Rice Cooker's on my Wish List
Have a rice cooker on my wish list. After reading bits and pieces of info about them and the huge range in prices I'm holding back on making the purchase.
Do any of you use rice cookers regularly?
What kind do you use? What brand?
What features should I look for?
What are "must have" features and why?
What do you use your for, besides rice?
Any and all info you share is much appreciated.
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
18 Comments:
Mine is a 3-cup Panasonic cooker.
My must-have features are a) timer, so I can go out and come home to freshly cooked rice or wake up to hot rice (to make onigiri)
b)non-stick inner pot. thick walls are better.
I cook white (short, med and long grain) & brown & glutinous rice, pilaf, and various takikomi-gohan (rice cooked with other ingredients and seasoning). I used to cook beans but now I have a pressure cooker. I don't have to use it to bake cakes since I have a real oven, but my friends do.
I trust Zojirushi and Tiger too. I got mine initially because I was living alone and 3-cup cooker was perfect, but it's pretty small. for 2 or more people 5-cup cookers are nice.
There are a lot of fancy features for expensive models but they are meant for really really enjoying white rice, esp. new crop, and I decided those are not necessary in the US where regular mid-grain rice are not that fantastic (wrong water, too).
hmw0029 at 3:52PM on 10/09/09
I love my rice cooker. It's a 10 cup cooker, a brand called Aroma, cooks brown, rice, and quick cooking rice. Total cost was $35 (Costco). We use it at least once a week. I've never needed the fancier features like making porridge or a timer. The must-have feature for me is a lid that snaps shut. This seems to allow the rice to cook quickly and easily. I don't think we've ever paid more than $60 for a rice cooker.
AnnieNT at 4:05PM on 10/09/09
My rice cooker was a cheapie, can't even remember the brand, but I love it. It cooks brown rice in less time with good results. And it has a little steaming rack for veggies. It also has a lid and chimes when ready. Simple but effective.
erinlovestoeat at 5:15PM on 10/09/09
I am a sucker for kitchen gadgets. I have a at least a dozen "good" kitchen knives, six different-sized LeCreuset dutch ovens (not to mention a whole collection of All-Clad), two electric vegetable juicers, a Cusinart with nearly every blade and available attachment, plus an immersion blender, two electric coffee grinders, three coffee makers, even a panini press.
That said, I bid sayonara to my Japanese rice cooker a long time ago. The thing never worked right, and, after all, how hard is it to make a pot of rice on the stove? There's only two ingredients, rice and water (salt, if you want to get fancy). This is one of those gadgets, like a bread making machine or an electric deep frier, that sounds great, you get it, use it twice, and then the love affair is over.
salpico at 6:07PM on 10/09/09
We have a Cuisinart one that my mother purchased for me -- 6 cups and a steamer function, with a glass lid and a steam vent. She bought it from Bed, Bath and Beyond in NYC.
The one thing I was really insistent on was having a button you could press down to cook, and it snaps to the warming function when the rice was ready -- our previous cooker didn't have an on/off switch at all, which meant that I had to be super diligent about watching the rice so that it wouldn't burn the house down.
avaryne at 6:46PM on 10/09/09
I would highly recommend you find an Asian market. If they don't sell them, they probably know someone who does. I really prefer them to the couple of American ones I've used. After it cooks it stays on warm. I've kept it on all day before and the rice was great. The very bottom can get a little crispy, but that's actually what some people like. The bowl is non-stick and everything washes up easily.
yankeesgal at 7:06PM on 10/09/09
My rice cooker is called "microwave".
dmcavanagh at 7:16PM on 10/09/09
I use my Zoojirushi a few times a week; my model is a 5 cup with Fuzzy Logic, and a timer so that you can set the rice to be ready at any time you want. I don't use the other features like porridge and the like. But it always makes PERFECT rice (all kinds of rice). I never have to worry about it being soggy or burning. I really love my rice cooker and I don't agree with salpico, it's a machine worth having -- of course if you eat rice a few times a week.
To me, it's just really nice to set the machine first, and then forget about the rice until it's time to eat. That way I can concentrate on everything else; and the rice is really perfect all the time.
I'd say, get a Japanese rice cooker. I love my Zoojirushi, but Tiger and Panasonic should be equivalent.
Carioca at 9:22PM on 10/09/09
I have the 10 cup neuro fuzzy logic Zojirushi, model#NS-ZCC18. I love this stupid thing. I was in the "I have a stove and a pot, what's the point" camp for a long time and then I got a gluten intolerance and starting eating enough rice to get tired of the finicky timing. I now use my rice cooker for steel cut oats with apples & raisins, white, jasmine, sushi, sweet, brown of all sorts, rice pudding. I'll cook the rice with a can of seasoned tomatoes an have a good base to toss on fresh chopped spinach and chicken... it's been my go-to appliance for the last year. This model isn't cheap, but the timer, different settings for porridge, etc, removable pot AND interior lid not to mention the silly tunes it plays when it goes on or off make me happy to have it! We are a family of four and could get by with the smaller 5 cup, but we entertain and the 10 cup gets used often enough for the small price/size increase.
