As yuletide draws close, a lot of people will be receiving bags of rice from their employers, friends and well wishers. You can identify if your rice is fake by carrying out any of the simple tips below:
- When moulding a few grains of rice with a mortar and pestle, if the powder gives a quite white colour, you are good to go but it has a yellow discoloration, your rice must be expired.
- You know what plastic smells like right? So, get a lighter and burn a handful of rice. If it catches fire and smells like burnt plastic, you have fake or expired rice.
- Get a glass of cold water. Pour a tablespoon of raw rice in the glass and stir. If the rice goes to the bottom, it is all good. If it floats at the top, be careful because it means it contains ‘plastic rice’. Do not eat.
- Boil the rice. Leave it in a warm place for like 2-3 days. If mould does not appear in a few days, your rice is fake and should not be consumed. It will not get mould because plastic is not affected by the weather or temperature.
- Observe the rice while boiling. If it starts forming a thick layer at the top of the pot, it is ‘plastic rice’.
- Just take some of the rice and drop into some real hot oil. If it is plastic, it will melt or stick together or stick at the bottom of the pan.
Share these tips with your friends and family so they do not end up eating expired ‘plastic rice’.
Copyright 2016 Ships & Ports Ltd. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit given to www.shipsandports.com.ng as the source.