Rice Cookers

[torakris]

I couldn't live with out a rice cooker!

Here is a former thread that had good information:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...=0entry177739

I am not too familiar with what is available outside of Japan, but some suggestions

get the best you can afford preferably with:

fuzzy logic

keep warm setting

setting for different kinds of rice

10 cup bowl (the other common size is a 5 cup) the 5 cup is perfect for a family of 4 but there will always be a day when you will need more than that!

a timer is nice but not really a necessity if you have no need for it, it is great if you work and want to come home to cooked rice, or you want to eat it first thing in the morning.

non-stick interior is a also a must

If I think of anything else I will add it!

[Katherine]

I used to have a Zojirushi 3 cup neuro fuzzy logic rice cooker that I loved. My daughter took it to college with her. It came with a handle on the top, and the cord retracted, both nice features when you want to put it on a shelf between uses.

It was big enough for us, and I loved the fact that I could set the timer and wake up to porridge, or come home to hot rice after a long, hard day.

[Mayhaw Man]

We eat rice dishes of one sort or another four or five days a week and this thing is always on the counter. Once I got the water/rice ratios down for various kinds of rice I could not be happier with it. I actually took a sharpie and wrote down water/rice type ratios on the back of it (tacky I know but very practical, which actually describes both myself and much of my lifestyle) and now it is a no brainer to make rice, even for my fourteen year old.

Previous to this I had a very expensive Panasonic that was purchased for me as a gift and it worked very well. It had many more features (the much heralded fuzzy logic and so forth) but I found that due to the fact that I am only making two cups at a whack most of the time for same night consumption I did not need many of the fuzzy features (I really prefer my rice to be un-fuzzy )

Anyway, her ismy rice cooker

Good luck with your purchase. A billion people in the Far East can't be wrong (actually, I suppose, in theory, that they could be, but in this case they are spot on ).

[JC]

Zojirushi, Tiger, National - these are all well respected brands from Japan. Don't think you'll go wrong with any of them. I using a National myself.

[herbacidal]

a year or so ago, we got a tiger jnp-1800 rice cooker so that we could leave rice warm if we needed, etc.

but the rice it makes isn't as tasty as the rice our old national rice cooker makes so we don't use it, we still use the old one.

[phaelon56]

Being totally clueless in such matters and also havi8ng been in the midst of my pre egullet era, I once bought a Black and Decker vegetable Steamer/Rice Cooker. It did a good job of steaming vegetables and an okay but not great job of cooking rice. It was a bit less than convenient to clean and wore out (stopped heating up) aftr 18 months of moderate use (once or twice every week at most).

I replaced it with a generic simple rice cooker from a mass market discoutn store. It may be West Bend but I won't swear to that. It has nothing but an on/off switch and a light that tells you when the rice is cooked. I always use 1 3/4 cup water to 1 cup of pre-rinsed rice (rince and drain twice in warm water to remove excess starchiness). It seems to do a better job if I go just a trifle shy on the water amount but apart from the that it works well and at $25 or under, is a good bet for the solo artist like me who cooks rice no more than once or twice each week and just reheats the old stuff the rest of the time.

It would probably do a better job with good Japanese rice but I always use Canilla long grain. I still find the canill aot be best when coked in a sauce pan but the cooker is so easy that it ends up being the default prep method.

[helenjp]

I see that Krups puts out a rice cooker that is actually designed to be used as a slow cooker too...

http://howstuffworks.pricegrabber.com/sear...cd067d79cb7f674

Ever since I found out that people cook beans in their rice cookers on the "okayu" setting, I've been gathering my courage to do a waterless chicken or pork braise in mine. (I liked this method of cooking whole fish or poultry or large cuts of meat in NZ, anxious to try it out here without turning the oven on and blasting the house into darkness in our usual winter scenario).

Anybody performed this evil perversion with a rice cooker and willing to talk about it??

