)\
**Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-cooked-rice-last-need-answer-fast/663605/23 "2013-07-23T09:31:02Z")

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Nope. There’s a difference between water activity and “dry”. Something can have low water activity and still contain a lot of moisture.

Once you refrigerate rice, the starch molecules set up. So while it still contains a good amount of water, it’s not readily available to support microbial (or fungal) growth.

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