Rice cookers?

Personally, my rice cooker is one of my most important kitchen appliances. I generally don't go in for single-purpose devices, but the difference between a good rice cooker and a bad rice cooker is a lot of crunchy rice in the garbage. Or broken rice cookers in the garbage. Cheap ones tend to break easily, as has already been pointed out.

Of course, for your situation, it depends on how often you plan to use it, what you plan to do with it, etc. White and brown rice need to be cooked differently, so if you're planning to eat more brown you need a rice cooker that can handle that. Good rice cookers can also make rice porridge, cook oatmeal, and even be set on a timer so you can come home to fresh cooked rice. For me, it was worth it to get a good one.

IMO, the biggest thing is a non-stick surface which will cost a bit more...I had one without a non-stick surface once upon a time and it was just a waste with so much rice just sticking to the cooker...I hated that friggin' thing and used it about three times I think...

I bought a cheap rice cooker on amazon.com, about $15.00 and I love it. It is just for me. I use it a few times a week to make oatmeal or rice. It is the Black & Decker 3 cup one. It's small enough to fit in my carry-on to travel with. I'm sure a more expensive one might be better, but in comparison to my making rice in a pot (terrible, sticks and I have to watch it and it uses my only pot) or oatmeal (pouring boiling water over it and it is never quite cooked) this is heaven! Perfect oatmeal and rice every time. The oatmeal cooks through and faster than my "old way" and the white rice is always perfect. But I haven't tried brown rice yet in it.

I have an Aroma Rice Cooker, it was about $30. Apparently I've had it so long they don't make the model I have anymore. It has buttons for white rice, brown rice, steam and keep warm. I made steel cut oats (brown button for steel cut, white for rolled) in it this morning. Also make quinoa in it and of course, rice. They make a basic cheapy model for about $15 which I used for many years but I wanted non-stick and a brown rice function so I upgraded. There are models out there that cost $100+ that people swear by but for a few times a week a middle of the road one should suit you fine.

skouar11 wrote: »

Jax2120 wrote: »

Are rice cookers something that you have to spend a lot of money on or are they all pretty much created equal?

Don't buy a rice cooker instead invest in a pressure cooker I have cooked essential. You can make everything in one pot from rice to soups and stews and chilis I absolutely love it. Also you can make rice in 6min compare it to 20 min or more in the rice cooker.

Meh. I have an Instant Pot that I love but I held onto my rice cooker. The Instant Pot just doesn't do a good enough job on rice IMO. I belong to a couple of groups and rice seems to be a consistent fail on a daily basis. Plus you're talking almost double the price vs a decent rice pot and we have no idea if the OP is into pressure cooking or not.

My rice cooker is a pan on the stove. I like Cal Rose rice. I boil 2 cups water. Add salt if desired. Put in 1 1/2 cups rice. Stir. Put on the lid. Turn stove to low. Cook 20 minutes. Turn off stove. Wait 10 minutes. Take lid off pan and rice is perfectly cooked.

Most rice is 2 cups water, 1 cup rice, same other steps. I'm a mediocre cook and I can't figure out how anyone could mess up rice, but it does seem to be one of those things that is difficult for some people and they need special tools to cook it. A Japanese friend once told me that Chinese rice cookers were the best.

I had a cheap rice cooker for years. It's in my basement now. I use either my instant pot or gowise pressure cookers to make rice. I've never had a problem. I'm sure an expensive rice cooker might do a better job, but the electric pressure cooker does a better job than my cheap rice cooker did. Especially for brown rice.

RedSierra wrote: »

skouar11 wrote: »

Jax2120 wrote: »

Are rice cookers something that you have to spend a lot of money on or are they all pretty much created equal?

Don't buy a rice cooker instead invest in a pressure cooker I have cooked essential. You can make everything in one pot from rice to soups and stews and chilis I absolutely love it. Also you can make rice in 6min compare it to 20 min or more in the rice cooker.

That may be true, but a rice cooker will turn itself to warm to off. You have to watch a pressure cooker and remember to turn the heat off.

My biggest reason for buying a rice cooker was I would forget to turn the heat off when I cooked rice on the stove. Lots of burned pots.

