I am going to buy myself a fancy rice cooker. I am thinking of getting a Zojirushi of some sort. However there are three models I’m between. One that has Fuzzy Logic, one that has Induction Heating, and one that is a Pressure Cooker(!). I want to make quinoa and have some good tasting rice. But Christ…$400 is a ton of money for a rice cooker! Thoughts?
I’m very happy with the rice cooker I got from Walmart for $15. It’s not a pressure cooker though. 
Zojirushi is the Apple of rice cookers-- really good but priced higher than almost everything else out there. I’d suggest exploring alternate brands, as you can still get a damn good appliance for much less moolah.
Last time I shopped for one I ended up getting a Sanyo, for half the price of the comparable Zojirushi. (This particular brand/model was recommended by somebody on eGullet, if I remember correctly.) I couldn’t be happier with it-- the particular one I got (at the link) comes with a separate slow-cooker pot and lid, along with steamer inserts. No pressure cooker, though!
Our doesn’t have either fuzzy logic OR the pressure-cooker functions, but it turns out very tasty rice. (Protip: throw some chopped onions, carrots, peas, etc. in for color & nutrition.) I suppose the real question is: do you need but not have a pressure cooker? What kinds of things were you wanting to cook, other than rice? (Quinoa is dead-easy to make in a regular pot, if that’s the only thing tipping you towards the expensive-ass rice cooker.)
I just boil rice in the microwave… What am I missing?
Anything with fuzzy logic should do you well, IMO.
There are those of us who are utterly incapable of making a pot of rice. I’ve tried dozens of times to cook rice on the stove or in the microwave, and every single time I turned out rice that was either overcooked or undercooked to the point of inedibility. It’s not that I’m a bad cook, per se; I can cook meat and vegetable in a stir fry decently enough. But I just couldn’t get the rice. A rice cooker helps with that. It’s also difficult to tell if I’m making enough rice or too much; the way Japanese rice cookers handle portions, I can pretty perfectly estimate serving size.
In addition, if you do cook a lot of rice it simply is easier than a pot on the stove or microwave. A staple should not be anything one needs to think about, and it’s nice that I can pour in the rice and water according to the cooker’s instructions and get perfect rice every time without putting much thought into it. The generic cooking instructions on a bag of rice are dependent on individual stove and pot characteristics; a rice cooker removes the uncertainty and variability.
I spent a good $120 on my Zojirushi and it paid for itself before the year was out. Still cooking along 5 years later.
Bought my Zojirushi on sale at Target.com, of all places, for about $80. It’s a very basic model. It has one switch in the front, and that’s it. And it’s done a great job for us. We’ve used it to make sticky rice, basmati rice, and various brown and wild rices. Measuring with the cup that comes with it, filling the water to the appropriate line, set it on the counter and flip the switch. The “cooking” light comes on, and then after about fifteen minutes, the “keep warm” light comes on and we’ve got rice. It’s like a toaster, but without the breadcrumbs.
The only thing I don’t like about it is the number of random parts. Rice paddle, rice paddle hanger, dew cup, lid insert, bowl insert. They all pop off for cleaning and easy of misplacement. Not for households with small children.
Enjoy,
Steven
Moving to Cafe Society from IMHO.
If you want the best price on a good rice cooker, check out your local chinese/asian market.
National is the brand they tend to favour, and what I’ve always used, without complaint. They come in every available size and are reasonably priced.
There are rice cookers, rice steamers, vegetable steamers, etc.
Check that the ‘rice cooker’ you buy, specifically states it will keep the rice perfect for up to 8 hrs. That’s how you know you’re really buying a ‘rice cooker’, and not a vegetable steamer that cooks rice, (but doesn’t keep it for hours!)
I have the induction model Zojirushi—the second to top-of-the-line (the one that’s not a pressure cooker). It’s completely idiot-proof. You simply can not fuck up the rice, or any other grain for that matter. Perfect fucking everything, every fucking time. Worth every penny, since I use it every day. I’d say it’s already paid for itself, considering that I can throw cheap $0.20/pound California long grain white in there and it will come out restaurant perfect.
I have had the exact same performance from my National rice cooker; idiot proof, impossible to fuck up, perfect every time, at a fraction of the price.
Here is one we have and it is amazing. Good price, cooks everything nicely, and is very sturdy and reliable.
Aroma 7 Cup Rice Cooker
I highly recommend it.
Thanks for all the recommendations. I found someone selling a never used Aroma rice cooker second hand for $30. It has the fuzzy logic and it does 20(!) cups of rice. If I feel the urge maybe one day I will go for a Zojirushi, but for now I think this will suffice. It steams veggies too! Awesome!
My 3 cup cooker is a Sanyo micom, about 6 years old now, and it is pretty good. To be honest though, my Tiger 5.5 cup 3 in 1 cooker is absolutely fantastic. I didn’t get the induction or pressure cooker version, just the regular micom one and it truly is fantastic.
About fifteen years ago, I bought a no-name rice cooker for ten bucks. I found I could cook any grain in there, and I could cook lentils, and when I really went whole-hog, I could cook rice and lentils TOGETHER.
My daughter inherited that rice cooker, and it’s still going strong. I needed a smaller one for just the Hubster and me. Wally-World had a six-cup Rival, nonstick coated, for about thirteen dollars.
It’s a doozie!
If you don’t need rice in ten minutes, if you aren’t serving a battalion, if you aren’t providing a 24-hour buffet line, I’d say save your money on the pressure cooking, keeps-warm-for-days, bells whistles and birdcalls.
But by all means, get a rice cooker!
~VOW
The part I bolded makes me think this sucker is going to be one helluva counter/cabinet space hog. Do you do a lot of entertaining and/or feeding extended family? If not, and this is just for you and D. primarily, then I’d reconsider the size.
This sounds like the one I have or it’s at least close to it. I picked it up from Costco a couple of years ago for $25. It’s been my favorite rice cooker – and I’ve owned a few over the years. I use it for rice, oatmeal, steaming meats and veggies. Nothing you can’t do with a pot on a stove (to answer a question up thread) but the rice cooker means you don’t have to pay attention and can go off an do something else. The cooker will never boil over and will never burn the food.
I don’t have any problems cooking rice – I’ve been doing it since I was a child, and I never burn it; it always comes out just right. But a few weeks ago I bought a bag of black rice and have cooked it a few times. It’s come out fine but it’s a pain in the ass: You have to soak it first, and it takes even longer to cook than brown rice – lots longer.
The only quantity I could buy was 4kg, and that’s a lot of rice. I’ve given some of it away, but I’m going to be cooking a lot of black rice two servings at a time. So I was looking at rice cookers, and it seems that you really have to cook significantly more than two servings at a time. We wouldn’t use leftovers and would end up throwing it away, and it’s not really the kind of thing you’d use in a casserole. Does anybody have experience in cooking very small quantities (say a cup?) in a rice cooker?
Sure. I’ve never cooked black rice, but my rice cooker only cooks up to 3 cups and I’ve done 1 cup many a time - works just fine. I assume if you have a really big capacity one it might be hard to make a very small amount, but with a smaller one it’s not an issue.
I’ve had excellent luck with my Pampered chef microwave rice cooker. Shop | Pampered Chef US Site cooker .
It’s a thick double-walled plastic, with a lid that clamps on to prevent boil-overs. It’s not a pressure-cooker, but it allows a small amount of steam pressure to build up inside. I use it for rice, lentils and steel-cut oats. Very smooth inside so no sticking, and all the parts can go into the dishwasher.