Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Beyond the Basics ~ Beans and Rice

Once you feel like you have gotten started on this journey, it won't be long before you begin to wonder - okay, what else should I be storing?  Some of the easiest staples to store in bulk are beans and rice, and with these come a wide variety.  What kind of beans does your family like?  For us it would be black turtle beans, pinto beans, and small red beans.  I also have on hand some kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and lentils.  While we are here let me just tell you that you want to be sure and store beans that your family will EAT.  Frankly, my gang does not care much for kidney beans, for that matter neither do I.  We may store those kidney beans for a long time yet :).  You get the point!!

This is a good place to tell you also that brown rice does not store as long as white rice.  Brown rice has more nutritional value because all that has been removed from it is the outer hull.  Brown rice still has the germ and bran, so consequently it can spoil faster.  We try not to store brown rice in our home for more than 6 months.  After that time it has a tendency to take on a rancid smell.  White rice, on the other hand, can be stored for a LONG time.  White rice usually has the bran and germ removed as well as being polished, so that its nutritional value plummets.  Although white rice has little nutritional value, I do store it in case of emergency.  I prefer to use brown rice, but I have been known to use white rice when I am pinched for time ;D !

For a great article on the benefits of brown rice visit World's Healthiest Foods.

For a great article on the many different varieties of rice visit The Rice Gourmet.

I would also like to mention a few of the books that I have on cooking with beans and bulk storage:














Have fun exploring all your options!!!

No comments:

Post a Comment