Quite right.

Thanks, uk1, appreciate your comments.

Absolutely!
 

Absolutely get a rice cooker, even a cheap one. The finished product is firm, but not chewy, and somehow the taste is more robust. I find the non-stick surface and prep to be far easier to clean as well. Lastly, the system is more forgiving of minor variations in recipe - I usually eyeball the water level and still get great results.

As a Japanese American whose taste buds seem to be 100% Japanese, I've never once NOT considered owning a rice-cooker that won't make me perfect sticky white rice, brown rice, haiga-mai, or okayu every time. I think that's just the "norm" that I grew up with.

That said, Roger Ebert wrote quite the entertaining, if not rambling, piece on what a godsend rice cookers are. If you have the time, I recommend it for entertainment value (and some cooking ideas) alone.

http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2008...to_use_it.html

If it does the continuous boil, it falls in the category of "old-style". This type of cooker should be more versatile in that you have the option of steaming a dish on top of the rice as it cooks. The huge amount of steam is normal for this style of cooker.

In reference to another post, most rice cooker inserts cannot be used stovetop because the amount of heat would warp the metal and destroy any non-stick finish. To make risotto-style rice, the other ingredients need to be prepared in a separate pan and then added to the insert.

I am sorry now, that I didn't buy the plain rice cooker without the steaming attachments. By adjusting the water and cooking time, I still get good results.

I feel like I'm missing out. I've only ever made rice in a pot on the stove, but it comes out just fine every time. I'd get a rice cooker, but I suppose I don't really eat enough rice to justify the purchase.

I am, however, thinking of getting a breadmaker. Zojirushi seems to have a nice one on Amazon...

An update ..

Mrs uk1 and I have now become fully rice-obsessed and are thrilled to bits with our newly adopted little family friend.

Little Zoji (as we like to call him) has been hissing merrily and filling the house with his jasminey ricey sweety smell and mrs uk1 now clearly "gets it". She is hunting through the recipes for suitable things to be plated alongside the rice. She has even been fingering her way through my oversized Thai Street Food by David Thompson ..... so she has it bad.

The only initial downside I'd say is that Indian style basmati rice ie each grain seperate isn't what is produced. But now we've tried the cooker version - but we now prefer it because it brings out the fragrance of basmati to a degree we haven't seen before, and the basmati produced seems designed to absorb curry sauces rather than be eaten alongside.

Thanks again to all of those that contributed to the thread and helped and convinced me that it would be worthwhile - as it really has been.^:)

Our Zoji also does a great job with steel cut oats for breakfast. Yum.

joe

I've wondered about whether it would make a decent sweet scotch porridge oats.

Probably. I use the quick setting if I want steel cut with a little bite, or the porridge setting if I want them really creamy.

joe

You had mentioned seeing the boiling, so I assumed that you have the Cuisinart CRC-400 model, which has the glass lid. It is in fact the "old-style" model with a teflon coated insert, so you're fine with steaming, poaching eggs and making rice. You'll just need to adjust the water to rice ratios for your favourite type of rice. If you have the FRC-800 model, it is "new-style"/"fuzzy logic" basic model, so you're okay here too :) They both come with accessories that fit perfectly into the cookers.

Basmati Rice
 

There are a few ways to get separate grains with rice cookers. The best method I've found so far is to use 2/3 of the water called for in the recipe and then when the cooker says it's done, I switch it to manual/slow cooker/steamer mode and add the remaining water and finish cooking the rice with the accessory lid. That way you still get the fragrance and a bit more of the fluffy texture. Experimenting a few times will help you figure out the approximate ratios and times for the texture of rice you're after.

An alternate way is to let the cooked basmati dry out by increasing the holding time after cooking, or by holding with the lid partially propped open with the paddle.

No matter what style of rice you're making or style of pot you're using, the trick is to open the lid as soon as the rice is done to release the extra steam and fluff the rice in the pot immediately. Keeping warm always comes after fluffing.

Zojirushi has "induction" models now.
They also make small-capacity models for solo or two-people dining.

For grains sticking together, it comes to the type of rice you're using and if you rinse before hand. It's easier to accomplish with long grain rices IMHO. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear (although there is some diminishing returns after two). If cooking on the stove, reduce water by ~1/3cup depending on total quantity of rice, when cooking leave it alone and don't stir.... If using a Zojirushi or clone, fill the water to the designated line, no need to reduce water.

