Thanks for your advice. Cooking is my passion and fortunately my budget (within reason!) isn't a limiting factor.
I'd read about Zojirushi but unluckily I've only seen them on ebay and I think I'm prepared to compromise a bit to buy from within the UK as so much electrical stuff today seems to have faults....... a mini oven and humidifier this week both a few weeks old.
One thing I have read is that size is important! It seems that large capacity rice cookers cook small quantities less well than small ones. So I'm looking for a small reassuringly expensive one I think that has as many functions that helps cook and hold perfect rice.
Any feedback and advice appreciated.
I bought a cheap one in China (it would probably cost £50 in UK I guess) and it makes consistently good rice. These have largely replaced pans in China due to convenience, not due to better quality cooking. They don't burn the rice if you forget about them!
You are right about the size being important. The tendency is for the layer at the bottom of the metal container to become dry (some Chinese prefer this bit) and stuck together. A smaller one reduces the amount of rice that is wasted as a result of this
By all means buy an expensive one, I guess they will be more sophisticated that the cheap ones. But in my experience, the less expensive ones do a great job. Never seen one of the singing and dancing ones in a Chinese home, they regard them as a waste of money
nickyboy