The disclosure herein concerns the preparation of cooked rice using acidic, salt-containing vinegar-based compositions that lack sucrose and/or fructose containing sweetener additives. The salt used include at least one of a safely consumable sodium based salt and a safely consumable potassium based salt, the content of each or both being configured to enhance and adjust retrogradation resistance of the cooked rice depending on whether the cooked rice is to be stored refrigerated or frozen, and if frozen, the temperature range the cooked rice it is to be thawed. The acidic, vinegar-based non-sucrose/non-fructose compositions include vinegar solutions having different levels of salt content configured to accommodate different storage and processing conditions of the cooked rice so that the cooked rice presents a palatably pleasing experience to the consumer.