As a Chinese-American person, I grew up eating rice from a really old National rice cooker (that also doubles as a food steamer), rice cooked from a pot (necessity from my college days), microwave rice cooker (college again), and now two models of Zojirushi (one small one large).

All methods can cook rice well. They are all tools. What you as a cook intend to do with the tool is what really matters. The tools can all get you to roughly the same place.

A pot requires more care, pot watching, and temperature control. (Don't open the pot during cooking and stir it around! Leave the **** thing alone!) Ultimately, I get the best texture (Chinese wise) from Zojirushi. The con is cooking time. Even the "quick cooking" time is a bit longer than cooking on the stove. My Japan-made one is still going strong for 10+ years. My current model is made in China, and I have had no issues with it. Note though, that I have never tried making Western pilafs or Western type rice dishes in the Zojirushi cooker so don't know how well it would do for your needs.

i'd just like to update this post.... i bought this 5cup zoji from amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Zojirushi-NS-Z...5&sr=8-1-spell

it has a nice clock on it to indicate how long the current batch has been cooking. 24 hours from cooking and the rice tasted as delicious as it did the day before.

also, i returned the sanyo through Amex return protections... *instant* credit-back ^^^

I have the CRC-400 model, tcl. As you mentioned, I have to play around with the water to rice ratios, as I don't like the crust at the bottom. Thanks again.

Great choice .... that is the Japanese version of the one I have. But because ours are 240v we have to pay £203 including shipping .....:eek:

I was told that this model is the most popular one sold from the range in Japan and that in "taste tests" people couldn't tell the difference between the induction models and these.

That and bacon.

Mmmm bacon.

Today has been the first non-rice day since little Zoji joined us.

It didn't work.

Next three days mapped out now. King Prawns with chilli (with rice). Rib-eye in teryaki (with rice). Sweet and sour chicken (with rice).

I guess I'll get fed up with the rice soon ..... but it doesn't seem likely.

In general they will produce better rice than most people can make using a traditional pot. I certainly get excellent results with mine, which is a Zojirushi model that uses induction heating (IH) technology, and cooks rice under a high level of pressure.

Most rice cookers will do a good job, but the best ones use induction to cook the rice (and keep it warm), and are "pressure type" models- ones that cook rice under pressure. These will produce better rice, and keep it nicely warmed and ready to eat generally for about 24 hours (or even longer, but I prefer to make fresh rice each day)

Thanks for your post ..... as I've said since I have my new Zoji which is now used daily. We're very fond of it!:D

Sorry- hadn`t read the whole thread before responding. Zojirushi is a great brand in rice cookers, you will enjoy it for many years!

my 2 cents: as a daily rice eater

white rice= most brands will get the job done well.

brown rice= purchased a Cuckoo high pressure cooker 5 years from a Home store in LA (apparently its a popular korean brand) for $150. I use it to cook mostly brown rice everyday and it has yet fail me. Thats probably in the range of 1,500 cycles

just an added note: supposedly pressure cooking reduces aflatoxins (toxins harmful to humans in higher levels)

good luck on your search :)

Whatever you do... just make sure its a brand that is either Japanese or Korean !!! ^

I give up. :D

I'd been meaning to get a new rice cooker for a while, and this thread finally got me to do it.

Zojirushi NS-ZCC18 arrived last week. Brown rice was very good, I just need to tweak the water amount slightly to get it a bit chewier, and it will be great. I've also made steel-cut oats twice, including last night/this morning with the timer function. It was great to wake up, walk into the kitchen, and hear the 'ready' melody indicating that my breakfast was ready. Delicious steel-cut oats with no waiting in the morning!

Well done!

Today I set it to harder, added butter, water, salt, broken cinamon stick onto my washed basmati. Wonderful rice.

grown up the chinese way i'm very used to cooking with zoji. I'm also pretty good at doing it with a pot and for risotto, a pan.
Zoji usually makes very good rice esp with the newer type fuzzy logic for japanese/brown rice mix. However when cooking for my self after work (usually have the dish already prepared) i would not want to wait for another 15 mins...(the quickest rice cooker i've used takes 30-40 mins, and there is 1 that makes really good rice... takes 50 mins!)... i've accustomed to cook rice with a pot (1 part rice 1 part water, bring to boil, then stir till the bottom (so rice wont stick to the bottom to make cleaning PITA), and simmer till all water is absorbed whilst lid's on. I personally like a bit more water. For japanese rice, presoak for 15-20 mins, and use the same ratio AFTER (I personally prefer 1 part rice 1.25 part water tho)
after the cooking is done i leave it in for another 5 mins to rest, then fluff it.

