￠Mothercents Mondays￠ Dried Garlic or Hot Pepper Keep Bugs out of Rice

Image credit:  Ume-y

In late March, the Japanese cherry blossoms reach their peak of beauty. They elicit memories of my two and a half eye-opening years in Japan.

I met wonderful people who taught me far more about life than the English I taught them.  Intelligent, determined women filled my classes and passed along bits of motherwit to me.

Roots of Motherwit

The Japanese Goddess, Amaterasu
Image Credit:  Wikimedia

Japanese motherwit may extend all the way back to its mother deity. Their native religion, Shinto, teaches that Japanese emperors and nobility all descend from their sun goddess, Amaterasu.  Her light blesses earth with life and prosperity to the all the earth, especially Japan.

Japanese history also praises motherwit.  Kazutoyo Yamanouchi,  a sixteenth-century samurai, bemoaned lacking the money to buy a fine warhorse. His wife, Chiyo, amazed him by handing him the very sum he needed. He bought the horse and won the battle.  Japanese women cite this story as proof of their budgeting skills.

So how do Japanese save money?  They take care of everything, starting with the staple of rice.  When homemakers open a fresh bag of rice, they add either a garlic clove or a dried hot pepper.  Either one repels larva and bugs.  Preserving the main source of food prevents the unsavory discovery of buggy rice, and in so doing, unnecessary waste.


Common Questions

Aren't airtight containers enough to prevent infestation? I used to rely solely on Rubbermaid. However, the humid Japanese climate fostered more bug than I care to remember, some of which finagled their way into my rice.  My students came to my aid with this tip, and I haven't had problems ever since.

Image Credit: Ruocaled

Will the garlic or hot pepper affect the rice's flavor? Garlic and hot peppers need water to release their flavor into dry foods. Check the garlic clove for freshness.  Cut open a clove to check for moisture and smell.  If the clove has both, the whole bulb is viable.

Do not insert the opened clove in rice.  Instead, add an unopened clove from the same bulb.  The moisture within keeps the smell on bugs' radar, but will not flavor the rice.

How About You?

Everyone has wisdom to share, either learned from another or something you've discovered yourself.  Please share your ideas about money management or taking care of things. Write them in in the comments below so that we can all share these tips.  Motherwit is always evolving and expanding.  Your discoveries are an important contribution to its survival.