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Scientists have discovered a simple way to cook rice that dramatically cuts the calories

Posts: 1,066 Member
edited November 2024 in Food and Nutrition
Firstly, here is the article.

Secondly, my step-dad sent this to me as an interesting read. It was published yesterday March 25, 2015 by the Washington Post. This post is just for thought provoking discussion.

Thirdly, my take on it. This is really an interesting concept. I don't understand the chemistry behind it all that much, however if this is true I think that it could be an interesting way to cut calories. I am concerned about the amount of calories added to the rice by the coconut oil and if it is more than the calories cut from the rice.

Fourthly, pertinent excerpts (denoted by ellipses).
An undergraduate student at the College of Chemical Sciences in Sri Lanka and his mentor have been tinkering with a new way to cook rice that can reduce its calories by as much as 50 percent and even offer a few other added health benefits...

Some, [starches] known as digestible starches, take only a little time to digest, are quickly turned into glucose, and then later glycogen. Excess glycogen ends up adding to the size of our guts if we don't expend enough energy to burn it off. Other starches, meanwhile, called resistant starches, take a long time for the body to process, aren't converted into glucose or glycogen because we lack the ability to digest them, and add up to less calories...

What they found is that by adding a lipid ...ahead of cooking the rice, and then cooling the rice immediately after it was done, they were able to drastically change its composition—and for the better...

So far they have only measured the chemical outcome of the most effective cooking method for the least healthful of the 38 varieties. But that variety still produced a 10 to 12 percent reduction in calories. "With the better kind, we expect to reduce the calories by as much as 50 to 60 percent," said James.

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Replies

  • Posts: 8,646 Member
    the logic in adding oil to reduce calories doesn't seem right no matter how it's explained.
  • Posts: 8,646 Member
    herrspoons wrote: »
    So, just to be clear, you need to cook it and then chill it for 12 hours before then reheating it again? A practice that isn't recommended because of the possibility of bacterial contamination.

    And for this you get a 50%... oh wait, hang on: they've only shown a 10-12% reduction, which may or may not be significant, in a cup of rice which is... err... about 200 calories.

    So you save 20 calories at the risk of botulism. Awesome.

    I mean, WHAT THE ACTUAL F**K?

    I think the calorie difference is from the work done preparing it...
  • Posts: 3,049 Member
    herrspoons wrote: »
    So, just to be clear, you need to cook it and then chill it for 12 hours before then reheating it again? A practice that isn't recommended because of the possibility of bacterial contamination.

    So you save 20 calories at the risk of botulism.
    I cook a huge pot, keep it in the fridge for a week
    Reheat as I want

    No dead here.
  • Posts: 26,368 Member
    Even if it's true, reheated rice just doesn't taste the same...

  • Posts: 3,049 Member
    herrspoons wrote: »

    http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/can-reheating-rice-cause-food-poisoning.aspx?CategoryID=51

    I'm sorry. You're a dead man walking. :)
    If the rice is left standing at room temperature, the spores can grow into bacteria. These bacteria will multiply and may produce toxins (poisons) that cause vomiting or diarrhoea.

    The longer cooked rice is left at room temperature, the more likely it is that the bacteria or toxins could make the rice unsafe to eat.

    All based on room temp! Sooooooo heat to fridge, I am goooooooooood.
  • Posts: 10,606 Member
    That's his rice bowl.
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Even if it's true, reheated rice just doesn't taste the same...
    Hey, that's his rice bowl. :)

  • Posts: 1,564 Member
    jkwolly wrote: »
    I cook a huge pot, keep it in the fridge for a week
    Reheat as I want

    No dead here.
    Ditto.

    And Botulism is anaerobic, so it doesn't grow in the presence of oxygen, which is in the refrigerator.

  • Posts: 1,066 Member
    So basically no one here is impressed.

    Personally I agree with:
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Even if it's true, reheated rice just doesn't taste the same...

    I was interested to see if anyone thought this would be a practical practice, which does not seem to be anyone.

    I would like to someday see the actual science more thoroughly explained someday. I think this has the potential to lead to fad diets.
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  • Posts: 10,606 Member
    I love fried rice and make it regularly and not dead or dying yet, weird I know.
  • Posts: 6,212 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »
    Or we could do some jumping jacks instead.

    images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS82llO6UelX9X4YGehlG9yUFJ608Vt_kRxeb_XAYWo-cx0YD-9
  • Posts: 16,049 Member
    I do that with pasta, as I've read the same thing as stated with the rice. I cook it in the morning, whack it in the fridge and reheat that night.
  • Posts: 16,049 Member
    herrspoons wrote: »
    You're all going to die.

    Totes srs.

    OMG I'll let you know if it happens :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

  • Posts: 8,646 Member

    OMG I'll let you know if it happens :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

    If? Are you a god or something?
  • Posts: 6,592 Member
    I love fried rice and make it regularly and not dead or dying yet, weird I know.

    I was thinking of this as I scanned the article. To make fried rice, you need to refrigerate the rice after cooking to get it to behave properly and fry up nicely. Obviously, some sort of change is happening from the simple act of refrigerating it for awhile. It's not that big of a stretch to believe that that change is also causing the rice to be less digestible and therefore have less available calories.

    That said, I'm not a big fan of the texture of fried-then-refrigerated rice, unless I'm turning it into fried rice. Saving 20 or 30 calories isn't enough of a factor to make me eat it that way.
  • Posts: 16,049 Member
    _John_ wrote: »

    If? Are you a god or something?

