Basmati rice

[Jenise]

So I got up this morning thinking I'd try to buy basmati rice on line. I haven't owned any basmati in a long time because I haven't liked any I've purchased. That wonderful popcorn aroma I used to love? Not there any more it seems, and the last package I bought at Trader Joe's tasted like dirt. Threw it away.

So I looked at Amazon and wow, lots and lots of sources, some quite cheap too. Two year aged 10 lb bag for like $25, free shipping. I avoided any that looked like burlap bag packaging because I'm concerned about weevils. Anyway, turns out a lot that look like burlap are plastic-lined so that should be okay, right?

WRONG. Horribly, horribly wrong. Reading thru reviews? Bugs bugs and more bugs. The bugs eat through the plastic. Even those that look like safe modern packaging had bugs. Sometimes the bugs were there immediately upon opening. But quite a few read something like, "Bought this a few months ago, divided the contents between two containers. Been using them for several months and then realized OMG there are bugs in it." And lots of complaints about chemical flavors--ostensibly something that's applied to kill the bugs.

I feel absolutely sick after reading all that. Read reviews of maybe ten different products and every single one had bug problems, so I'm done. May never eat basmati again.

I call those tiny weevils "shelf life". I had a very bad infestation years ago that came from a package of rice flour I bought in Boston's Chinatown. I've never had problems with bugs in the basmati rice I've bought at the local Indian grocery. But I don't use basmati rice much (my go-to rice is Thai jasmine rice, and I use Ben's Original for Cajun dishes) and it's been a while since I bought any. I ended up putting all of my sugar and starch products in mason jars, so that if shelf life does invade again it won't be able to spread very far.

If you've ever buy toor dal at an Indian grocery, you'll notice it's sold both plain and covered in vegetable oil. The oil is the traditional way to prevent infestation, which toor dal apparently is very prone to.

-Paul W.

Jenise, that is one yucky story. I actually have basmati envy of a particular Afghani restaurant downtown: their basmati is the longest, firmest, most fragrant I have ever had. And I have never seen anything like it on sale here.

[Jenise]

Jenise, that is one yucky story. I actually have basmati envy of a particular Afghani restaurant downtown: their basmati is the longest, firmest, most fragrant I have ever had. And I have never seen anything like it on sale here.

I get you. I have had basmati envy since a certain Indian restaurant experience about two years ago, which was reborn as I transited from the front of Bill Spohn's local Stong's market to the back via the rice aisle and saw "extra long grain" basmati rice for sale. Only the fact that I can't take non-Chinese rice across the border (learned the hard way when I had a 10 pound bag of 3 year aged taken from me at said border a few years ago) stopped me from buying some. I have never seen "extra long" at retail before, and apparently it's a thing as there are many many of them being vended on Amazon, some even not stopping at 'extra long' but some trying to stand out as "extremely lengthy".

Before I got sick to my stomach, it was interesting to note in the reviews how many complaints there were about dirty flavors and lack of flavor in some of the rices. It was really clear, beyond the bug problem, that in flavor and fragrance all basmati is not created equal. Naive perhaps, but I honestly thought I was the only person who thought so.

If you have a Costco near you, they sell basmati rice, and I'm sure you'd get a quick refund if there were any bugs. Some people mix in some diatomaceous earth (human harmless) or store it in the freezer to deter weevils.

I get you. I have had basmati envy since a certain Indian restaurant experience about two years ago, which was reborn as I transited from the front of Bill Spohn's local Stong's market to the back via the rice aisle and saw "extra long grain" basmati rice for sale.

Well, I live in Da Big City so maybe I can find a store with better quality product... now that I know to ask for "extra long" grain.

Before I got sick to my stomach, it was interesting to note in the reviews how many complaints there were about dirty flavors and lack of flavor in some of the rices. It was really clear, beyond the bug problem, that in flavor and fragrance all basmati is not created equal.

I keep Texmati or Jasmati rice in the house but hanker for the real deal. Um, sans weevils. (You know my kitchen: ain't no room for 10# of anything, anyway.)

Interesting. I buy basmati rice from an Indian grocer that has lots of nice products but is not necessarily what I would consider 'high end'. Still, more delicious than what I could get at WF or TJ. And I've never had problems with bugs. Maybe because it's a small store it has more turnover.

Or, there's also the issue with online reviews only being written by people with (rare) problems. So the thousands of people who don't have bugs are not represented. Always tough to evaluate/weigh the 'information' in our modern world!

Googling "extra long basmati rice" turns up several online sources.

Rahsaan has a good point concerning online reviews. It can also be tricky to pinpoint the source of "shelf life" problems. Just because you first notice the infestation in a bag of basmati rice doesn't mean it is the source of the problem.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Interesting. I buy basmati rice from an Indian grocer that has lots of nice products but is not necessarily what I would consider 'high end'. Still, more delicious than what I could get at WF or TJ. And I've never had problems with bugs. Maybe because it's a small store it has more turnover.

