# Is this brilliant idea I have safe? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 5, 2011, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-brilliant-idea-i-have-safe/595268 "2011-09-05T14:30:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-brilliant-idea-i-have-safe/595268/21 "2011-09-06T12:34:03Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > That’s good to know. I’ve always avoided freezing meals including rice after hearing dire stories of the dangers of reheating cooked rice There’s some really irrational nonsense abroad about reheating cooked rice. Fact is, rice just happens to be able to support the culture of a foodborne pathogen - _Bacillus cereus_. But there’s nothing very special about that - only that this is something we more commonly expect from meat and protein foods. If you treat it exactly as you would treat cooked meat - cool rapidly after cooking, then chill or freeze, there simply won’t be a problem. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-brilliant-idea-i-have-safe/595268/22 "2011-09-06T12:45:03Z")
> [@Alka\_Seltzer](#): > > If you are freezing rice, you want to be careful, it should go into the freezer as soon as it is cooled. [This link](http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/can-reheating-rice-cause-food-poisoning.aspx?CategoryID=51&SubCategoryID=215) explains why. Godamn, I never knew rice was so dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![Bamboo\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@Bamboo\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bamboo_Boy)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-brilliant-idea-i-have-safe/595268/23 "2011-09-07T10:43:15Z")
I thought I should just check in, days after reheating my frozen chili. Good news, I’m alive. Bad news, though not really bad- I chickened out of my brilliant idea and just nuked it. Although lacking in novelty, it was fine of course. But now it’s like the end of The Little Prince; never knowing the fate of the boiled ziploc…and no grown up will ever understand why that is a matter of so much importance! Or something. 🙂 BB ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-brilliant-idea-i-have-safe/595268/24 "2011-09-07T13:18:39Z")
> [@si\_blakely](#): > > Your ziplock bags are probably not thermoplastic - they will leach plasticizers into your food, and will probably not be strong enough under heat to not break/shrink/leak. Just wondering, what do you mean by “thermoplastic”? I understand it to mean “softens when heated”, as opposed to “thermoset”. A lot of plastics used are thermoplastics. ---
**Author:** ![randomface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@randomface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randomface)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-brilliant-idea-i-have-safe/595268/25 "2011-09-07T13:36:06Z")
My grandfather had a barbeque business back in the 70s and 80s. He jumped through a lot of hoops and got the licensing needed to sell in some grocery stores vacuum sealed packs of sliced brisket with sealed packages of barbecue sauce inside the bag. You would take the brisket out of the freezer, toss the whole thing in boiling water for a few minutes, open the bags and pour the sauce on. He said they only sold them for a few years but that when packaged that way they turned out tasting fresh and with minimal damage from being frozen long periods of time. I second the vacuum sealer idea. You don’t have to evacuate all the air and the bags will survive just about anything you throw at them this side of open flame. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-brilliant-idea-i-have-safe/595268/26 "2011-09-07T13:48:23Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > Just wondering, what do you mean by “thermoplastic”? I understand it to mean “softens when heated”, as opposed to “thermoset”. A lot of plastics used are thermoplastics. I should have used “thermally tolerant plastic” but was typing too fast and my brain edited the output. Polyethylene Ziploc bags are a thermoplastic, but have more plasticizers to allow cold-temperature flexibility, and thus low T[sub]g[/sub] (glass transition temp) and a low T[sub]m[/sub] (melting temp). For LDPE T[sub]m[/sub] is just above 100[sup]o[/sup]C, so it would be on the limit for boil-in-the-bag use. Better to use more suitable product with a higher T[sub]m[/sub] and less leaching. Si ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-brilliant-idea-i-have-safe/595268/27 "2011-09-07T17:07:56Z")
I tried making boil-in-the-ziploc ‘omelettes’ on a camping trip once - based on a suggestion that was widely-repeated on food blogs at the time, but obviously not widely-practised or tested. The bags disintegrated and it was a total waste of food. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-brilliant-idea-i-have-safe/595268/28 "2011-09-07T22:45:24Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I tried making boil-in-the-ziploc ‘omelettes’ on a camping trip once - based on a suggestion that was widely-repeated on food blogs at the time, but obviously not widely-practised or tested. > > The bags disintegrated and it was a total waste of food. I did this at home and they turned out great! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-brilliant-idea-i-have-safe/595268.md?page=1)