Why does my rice smell?

Question

I don't understand why my rice smells like eggs.. We have a new rice cooker that we used for two months now. I wash it, but should I deep clean it? Also, I put my rice in a big plastic bin so I won't have to keep going into the bag and have the rice spill all over. Would anyone know the reason why the rice smells?

Answer 1

Have you considered your water source? Where we live it is a normal for our city-supplied water to smell like swamp water (nasty) or like sulphur (strong egg smell). We never drink or cook with this water. We found out early on after moving to this area (10+ years ago) that the water affected the taste of everything we cooked, including brewed coffee and tea.

We constantly hear on the news for our area and surrounding areas to not pay attention to the color or smell of the water, that is safe to consume. Safe or not, I can't get past the smell or taste. All said and done, the quality of your water can greatly affect how your foods taste.

Answer 2

Well, you're using water, rice and a rice cooker. Any one of those things could be causing the problem. Eggy smells come from sulphur compounds.

• You say your tap water doesn't smell. It's possible that there are sulphur compounds in the water but they're only released when it's heated. Does heating a pan of water to boiling on the stove cause the smell? If not, your water is innocent.

• Does cooking rice on in a pan of water on the stove give the smell? If it does, your rice is at fault.

• If your rice is innocent, does rice cooked in the rice cooker smell as soon as it is done? If so, the problem is the cooker.

• If the rice only smells after its been left in the cooker for a while, the problem is that it's spoiled. People mostly worry about food poisoning from meat but rice can be a significant cause, especially if its kept warm for a long time: bacteria love warm, moist conditions and rice is easy for them to eat, too.

Answer 3

If your rice doesn't smell and your water doesn't smell, I'd be inclined to believe your new rice cooker sucks. Does your rice cooker smell, even when there's no rice in there? I would sniff the steam vent (not while it's on ...) and anywhere else really to check.

I found this:

You need to clean the rice cooker. Over time the inside builds up a sort of 'coating' of the 'starch' in rice, and that turns sulfurous after awhile. Get a small can of Cream of Tartar and a small bottle of CLEAR (white) vinegar. Pour the WHOLE CAN of Cream of Tartar in and add two cups of vinegar. Fill with COLD water and then run the rice cooker through the cycle as if you were making rice. When that is done, pour the 'cleaner' out, wipe every surface you can inside, and fill it again with pure cold water and do it again. After this your rice should be 'perfect' again ... but to keep the rice cooker 'clean' you should do this 'cream of tartar-vinegar-water, then plain water' cleaning AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH ...

[Source: https://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080628150847AAO7ibx]

I personally have never had a problem with a rice cooker, we clean the bowl and wipe the removable 'ceiling', and anywhere there is steam-turned-water, but other than that, all of them have always been fine.

This makes me think you have a poor rice cooker; some starches have become stuck somewhere and have rotten. Or if it's not the rice cooker's fault, perhaps you filled it up past the max point, and so some rice has bubbled up into where it's not meant to go?

Answer 4

So I did some research and I have found that the reason why the rice was smelly was because I left it in for more than 24 hours without turning off the rice cooker. According to Sue, (http://mykoreankitchen.com/2006/09/06/this-is-the-rice-cooker/), with the rice cooker I have, I could keep it in for more than 24 hours but if I do, it will turn into a yellow color and have a odor to it even if it won't cause any harm. But, I do not want to eat the rice with that smell.

Thank you to everyone who helped because I know a couple of you did say it may be from the rice being stored in the cooker for too long. I appreciate you all for taking the time to respond. Have a great weekend! (:

Answer 5

Totally Agree with what John has said. The Sri Lankan Samba rice smells really bad. I called up my Mom in India and she said the reason why that Rotten eggish smell comes is because the rice was not processed properly and is of low quality. one of the traditional processes used to de-husk rice is by steaming it a little and then it is put though a mortar and pestle type of machine which will separate the rice kernel from the husk easily. Some places do not use fresh water but instead use the same water over and over again which practically ferments the rice and it seeps into the kernel. Hence it is usually sold as cheap rice in India and Sri Lanka where it is distributed at low cost ration centers. I guess some Sri Lankan importer is making a killing selling this smelly stuff and getting away with it (Needs to be reported). True Samba Rice from Andhra and Tamil Nadu is the next best thing to Basmati and is a healthier option but I can't find the Indian Import and am still looking. I guess I will go back to Basmati and Ponni Boiled rice, they are just as good.

Answer 6

The rice is most likely to blame. Is the rice normal, parboiled, brown or basmati? While basmati and normal rice smell pretty good depending on the seasoning and spices used in their preparation, parboiled and brown rice may have awful smells especially if they are poorly processed, packaged or stored. Parboiled rice has a brown tint to it and the grains are larger and very few are broken. The odor is detectable even before cooking. The odor comes from the processing since the rice is boiled with the husks still on before it is dried and dehusked.This process makes the rice acquire its odor because sulphides are transfered from the husk to the germ. Therefore, the type of rice is most likely the cause of the odor.

Answer 7

I have used rice cooker to cook rice for more than 30 years. I have had no problem with Indian Basmathi Rice or similar rice. But, the Samba rice bought at Sri Lankan grocery stores h ave a strong stink when it is cooked in the rice cooker. The same stik occurs when cooked on stove top. The Samba rice cooked in Sri Lanka either on stove top or rice cooker does not have the stink. I conclude that the stink is due to pacaging in plastic bags in Sri Lanka . THIS DOES NOT OCCUR RICE PACAGED IN iNDIA.

Answer 8

It's easy to get rid of any smell in your rice cooker, especially after cooking with seasonings. Just washing the inner lid and inner pan will NOT get rid of the smell. This is what you do:

1. Fill the Inner Cooking Pan with water up to water level 1 for white/mixed rice.
2. Close the Outer Lid and press the "MENU" button to select QUICK Cooking.
3. Press the "START" button.
4. When the Rice Cooker completes cooking and switches to Keep Warm mode, press the "Cancel" button or just turn off your rice cooker.
5. Wait until the Main Body of your rice cooker cools down, then discard the water and clean the inner lid and inner pan.

Note: You may have to repeat this process twice if the smell doesn't go away the first time.

Do not add any cleaning detergents when doing this. Just use plain water and nothing else!

Answer 9

Yes I conclude that the reason my sushi rice just came out sulphurous is that it had been in the cupboard in its opened bag a few months - the best before isn't till 2020 - but the quality must be low. What a waste as I added seasoning already!