Bleachboy got me the zojirushi and I love it. It is tiny and cute and plays me songs. Oh, and it cooks rice really well. It has a timer, which is wonderful. I can put the rice in it before I go to bed, and about an hour before I wake up the most tempting ricey smells start to waft through the apartment. I've also used it for steel cut oats on the porridge setting. When soaked overnight (I used the timer) they get very mushy. Without soaking they have more crunch. The other day I forgot to put the rice on before I went to bed, so I used the quick cook button. I used brown rice, and it did not work so well. There were still uncooked grains, and the rice was in general a little more firm than I like, but maybe this method would work better with white rice. I also checked out The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook from the library, and it has some good ideas about how to use the cooker for things other than rice. Haven't tried any of the recipes yet, so I cannot report as to the tastiness level of the dishes.
