My rice smells like my room and it's kinda weird. It tastes fine but I moved the rice to another location that smells different and I can still smell the strong smell of my room whenever I sniff the rice, even after rinsing and cooking.
However, this isn't only my rice, I have oatmeal that I keep in cabinets and it smells exactly like my cabinet before and after cooking.
My main concern is: is my stuff safe to be eaten? In both cases I've eaten them both and nothing bad has happened so far, they both still taste as if they were original (hence they are also not even expired or best by date yet).
But I am wondering how they absorbed the smell. I can't find any information on grains absorbing smell anywhere.
Best Answer
Anything absorbent will absorb smells. That's why fabric picks up smells easily, wood will over time, and glass won't. As I'm sure you know from cooking grains, they are quite absorbent, and that applies to smells as well.
All techniques I can think of to remove smells from other items aren't ideal for using on food, so your best bet is probably to cover it up with some strong spices. To prevent your grains from picking up smells in the future, store them in something airtight so air and smells won't permeate the container and reach your food. Open containers are the worst, tightly closed cardboard boxes and thin plastic bags are a bit better, sturdy airtight plastic containers are better still, and glass containers with metal lids are the best.