Minimum amount of rice you can cook in a Zojirushi

[stephen129]

Another question about my new Zojirushi. My model is a 5.5 Japanese cup model (180ml per cup I think). 

 

The manual says the minimum rice it can cook is one cup.

 

Sometimes I'd like less rice than this.

Has anyone tried cooking less than a cup?

 

I was thinking 3/4 of a cup.

Edited March 26, 2019 by Smithy
Title Spelling (twice!) (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, stephen129 said:

Another question about my new Zojirushi. My model is a 5.5 Japanese cup model (180ml per cup I think). 

 

The manual says the minimum rice it can cook is one cup.

 

Sometimes I'd like less rice than this.

Has anyone tried cooking less than a cup?

 

I was thinking 3/4 of a cup.

 

I would trust the manual.  I ran into the same problem with my model.  Some Zojirushi make as little as 1/2 cup.

 

There is much Zojirushi information in the rice cooker thread:

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/14506-rice-cookers/

 

 

[palo]

I had a previous model which stated 1 cup. I spoke to their customer service (which imho is very good) and they confirmed the 1 cup minimum. Due to personal circumstances I had to replace it with this:

NP-HCC10XH

This new one is the same size as the old, but now allows 1/2 cup amounts, it even has a 1/2 cup marking on the inside of the pot. I find I'm using it more often as it makes a very generous single serving or 2 sufficient servings. The cups referred to are their rice measuring cup. It also has a specific menu setting for Jasmine rice.

 

p

[lindag]

Rice is so cheap that I don’t worry about making more than I need.  I can save the extra or toss it without pangs.

[heidih]

24 minutes ago, lindag said:

Rice is so cheap that I don’t worry about making more than I need.  I can save the extra or toss it without pangs.

 

Rice freezes so well you just need a little moisture on the microwave re-heat. I have the big red sucker but it works with as little as 1-1/ cups. Sometimes i have done as little as a cup.  

Edited March 25, 2019 by heidih (log)

[Anna N]

37 minutes ago, lindag said:

Rice is so cheap that I don’t worry about making more than I need.  I can save the extra or toss it without pangs.

In Japan, “eating all your rice” doesn’t mean eat all of the big chunks of rice and leave behind the few grains you can’t quite get with your chopsticks; it means eat every last grain. This is emphasized by a saying often told to children (and unknowing foreigners), “Every grain of rice has seven fortune gods,” so you better not disrespect them by not eating them all!

Hmmm

[JoNorvelleWalker]

My Zojirushi will hold rice over till the next day.  There is a keep-warm setting and an extended keep-warm setting.  If there is a fair amount of leftover rice it usually keeps OK.  A couple spoonsful will not work as well.

 

With the right meal I have been known to finish a go of rice.  Nonetheless I really wish I had a model that would make half a go at one time.  I am no spry samurai.

 

[liuzhou]

4 hours ago, Anna N said:

In Japan, “eating all your rice” doesn’t mean eat all of the big chunks of rice and leave behind the few grains you can’t quite get with your chopsticks; it means eat every last grain. This is emphasized by a saying often told to children (and unknowing foreigners), “Every grain of rice has seven fortune gods,” so you better not disrespect them by not eating them all!

Hmmm

 

Same  in China. In fact, I think Japan inherited the idea from Chinese culture. There are several Chinese sayings which refer to 'every grain of rice...'.

[chromedome]

On 3/26/2019 at 1:34 AM, liuzhou said:

 

Same  in China. In fact, I think Japan inherited the idea from Chinese culture. There are several Chinese sayings which refer to 'every grain of rice...'.

 

An older Dutch gentleman of my acquaintance frequently quoted his own granny to the effect that "crumbs are still bread." In her usage it was intended as a general endorsement of frugality, rather than applying specifically to bread, but it works either way.

 

Historically bread-eating cultures in often had similar strictures against wastage of any scrap. I'm guessing they began to fade in the 19th century as industrialization hit agriculture, milling and baking*. Between mechanized harvesting replacing laborers with scythes, and high speed Hungarian-style roller mills replacing age-old stone milling, and purified yeast streamlining the baking process, bread became cheaper and more readily available than it had ever been. When that happened, the moral imperative to not squander the bread "earned by the sweat of one's brow" faded.

 

On a more prosaic note, it's also pretty hard to feel reverent toward Wonder Bread and it's sad, bland, spongy kin.

 

(*I know there are plenty of other factors at play, including and especially the broader rise in prosperity across the industrialized world, but a detailed analysis wasn't my aim...)