    I was trying to make a funny. I meant "if" i die from eating reheated rice and pasta ;)

  • Posts: 10,606 Member
    SueInAz wrote: »

    I was thinking of this as I scanned the article. To make fried rice, you need to refrigerate the rice after cooking to get it to behave properly and fry up nicely. Obviously, some sort of change is happening from the simple act of refrigerating it for awhile. It's not that big of a stretch to believe that that change is also causing the rice to be less digestible and therefore have less available calories.

    That said, I'm not a big fan of the texture of fried-then-refrigerated rice, unless I'm turning it into fried rice. Saving 20 or 30 calories isn't enough of a factor to make me eat it that way.
    I was addressing everyone is going to die because killer bacteria lurks in rice that is not handled properly. But yeah, the hoopla about resistant starch is somewhat interesting, but I'll defer that to people that know more about it. Personally I'm not going to mess around with foods to save a few calories, but I personally like the variety and taste I get from stir frying left over rice.

  • Posts: 8,626 Member
    jkwolly wrote: »
    I cook a huge pot, keep it in the fridge for a week
    Reheat as I want

    No dead here.

    my husband is japanese and reheats rice all the time. still alive, too! LOL

    but the logic in the calorie reduction is some kind of bizarre......... :/
  • Posts: 5,235 Member
    edited March 2015
    spoons you make me laugh by saying the things I want to say, but dont.
    Yes. You can get food poisoning from eating reheated rice. However, it's not the reheating that causes the problem but the way the rice has been stored before it was reheated.
    How does reheated rice cause food poisoning?

    Uncooked rice can contain spores of Bacillus cereus, a bacterium that can cause food poisoning. When the rice is cooked, the spores can survive.

    If the rice is left standing at room temperature, the spores can grow into bacteria. These bacteria will multiply and may produce toxins (poisons) that cause vomiting or diarrhoea.

    The longer cooked rice is left at room temperature, the more likely it is that the bacteria or toxins could make the rice unsafe to eat.
    Symptoms of food poisoning

    If you eat rice that contains Bacillus cereus bacteria you may be sick and experience vomiting or diarrhoea about 1-5 hours afterwards. Symptoms are relatively mild and usually last about 24 hours.
    Tips on serving rice safely

    ideally, serve rice as soon as it has been cooked
    if that isn't possible, cool the rice as quickly as possible (ideally within one hour)
    keep rice in the fridge for no more than one day until reheating
    when you reheat any rice, always check that the dish is steaming hot all the way through
    do not reheat rice more than once

    Ps 50% would be good, but as it wont be in time for my diet im less bothered. I used to eat mahoosive plates of fried rice, but have pretty much abandoned rice as a staple these days as its quite calorific imo.

    If they did work out a way that would be handy.
  • Posts: 5,235 Member
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Even if it's true, reheated rice just doesn't taste the same...

    Reheated fried rice or more accurately fried rice made from pre cooked rie that has cooled down over night is superior.
  • Posts: 1,159 Member
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  • Posts: 3,198 Member
    herrspoons wrote: »
    So, just to be clear, you need to cook it and then chill it for 12 hours before then reheating it again? A practice that isn't recommended because of the possibility of bacterial contamination.

    And for this you get a 50%... oh wait, hang on: they've only shown a 10-12% reduction, which may or may not be significant, in a cup of rice which is... err... about 200 calories.

    So you save 20 calories at the risk of botulism. Awesome.

    I mean, WHAT THE ACTUAL F**K?

    Botulism? really?
    Dafuq?
    ph2.gif

  • Posts: 3,198 Member
    herrspoons wrote: »
    You're all going to die.

    Totes srs.

    http://youtu.be/Pv45h3xmZwE
  • Posts: 10,330 Member
    herrspoons wrote: »
    So, just to be clear, you need to cook it and then chill it for 12 hours before then reheating it again? A practice that isn't recommended because of the possibility of bacterial contamination.

    And for this you get a 50%... oh wait, hang on: they've only shown a 10-12% reduction, which may or may not be significant, in a cup of rice which is... err... about 200 calories.

    So you save 20 calories at the risk of botulism. Awesome.

    I mean, WHAT THE ACTUAL F**K?

    Botulism? Isn't that a low oxygen bacteria that can be easily killed off with proper;y reheating?
  • Posts: 49 Member
    I want to try this with donuts.
  • Posts: 319 Member
    A cup of cooked rice has a whopping 200 calories. That means if you if eat a cup at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you'll have consumed 600 calories. And this is a huge problem? For comparison, a single cinnabon has 880 calories.
    Ahh... so clearly rice is the problem with the western diet. Right.
  • Posts: 2,486 Member
    It would be simpler to just eat a bit less rice.
  • Posts: 8,911 Member
    jddnw wrote: »
    A cup of cooked rice has a whopping 200 calories. That means if you if eat a cup at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you'll have consumed 600 calories. And this is a huge problem? For comparison, a single cinnabon has 880 calories.
    Ahh... so clearly rice is the problem with the western diet. Right.

    That sounds like a huge cinnabon.
  • Posts: 1,690 Member
    jddnw wrote: »
    A cup of cooked rice has a whopping 200 calories. That means if you if eat a cup at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you'll have consumed 600 calories. And this is a huge problem? For comparison, a single cinnabon has 880 calories.
    Ahh... so clearly rice is the problem with the western diet. Right.

    600 calories of white rice daily is not an insignificant amount of calories. Cutting that down to 300 while by eating the same amount and simultaneously promoting GI health seems like a good idea to me! Or better yet, eat twice as much and still absorb the same number of calories.
This discussion has been closed.