Sources

Rice, as a bulk commodity, is readily available pre-packaged in buckets and cans for long-term storage from vendors like Emergency Essentials.

If you have ever re-packaged a lot of bulk food at once for long-term storage, you know how long it takes to do it right, so we consider it a bargain to pay a small premium up front to not have to deal with repackaging it ourselves.

Some vendors also sell rice vacuum packed in mylar bags, which can be placed straight into your rigid storage buckets with no further preparation.

Good local sources for bulk rice include warehouse stores like Costco, and Asian grocery stores, which are typically the only local source for sticky rice.

Amazon is another potential source for exotic and specialized varieties.

Storage Tips

Stored properly, rice lasts 25-30 years. Depending on how you package it for storage, rice may slowly lose residual moisture over time, requiring more water and/or longer cooking times. Also, aromatic varieties may lose their unique flavor after a few years.

If you cook even semi-regularly with your rice (which is the whole point of this course), there is no reason you can’t rotate and completely replace even a large stockpile over 1-3 years.

While it is easy to obtain rice pre-packaged for long-term storage from vendors like Emergency Essentials, those looking for specialized varieties will most likely end up with rice in sacks made of paper or polypropylene. Since these sacks do nothing to protect the rice from oxygen, humidity, or vermin, we strongly recommend re-packaging rice obtained this way in sealed mylar bags inside rigid plastic buckets, as per the detailed directions given in the “How to Store Food” chapter.

As a convenient compromise for medium-term storage, smaller sacks can be placed straight into a 5-gallon bucket with an oxygen absorber. If you do this, inspect the rubber sealing ring in the bucket lid, and ensure that you pound the lid down fully. Store the bucket in a cool, dry place with a steady temperature. Rice stored this way should last 1-2 years without issues