[helenjp]

Yesssss! Found an Aussie site for Panasonic rice cookers. They talk about a "soup" setting which sounds like the "okayu" or congee setting. And!!! they have a chicken pot roast, they recommend lining the bottom of the cooker pot with foil, and using the normal "cooking" setting. Gotta try this! (If I can find a whole chicken, that is!)

http://www.panasonic.com.au/home_appliance...r/recipe_10.cfm

[mh1]

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.

[torakris]

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 think the quick function is for white rice only.

My rice cooker has a separate setting for brown rice and it quite a bit longer than white.

[Scott -- DFW]

Thinking of buying a rice cooker. I've read a few online reviews, without seeing any clear winners emerge. So, two questions...

1) What are your experiences with particular rice cookers? Are any brands/models worth seeking out or avoiding?

2) What else do you successfully use your rice cooker for? Quinoa? Lentils? Barley? Any problems with brown or wild rice?

I'd appreciate any input you can give me. (And thanks to all who gave me info on countertop rotisseries!)

Scott

[bandregg]

I have a Japanese brand (National, I think) rice cooker that I bought from Williams-Sonoma a few years ago. It's the fuzzy logic model that cost around 100$. I've always been very pleased with the results for all kinds of rice; I've never tried anything else. I want to be very clear about what I mean by the above statement; I prefer to cook my rice on the stove top, but for rice made in the rice maker, I've been very pleased. For me, it's prefect when I have other things going on and don't want to keep track of when the rice is finished, a real blessing for brown rice.

[fifi]

I also have the fuzzy logic one from Williams Sonoma, but I paid $200 for it.

It was one of those things I do for myself after the holidays... go buy something just for me that is somewhat outrageous.

I love the thing. I am always getting some kind of weird rice at the Asian market and it hasn't failed me yet. You can cook a batch of any size and it will be perfect. It also holds the rice at serving temperature for a really long time. A good friend of mine does Thai or Cajun cooking for a large group now and then. She has one as well and will borrow mine. The serving area will have two of these lovelies at the ready for the evening. Did I mention that it has a retractable cord? For some reason that is almost my favorite feature.

[Comfort Me]

I have a non-fuzzy logic, not-National brand rice cooker, and I plan to remedy that as soon as we pay down some credit card debt.

My friends with National cookers all love them -- and the rice I've had from them is always perfect. My cooker, which does automatically shut off, only does so after the bottom is very brown -- not something you want in your white rice.

I love the idea of a retractable cord -- I'll have to remember that.

I wonder if the stores in Chinatown will let me cook a batch of rice in one before I buy it?

[nanuq]

In the email newsletter from Cook's Illustrated that arrived in my inbox earlier today:

The Best No-Frills Rice Cooker

Here in the test kitchen, we depend on electric rice cookers for

perfect, foolproof rice. We had two questions. How do they work,

and which model is best? It turns out that rice cookers do not have

timers. Instead, they turn themselves off when the temperature in

the inner pot starts to rise, something that occurs when the water

is fully absorbed by the rice. A good rice cooker will then shift

to a "keep warm" setting, which holds the rice at about 180 degrees.

Our favorite no-frills model is the 5-cup National SR-W10NA ($37.99).

[jo-mel]

I have a couple of Nationals - different sizes-- and I am VERY pleased with them. I also have a little bitty Aroma, that is nice, too.

In Asian Grocers, I see "Zojirushi" brand in great numbers. I have given that brand as gifts and have not heard any bad reviews.

Mostly I cook rice or barley.

When you look for a cooker, get one with a hole in the cover. My first National has a cover without the hole and when the rice steams, the cover dances. The other two have holes -- no dancing.

[snowangel]

I received a National when we got married some 20+ years ago. It is still good to go, and used frequently. I do subscribe to the philosophy that the fewer the frills, the less to go wrong (my husband was an engineer in a former life).

[eatmorepesto]

I, too, have a National no frills model, about 20 years old. I bought it in Chinatown in SF. The thing to remember is the proportion of water to rice. When I cook a cup of white rice I use about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups of water. If I use brown rice I use more water. When all the water is used up, the cooker turns off. That's all there is to it.

