Rice cooker suggestions?

[sherifffruitfly]

Hi all,

I'm looking to buy a rice cooker, and have no idea what I'm looking for. I'd like to get it on Amazon, so if anyone has examples of good ones there, I'd be much appreciative!

But even just tips on what-to-look-for would be great too!


Thanks!

cdj

[MostlyWater]

How many people are you? I started off with a 3 cup but quickly graduated to the next size up. How many bells and whistles do you need; do you want to make porridge in there or steam veggies too ?

[sherifffruitfly]

Originally Posted by MostlyWater

How many people are you? I started off with a 3 cup but quickly graduated to the next size up. How many bells and whistles do you need; do you want to make porridge in there or steam veggies too ?

1 person: 60% of the time
2 people: 30% of the time
3+ poeple: 10% of the time

I imagined that the rice cooker would be for cooking rice. It never occurred to me that one could do other things with it.

I don't know what bells and whistles rice cookers have. In my ignorant mind, I just sort of imagined it being like a coffee maker: add rice on one side, water on the other, turn on, come back in a bit, and voila! There's your rice!

[roadfix]

We have a Tiger (Japanese brand) rice cooker. It only does one thing....cook rice. Simple electronics, just like brewing coffee.
We use our rice cooker almost daily.

[sherifffruitfly]

Originally Posted by roadfix

We have a Tiger (Japanese brand) rice cooker. It only does one thing....cook rice. Simple electronics, just like brewing coffee.
We use our rice cooker almost daily.

Holy canolies those are spendy! lol! Is it one of those you-get-what-you-pay-for kinda things? Or did I just have inappropriate preconceptions about how much a rice cooker should cost?

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw...cooker&x=0&y=0

[roadfix]

Originally Posted by sherifffruitfly

Holy canolies those are spendy! lol! Is it one of those you-get-what-you-pay-for kinda things? Or did I just have inappropriate preconceptions about how much a rice cooker should cost?

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw...cooker&x=0&y=0

We have the 10 cup model. We bought it at a local Asian market a couple of years ago but don't really remember spending that much for it. They're well made and worth it if you're planning on cooking rice often.

[MostlyWater]

i use ours with a crock pot bag and there's virtually no cleanup !

it's a 5 cup Panasonic which must have been around $12 several years ago. you don't want to to go too small b/c if you overfill, you'll have a mess, but you can always make less rice.

if you insist on going small, you will have to make larger amounts in the microwave or on the stove or in the oven.

[GB]

I have a Zojirushi rice cooker and I love it. That brand is expensive, but worth it (imo) if you cook a lot of rice. One feature I love is that you can set it up before you go to work and tell it that you want the rice to be ready at 6:20pm when you get home. At 6:20 on the dot the beeper will beep because your rice (or whatever grain you choose) will be done perfectly. This cooker is amazingly consistent. Every batch comes out exactly like the last.

There are less expensive brands. You can get a rice cooker for $10. They are either in the $10 range or the $100 range. The less expensive ones have no features. You put in the rice and water and turn it on. It turns off when done. That is it. If that is all you need or want then those type work great and you can save some $$$.

[Michael in FtW]

Like GB said - the more features the more you wil have to spend ... but since my main interest was just to be able to cook rice without having to keep an eye on the pot on the stove (and I didn't have a lot of money to spend on one) ... I opted for something much cheaper ($30) and haven't been dissapointed.

Aroma 8-Cup Digital Rice Cooker and Food Steamer - from WalMart (Aroma model ARC-978 - the model number is found on the top right-hand corner of the top of the box). Also - the box will not say it is an 8-cup rice cooker (thast is the amount of raw rice) ... the box shows it is 4-16 cups (the cooked volume) rice cooker and food steamer. IMHO - this is as good if not better than the one being sold on Amazon since the one on Amazon doesn't mention it having a steamer tray - but it does mention that it has the delayed time start feature.

A couple of things I learned when I was exploring the world of rice cookers:

1) The "X-Cups" advertised is usually the raw rice amount - double that for the cooked capacity. But, it doesn't hurt to open the box and read the instruction manual just to make sure.

2) The standard rice machine measuring cup is only 3/4 of a standard measuring cup. So, the above mentioned Aroma rice cooker that has a capacity of 4-16 cups (cooked rice) ... is only 3-12 standard measuring cups - before you fluff it up.

Hope this helps you some ...

[MostlyWater]

i can put my inexpensive one on a plug-in timer.