Zoji is good, as long as you dont use a pot-for-10 for 1 person, or mind the wait!

:: perk ::
About how long do steel-cut oats take in your rice cooker? I don't have a fancy one with such settings, just on/warm/off.

In my Zojirushi, they take slightly over an hour on the 'porridge' setting (the Zos do cook well, but I believe they are notorious for long cook times compared to other cookers). That's with a 3:1:0.5 water: oats: dried fruit ratio.

Thanks, clarence. I'll give it a try.

I guess it must prove how wonderfully pointless my existence is.

For some reason I have started to think of little Zoji as being .... well ... sort of human. It isn't just that I talk to it. I talk to lots of inanimate objects particularly in my kitchen. I don't expect a response. In fact I prefer it that way. Most things I talk to answer back or contradict. But not in my kitchen. I hasten to add - I don't talk to knives or stuff like that. I only talk to things that do things. Like for example I may ask the grill why it had to burn something.

But today I started talking to Little Zoji. I found myself apologising for giving him the day off today.

Is this the first sign? :eek:

Or is it more advanced?:confused:

Just wait until you start using it to cook the Japonica grains it was designed for.

Our regular rice is labelled A131 here:
http://www.ricewineshop.com/cgi-bin/...i?product=kome

It's US grown keisenmai (easywash) Koshihikari packed for Nishimoto.
It's (for us) the best value Japonica rice we've found in the UK. We found you need to pay considerably more than this to get anything better.

I got all excited. I extracted my credit card to acquire said rice (I'm a very trusting sort of chap) - but there was all these funny squiggles - a bit like tapeworms.:confused:

When I eat rice I don't want tapeworms - just the normal mice poo will do.

There was this OMNI rice cooker thread a couple years ago. Thought I'd bump it. Hope this isn't a dup. Good luck!

believe it or not, Philips makes fantastic rice cookers as well, on par with the japanese brands. I chose them over the others because of the 2 year international warranty while all the others come with a 1 year domestic warranty which isnt valid in the UK.

i got their entry level fuzzy logic model, which has a capacity for 10 cups of rice, but has a small portion option which does 2 cups very well with no burnt bottom bit.

it sure helped me through my student days with the keep warm feature, as well as the soup making and slow cooking features. Its great to be able to go to class in the cold winter morning after just dumping the herbs and spices and meat into the cooker, and setting it on slow cook mode, and come back to a hot soupy meal that's pretty much been cooked for you automatically!

the steaming function also does well for making vegetables. By the way, most upmarket/fuzzy logic rice cookers do not use teflon. Much newer, harder substance with bits of industrial diamonds in it to avoid damage from people using metal utensils on it.

for most of my life i used the basic rice cookers because of the comparitively high price of the fuzzy logic models, but only after getting a fuzzy logic one (it was on discount, so i went for it) i discovered what i had been missing out on!


this is the basic fuzzy logic model i got: http://www.philips.com.sg/c/home-coo...hd4746_00/prd/

was 35 pounds after discount :)

this is one i want to upgrade to at some point! http://www.philips.com.sg/c/home-coo...hd4763_00/prd/

pressurised function would be nice for soups...


and this is their most advanced one

http://www.philips.com.sg/c/home-coo...hd4777_00/prd/



the small 5 cup models are not big enough for soup making/slow cooking, better to get a bigger one which has a small quantity menu option, so you get the best of both.

What's the ZAQ10? It's not listed on Zojirushi's world site (http://www.zojirushi.com/user/script..._category_id=1).

Is it just the 240v version of the NS-ZCC10? (http://www.amazon.com/Zojirushi-NS-Z...bs_678540011_5 or http://www.zojirushi.com/products/nszcc)

This may very well be the second sign. :(

Ended up with this one as well - have been using it since Nov and works great... perhaps not as fancy as some other models, but no more burned pans of rice :o