Rice Cookers ... Please give me your advice/ideas.

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Now you need to learn to cook steel cut oats in it! It is wonderful!!!

There's lots of things you can do in that cooker.

I need a new rice cooker. Mine always comes out terrible. The one food I'm terrified to make cause I used to either burn the pot or make it gooey. :(
 
Always do rice on the stove or I have done in the oven using the Neely's recipe from the foodnetwork site. I also do a mexican rice in the oven. Been thinking of a rice cooking. But at this stage of life with it just the hubbie and me now. Another gadget is not what i want. But I do have a question. Some of you say you can steam veggies in it, Could you steam fish in it? I love Salmon steamed. I usually set it on a rack and in a baking dish with water under it , cover it and steam it on top of the stove. If any one has done it let me know. I might consider adding one to the collection of appliances.
 
Always do rice on the stove or I have done in the oven using the Neely's recipe from the foodnetwork site. I also do a mexican rice in the oven. Been thinking of a rice cooking. But at this stage of life with it just the hubbie and me now. Another gadget is not what i want. But I do have a question. Some of you say you can steam veggies in it, Could you steam fish in it? I love Salmon steamed. I usually set it on a rack and in a baking dish with water under it , cover it and steam it on top of the stove. If any one has done it let me know. I might consider adding one to the collection of appliances.
You can steam just about anything, as long as it fits in the basket. I think you would enjoy it. Makes life easy so you can concentrate on the rest of the food. I think you can get one for under 20 bucks. Non stick bowl makes clean up a snap.

I find it cooks some rice types better than others. It cooks Basmati perfectly, while long grain gets clumpy to me. I still use a pot for the long grain rice..
 
I've had several different rice cookers over the years, but the best one I've had, that lasted the longest, was my 10 cup Krups rice cooker-steamer-slow cooker. It lasted close to 10 years before it started shutting off before the rice was fully cooked. I then bought a 5 cup Krups rice cooker-steamer-slow cooker-oatmeal maker. I've had it for a couple of years now and it is everything I expect from a Krups appliance. I must admit I have never used it as a slow cooker, but I have made rice in it, and steamed vegetables and dumplings, and I have even made Irish steel cut oatmeal in it.

Oh, and unless you have an extrremely large family or are cooking professionally, you are never going to make 10 cups of rice at any one time. A serving of rice is 1/2 cup cooked, and I haven't had to feed 20 people in a very long time. That's why I opted for the 5 cup machine.
 
have a black and decker rice cooker and although I like that the rice doesn't burn, there is a hole in the lid and I end up with hot, starchy water everywhere in the kitchen when I use it. I used to have a proctor silex one and it was great. I wouldn't buy the black and decker brand again.

I never buy Black & Decker appliances for one simple reason; they seem to have a habit of expiring right after the warranty does.
 
I have a cheap-o Aroma Rice Cooker from Walmart. It steams vegetables just fine, but does not cook rice, it was the cheapest one. Now I just make white rice in my pot on the stove. Don't know if this helps?
 
I brought my tiny rice cooker in Thailand... managed to pack it away in my suitcase and brought it back home. Its perfect!! Use it whenever I make rice, would never go back to the old way again.
 
I have a cheap-o Aroma Rice Cooker from Walmart. It steams vegetables just fine, but does not cook rice, it was the cheapest one. Now I just make white rice in my pot on the stove. Don't know if this helps?

I have a rice cooker/steamer that was given to me of a reputable make. I found it tended to burn rice but was excellent for steaming which is what i use it for. Somehow with the measured amount of water it steams faster than a steamer on the gas ring. Why's that?

I also use mine as a double steamer using one of these baskets in the bottom.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kitchen-Sta...e=UTF8&qid=1373411766&sr=1-6&keywords=steamer

Well worth trying in my view.
 
I've wondered what a double steamer was called. Those are great for broccoli. Mine is great for steaming too, so I think I'm going to keep it. I like steamed carrots, with peanut sauce on top. I like this forum, glad I found it. Happy steaming. :chef:
 
I cook rice in a waterless slow cooker. Before I bought that, i used a rival crock pot. 2 cups of brown rice to 5 cups of water for two hours on low, and the rice is perfect. No sticking.

I thought i'd try rice in the slow cooker today - 1.5 L conventional type. Following what i'd seen written elsewhere i put mine on HIGH and i found that made the rice stoggy. Interested that you used LOW but then you say it was a waterless slow cooker.

There are only two methods i've found that work for cooking rice.
a] Easy Cook type i just put in the pan with plenty of water. Then rinse through a fine mesh collander.

b] An indian method. Soak the rice for 30 mins or so, then put in a pan with a measured amount of water and butter - cook 15 mins and then serve.

These are the only ways i've managed to achieve "fluffy rice".
 
Always do rice on the stove or I have done in the oven using the Neely's recipe from the foodnetwork site. I also do a mexican rice in the oven. Been thinking of a rice cooking. But at this stage of life with it just the hubbie and me now. Another gadget is not what i want. But I do have a question. Some of you say you can steam veggies in it, Could you steam fish in it? I love Salmon steamed. I usually set it on a rack and in a baking dish with water under it , cover it and steam it on top of the stove. If any one has done it let me know. I might consider adding one to the collection of appliances.

On this thread i think we have mislead each other slightly. Some folk have been referring to the rice cooker/steamer/slow cooker types as well as the 'conventional' type. I use a conventional type for steaming although it needs practice as too little water doesn't cook the veg. Somehow it's quicker than a pan with two tiers.

I use the pan steamer for veg all my life, do moist cakes (fruit cakes), fish in foil, sponge pudding, chicken. However, i think fish is better in a oval slow cooker... as well as the shape.

It is worth having a steaming stand (cost little) for flexibility - either for steaming or Bain-marie in a large slow cooker.

Mine's aluminium and there are many types available but here's one example
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cooking-Rou...qid=1373485294&sr=1-4&keywords=steaming+stand

To see the variety of steam cooking you may like to get a copy of a cheap book like this
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Steaming-An...=1373485867&sr=1-1&keywords=steaming+cookbook

I haven't tried steaming rice but will shortly.
 
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I thought i'd try rice in the slow cooker today - 1.5 L conventional type. Following what i'd seen written elsewhere i put mine on HIGH and i found that made the rice stoggy. Interested that you used LOW but then you say it was a waterless slow cooker.

There are only two methods i've found that work for cooking rice.
a] Easy Cook type i just put in the pan with plenty of water. Then rinse through a fine mesh collander.

b] An indian method. Soak the rice for 30 mins or so, then put in a pan with a measured amount of water and butter - cook 15 mins and then serve.

These are the only ways i've managed to achieve "fluffy rice".

I tried again today with the slow cooker but using it on LOW with one thermos cup of rice (happens to be the right measure for me!) with three cups of water, tsp salt and knob of butter - 1.5 hours. A good result but was improved washing it through the fine collander. A THIRD way now to cook rice i've found.
 
slow cooker rice

In my post about using a slow cooker to cook rice, I gave the wrong ratio for water to rice and the wrong temperature. I have been doing this for a while now, with brown rice not white. I use the same ration of one cup rice to two cups water or liquid, set the cooker on the highest temp., mine says 4, but others may just say "high'. Set timer for an hour and then turn off pot, place paper towel between lid and pot for half an hour and voila, cooked rice! Sorry for the misinformation.
 
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