Felis at 11:16PM on 10/09/09
I've got a Sanyo that was a little pricey, but not as much as the fuzzy logic models.
Rice used to be easy for me. Then I moved to high, dry altitude and I lost my rice mojo. Water doesn't boil as hot, it evaporates faster, and in general it makes cooking anything in water a pain in the rear.
Yes, a rice cooker is a crutch, but I think I deserve one every once in a while. I can put in the liquid and the rice and push a button and it's ready when I want it to be. And if I'm not ready, the"keep warm" setting is wonderful.
I use it for rice, mostly, and also for steel-cut oatmeal (I won't eat the other stuff). It's really nice to be able to put the oatmeal in the cooker and it's done when I wake up.
So, when it comes to features, I like that I can set a time for the rice (or whatever) to be ready, and that's when it's done. And it's got settings for different types of rice, and different rice textures, so I cook the oatmeal using the brown rice and porridge settings.
Usually I get the rice set up early in the cooker and I know I don't have to think about it when I'm fussing with the rest of dinner..And if for some reason I'm late getting to the rice, this one also has a pressure-cook settine for faster cooking. It's not as high as a regular pressure cooker, but it's enough to speed up the cooking.
I've used it for cooking other things, but I adore it for cooking rice. I love rice again, now that I'm not battling with it on the stove.
Hmmm...I'm thinking I might like some oatmeal in the morning. I think I'll go set that up now.
dbcurrie at 12:39AM on 10/10/09
I have a Wolfgang Puck 10 cup rice cooker. I like it alot do to the stainless steel outside. Makes it easy to clean. I also like its simplicity; it has two settings: Cook and Keep Warm.
It comes with a helpful guide and recipes...not just for rice. You can use your rice cooker much like a slow cooker...or to steam vegetables...and more.
Chef316 at 5:43AM on 10/10/09
Has anyone made wild rice or quinoa in their cooker?
Thanks for all the info and advice!
CJ McD at 11:07AM on 10/10/09
I rarely cook wild rice, but I recall no disasters using the rice cooker to cook it, though. On the other hand, I very often cook quinoa in my rice cooker (a ~20-year-old, 3-cup Panasonic of the most basic type, with only one button that pops up when the goodies are done), CJ McD. The proportions are exactly the same for rice, which for me is long-grain brown.
I just wanted to mention also that steel-cut oats cook beautifully in a rice cooker. For a while there, I was breakfasting on them as Mark Bittman recommended: with soy and scallions, to which I added a bit of grated ginger and garlic, and a splosh of sesame oil on less-busy mornings. Such wholesome, satisfying grains.
piglet at 11:44AM on 10/10/09
Again- thanks for all the input and info.
piglet-
I haven't tried MB's savory oatmeal suggestion, but it appeals to me. I like the idea of soy sauce, scallion and ginger with a splash of sesame oil.
I've been making my steel cut oats by either pre-soaking overnight, then giving them a 10 minute simmer in the morning or making them in the slow cooker which works beautifully.
Still noodling on the rice coookers. Took a look at a couple of them today. I want all the features, but not the big price tag. My guess is I'll end up somewhere on mid-ground.
CJ McD at 4:10PM on 10/10/09
I have a 10 cup Aroma rice cooker. It wasn't asked for or wanted, and when we opened it on Christmas I gave one of those fake smiles. But even a simple and cheap rice cooker is a pretty great thing to have around. I love ours and haven't cooked rice on the stovetop in years.
I tell everyone who asks about it that I love the thing, but it still remains (in my mind) as something worth getting as a gift but probably not buying yourself. Of course buying it yourself ensures you get all of the features and functions you want. We just have "Cook" and "Warm," but I've found that's all I need.
phenoderr at 2:20AM on 10/11/09
I use my rice cooker religiously. My first one was perfect - I think it was Rival brand (but was purchased some, 6 or so years ago), 10 cups, had a warming function, and the top snapped shut.
The one I have now is a hand-me-down and ancient. Still gets the job done, but has a removeable lid which splutters and makes a huge mess. Would not recommend such a model.
When I lived in Korea, the rice cookers all have the thick, stone pots that don't burn the bottom of the rice, just made it kind of crackly -- if I were in the market to buy a new one today, I'd go to my local Korean market (or any Asian market) and get one there!
ec_washington at 5:11PM on 10/27/09
I love my Krups 10 cup rice cooker, which also makes perfect quinoa and steel cut oats. The added bonus is that is has a slow cooker function with an 8 hour timer that cooks on low only. Makes perfect barbecued pork shoulder and eggplant caponata too! It's a bit pricy at $100 (I got for $80 a few years ago) but it's an investment piece I figure.
Otabenga at 5:23PM on 10/27/09
Can anyone tell me whether it's possible to steam fish or meat in a fuzzy logic model, especially the Zojirushi ones? Thanks.
ljubljana at 10:21PM on 11/15/09