Rice is a natural convenience food. According to the USA Rice Council, uncooked white rice can be stored on a shelf indefinitely and is ready to use with no washing, peeling, or chopping. Once opened, rice should be stored in an airtight container. Cooked rice may be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to one week or in a freezer for six months.
Folks around the Pacific always rinse their rice before cooking just as you would rinse any fresh produce. Fresh milled rice kernels are alive. They breathe and give off gasses. That's why fresh-milled rice is packed in bags that are not air tight. Once a package is opened, the rice is stored in an air-tight container. The daily opening and closing at cooking time allows adequate ventilation. The closed air-tight container keeps other critters out.
In temperate and tropical climates rice does not store indefinitely. Most folks don't like to see rice sit on a shelf for more than a couple of months. Bugs and rodents love the taste of uncooked, dried rice. If it sits any longer, folks say it can "get buggy."