Or, there's also the issue with online reviews only being written by people with (rare) problems. So the thousands of people who don't have bugs are not represented. Always tough to evaluate/weigh the 'information' in our modern world!

Until I moved up here that's how I bought basmati too, not at regular grocers but little Middle Eastern and Indian neighborhood stores which Vancouver is full of, like where I bought the rice that got confiscated at the border.

Understood re online reviews, but I'm not sure that applies here. My point is how pervasive the issue is--every single rice I clicked on had bug reviews, multiples of them, and bottom line I couldn't find a rice I felt comfortable purchasing.

[Jenise]

Rahsaan has a good point concerning online reviews. It can also be tricky to pinpoint the source of "shelf life" problems. Just because you first notice the infestation in a bag of basmati rice doesn't mean it is the source of the problem.

-Paul W.

True. But there were enough reviews where the bugs were there upon initial opening, or the bugs developed inside containers that the rices were transferred to upon receipt. I transfer all things like rice to sealed containers immediately, as I know you do. If we have a problem, we know the source. And I read a lot of reviews from people like us.

I call those tiny weevils "shelf life". I had a very bad infestation years ago that came from a package of rice flour I bought in Boston's Chinatown. I've never had problems with bugs in the basmati rice I've bought at the local Indian grocery. But I don't use basmati rice much (my go-to rice is Thai jasmine rice, and I use Ben's Original for Cajun dishes) and it's been a while since I bought any. I ended up putting all of my sugar and starch products in mason jars, so that if shelf life does invade again it won't be able to spread very far. -Paul W.

Some years ago I had a bad infestation of weevils, so bad I had to throw out 50-60 lbs of flours, rice, etc. It didn't matter what kind of container products were in, bags, jars, whatever. I finally discovered the source was a container of rice flour I purchased from a Chinese market. It took a very long time to eradicate them.

Then a few years ago I got pantry months, which took me 2+ years to eliminate. I swear pantry moths can infiltrate hermetically sealed cans. Did you know they even like chocolate? Or hot chiles? An unseen bag of dog food was their last hangout. For a couple of years later, I would occasionally see one flutter by. I would immediately jump up and try to smash it (not an easy job). So far, no bugs. Knock on wood.

Note: Check your ceiling and wall intersection. If you see a little tan wormlike pupa nestling in that 90-degree angle, you've got pantry moths. Or if you see a tiny hole in a product, like a sealed cheese mac & cheese packet, ditto.

As you know, a certain amount of insect debris and other is allowed in foodstuffs. See https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/04/health/insect-rodent-filth-in-food-wellness/index.html and click on the link inside for FDA requirements.

[Jenise]

Infestations like that are miserable, Larry. A roommate and I went through that once (I moved in later, the problem was already there) and threw away everything that wasn't in a can. That's when I went to clamp-down glass jars with rubber gaskets, and I've not had any problems since.

Quite a long time ago now, I found an unopened plastic package of pearl barley in the back of the pantry, which had a mighty lot of weevils in it. The weevils were all dead. I suppose that indicates how long that package had lain there in the dark: the weevil eggs had hatched out and the weevils had grown and died - presumably suffocated - inside the sealed plastic bag.

I took the thing back to the place I'd bought it - a well known bulk-supply dealer in town. The manager was sympathetic, to an extent, but he said it was likely any or all grains or pulses would have weevil eggs on them, and it's in everyone's interest for the products to be given a good washing before cooking. The bugs had the time to hatch and die because the package had lain unopened for a long time - well past the use-by date. The eggs were on the product at the time it was packaged up.

I had the weevils crawl into a salt shaker that I rarely use and die there. I discovered this the hard way when I next used the salt shaker. :

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Matilda, you were lucky they suffocated in the bag instead of working their way out and into other things.

And wouldn't you know it, here we are having this conversation and I went to make a big bowl of popcorn for snacking while the watching Pebble Beach Pro-Am. I keep popcorn in the same gasket-stoppered glass jars I keep all dry goods in. And when I opened the lid? Moths and wisps of silky webbing. All dead. But still, GROSS. And where did I buy this popcorn? Out of the bulk bins at my local Food Co-op, maybe six months ago. I don't mind the waste so much as I mind the fact that I am now going to be ultra suspicious of everything in the bulk bins there, a source I've enjoyed. Back to old Orville R's for me!

All this talk of basmati rice made me cook some Indian basmati rice (in a plastic bag in a cloth bag without weevils) to accompany Edie's leftover sweet and sour chicken.

If you buy Thai basmati rice look for the TTM government seal, which promises highest quality.

I haven't had any issues since I tranferred everything over to glass jars with the rubber seals. Hate bugs.

[Jenise]

Karen, one shouldn't have any ongoing issues with glass jars. And if you unwittingly bring the bugs home like I did with that popcorn, the issue's contained.