Originally Posted by
travelmad478
I make a lot of different kinds of rice, each of which has its own persnicketiness if you want it to come out right. The fuzzy logic rice cooker (mine is a Panasonic) is capable of doing them all beautifully and without fuss or (as chgoeditor says) babysitting. My one beef with it is that it takes longer than a pot on the stove, but that is a trade-off I am willing to make for consistently perfect rice.
I will have to take a look at the Instant Pot recipe book to see how I like it. I make tons of stews and soups, but I’ve never found it a hardship to just make them on the stove. Then again, maybe if I had the IP I would do more with dried beans. I like bean dishes, but I rarely have the presence of mind to soak them the night before.
The other issue with stovetop rice: You have to time it perfectly so it's ready once you're ready to eat. With the rice cooker, I can start it cooking when I think of it -- which often may be 4 or 5 pm -- and it holds well for an hour or two, so I don't need to time the rest of the meal perfectly. Indian food is one of the meals we'll do for a crowd, and we'll very often have stuff in the oven, on all four burners, in a slow cooker and in the Instant Pot -- it's nice to be able to use a rice cooker and not juggle another spot on the burners.