I wouldn't have minded if it were nonstick, but it isn't.

[Fat Guy]

I've had a Zojirushi fuzzy logic model for almost 10 years and it's great. You wouldn't be able to get the exact same model now, but the brand is still a top pick among my rice-cooker-savvy friends. I'm pretty sure every Asian-American family's home that I've visited where I've had a chance to check out the kitchen has had a Zojirushi unit.

[robyn]

I have a Japanese National (Panasonic) that I bought at appliances.com. I bought it because it's a one cup cooker - just the perfect amount for 2 people for dinner. It has the bells and whistles (timer - retractable cord - warmer to keep cooked rice warm for hours). And it's been very dependable. By the way - I recommend appliances.com because it has large variety of rice cookers (you can pick the features that are important to you - e.g., you want a Persian rice cooker - they have a Persian rice cooker). Robyn

[chromedome]

Comfort Me:

There is a chance that your rice cooker is actually designed to create the crust of brown, cooked-on rice at the bottom. In Iran, Afghanistan, and other countries in that region, a cook is frequently judged on his/her ability to create just such a crust, whether with the highest or lowest of technology.

In Iran, for example, the crust from the bottom of the pot ("te dig", or variations on that spelling) is the portion of the dish which is alternately served to the honoured guest or scoffed by the cook before it ever leaves the kitchen. Cookbooks of Persian recipes frequently include instructions for tarting up the rice at the bottom of the pot with yogurt or eggs or both, in order to ensure the proper consistency.

Reading the cookbooks of Najmieh Batmanglij, for example, she frequently comments on how much easier a good crust is now that rice cookers are readily available.

Y'know...cultural differences, sort of thing.

[cjs]

I have a plain old Oster rice cooker and its just peachy. Maybe cost $45, not sure, it was a gift. No bells or whistles, though it does have a stay warm function. Of all the have to haves that I had to have, this is definatley one of my favs.

[adobohead]

My mother gave me my rice cooker when I first moved out. It's the same one she used when I was a kid, and she had it as long as I can remember. (I'm 33.) It's still going strong. I've never checked what brand it is...hold on...

...It's a Mitsubishi. Yr typical round, white rice cooker with a removable metal pot and lid. Much of the paint has worn off and it's pretty scary looking now...so scary in fact that most of my friends tell me, "dude, you need a new rice cooker."

"Mine works fine."

"Yeah, but look at it."

"It's fine."

"We're buying you a new one."

"I don't need a new one. It's fine."

Still makes great rice. If it ever broke down, I think I would cry. Maybe I'll post a picture here sometime.

[ExtraMSG]

I have the Nutristeam by Farberware. I think CI liked it second to the National (among the basic models). I find that if I leave it warming for too long it will develop a light crust, especially if I've tossed fat in with the rice. Not rinsing the rice seems to increase this possibility.

What I've come to do is that when I hear it pop up to "warming", I either unplug it within a couple minutes or even remove the pot/insert from the warming element. It comes right out.

I actually do like that crust sometimes. I think Koreans and other Asians have dishes or snacks specifically using that crust as well.

The fuzzy logic models are soooo much more expensive than the standard models. (Mine's a 10 C and cost me $30 when I got it.) Can the fuzzy logic models cook sticky rice?

Edited February 5, 2004 by ExtraMSG (log)

[fifi]

Sticky rice with coconut cream and mango is a favorite Thai dessert. I used to make it using the PITA method... Big steamer, watch the water level, spritz with water etc. etc. etc. Then my friend that is an excellent Thai cook got in a bind for time and said "what the hell". Worked like a charm. From then on I just dump in the sticky rice, we add pandanus leaves, and cook it on the sushi rice setting. (I think. I never remember and have to call her every time.)

My cooker has the slow cook and steamer setting but I have never used it for that. I don't steam veggies much and if I do, that big steamer from the Asian grocery just looks more dramatic on the stove.