Electric pressure cookers turn themselves to warm or off, depending on the cooker and what you tell it to do.

I have a cheap one from Walmart and it has a non stick surface but the bottom stick sticks abit. Works great otherwise it is one of those things once you get you wish you had all along, mine has a steamer as well so I throw rice or quinoa in the cooker and veggies and chicken up top and in 15-20 mins its ready without me having to watch it, usually dump it in a bowl mix in some salsa and its a tasty quick meal.

I used pan for years to cook rice with no trouble at all. Then we moved to a house with an electric stove (instead of gas). I don't know how many pots of rice I burned with that. I have since bought a cheap Japanese rice cooker and our rice adventures have been heaven. Part of that was me adjusting to electric stove, I am sure, but I can cook anything else on it, just not rice in a pan!

I grew up on a steady diet of white rice literally every meal (cooked the persian way where you steam it in a saucepan as decreed by my VERY persian father). I am now in love with my little basic cheap rice cooker. It's WAY easier to use and the warm feature is amazing for steaming and best of all there's no need to mind it as aggressively as other methods. I've had zero issues with the cheap model since it turns out perfectly steamed rice for me every time, and no desire to upgrade. there are also many recipes for other things that can be cooked in rice cookers besides rice or other grains. definitely a worthwhile purchase.

I bought my $20 rice cooker and have had it for 2years and its still going Strong. I use it to make white rice, quinoa, brown rice,buckwheat and I have cooked lentils in there before (just keep an eye on them! )

JeromeBarry1 wrote: »

My rice cooker is a saucepan with a lid. It works fine.

Oh, alright. If you must know. The water goes in, the flame goes high, the rice goes in, the eyes watch. When the water begins to bubble, the lid goes on, the flame goes low and the timer goes to 17 minutes.

More or less my approach, except I use a Corningware casserole dish (oven and stovetop safe) instead of a saucepan (couldn't give you a great reason, other than my mother did it that way and I think it distributes heat more evenly than my not-very-expensive stainless steel saucepans), and I bring the water to a boil before I toss the rice in and reduce the heat, and I check it after only 15 minutes.

I have cooked rice in a saucepan, pasta-style (lots of water, drain at end). It's OK, but I prefer the starchier, stickier results of just using as much water as the rice will absorb. I imagine people who grew up on instant rice would be happy with regular rice cooked pasta-style.

I have a small kitchen, so I try to avoid specialized, single-purpose gadgets, unless it's really essential and there's no work-around. So, no garlic press, or anything else that essentially replaces a knife for one job. (No, really, I need a small and a large French press. Hey, I didn't replace the automatic drip coffee maker when the heating element broke, although I saved the nice thermal-insulated carafe. And the basket and metal-mesh insert for making pour-over. That's a net space-saving! And I only have a breadmaker because someone gave it to me as a gift, and it saves energy, especially in summer when I don't want to fight the AC by turning on the oven. And the food-scale -- I use that for baking as well as food-logging, so that's not single use. Stop looking at the wok. OK, I admit I don't cook Chinese food that often, and I could just do it in a skillet ... Just stop looking at the wok!)

JeromeBarry1 wrote: »

My rice cooker is a saucepan with a lid. It works fine.

Oh, alright. If you must know. The water goes in, the flame goes high, the rice goes in, the eyes watch. When the water begins to bubble, the lid goes on, the flame goes low and the timer goes to 22 minutes.

I'm going to revise and extend, but only in hopes of collecting another 'woo'. I made the rice the next morning and after 17 minutes it was obvious that my low flame had been too low to adequately cook the rice in 17 minutes. I returned the rice to the pot and returned the flame to low for an additional 5.

I suggest Cuckoo (Korean) you can buy them in Asian food marts or on Amazon.

Bought one after going through what felt like my umpteenth cheap rice maker. Colleague brought one to a potluck and the rice was amazing.

The one I bought doubles as a crock pot/slow cooker. It can be programmed to start so the rice/quinoa/stew is ready when I get home and can keep everything warm and fresh for over 12 hours (no drying or burning). Has different settings for different types of rice.

Amazing little gadget!