Well, it was old, and getting on in years. But of course, by the nature of the rice cooker, you don’t find out until you actually want to cook some rice!
Yes, I know I’m not supposed to eat such empty carbs, and that the Japanese are shorter and weaker because they eat so much of it, but y’know, it tastes good, so go yourselves, authors of Eat This, Not That. Yes, I know Alton Brown says I should be able to cook it in a pot, and I did. But then it came out with little black specks on some of the outer grains. No sign of anything black in the raw rice, so I have to assume it came from the pot (which is seldom used due to its small size). And hell, if the frickin’ Japanese use rice cookers, why the hell can’t I?
Now I gotta shop for another sometime. Any suggestions on brands or other things to look for? I do have an Asian market near my apartment, so that’s nice.
Bummer. My family has had good luck with the Zojirushi brand. They’re generally pricier than the other brands, but they’re very reliable and the model we got had a non-stick surface. Our current model has lasted about 6+ years of almost daily use, our old one had lasted 13+ years when the pot got a little too scratched for my mother’s liking and we decided to get a new one.
If you don’t cook rice too often and can’t justify the extra expense, the Panasonic and Tiger brands are pretty solid as well.
It’s my understanding that rice cookers are extremely simple devices in which very little can actually go wrong. If it’s just “died” (as opposed to suffering significant physical damage), I’d take it apart and look for a thermal fuse that a multimeter detects as “open” (i.e. the thermal fuse burns itself out when the temperature passes some safety limit, breaking the circuit). Replacements can be very cheap, but be careful about soldering them in place. You could end up burning out the component you’re trying to install. Buy a few spares.
[Chanting] Zojirushi…Zojirushi…Zojirushi… seriously—they are the BOMB. Perfect friggin’ rice every time. I use mine literally every day, so I went and got the top-of-the-line model with induction heating. Cost me a week’s pay, but it’s worth every penny.
Leaper, I beg you, just cook it in a regular pot. Rice is the easiest thing in the world to make. The keys are a tight fitting lid and the correct rice to water ratio.
You put one cup of rice into two cups of water with a little salt, bring it to a boil and let it cook on high until the water level is even with the rice and there are little steam holes in the rice (go ahead and stir it a few times). Turn the heat to low and put the lid on the pot. Let it cook for 20 minutes and immediately remove from the heat. DO NOT PEEK WHILE IT’S COOOKING. It comes out perfect everytime!
I promise if you give it another try, you’ll never get out yet another appliance you have to clean.
I have both a 20-year-old Sanyo from a past roommate and a 28-year-old Hitachi. Both are bare-bones and have always worked perfectly. I agree with Bryan Ekers that they’re about as simple an appliance as can be. I wonder what makes the Zojis supposedly better?
We’ve got a Zojirushi (6 cup, basic, no fuzzy logic etc.) and it works well. Not as well for brown rice - we have to let the rice presoak a bit before cooking and there’s always an inedible crust on the bottom, but otherwise we’re pleased.
As an alternative, though, we occasionally make rice in the microwave and so far it’s always come out perfect. The only downside is it boils over enough that the glass tray has to be pulled out and cleaned afterward.
My Oster died a little while ago, I had read reviews before buying it that it was decent but after it died I found all sorts of info on Osters dying after a short time. It’s supposed to be fixable but I haven’t had the gumption to find my receipt and go through that hassle.
I love my Zojirushi. Every batch of rice I’ve ever made in it comes out perfectly. I also make steel-cut oatmeal in it, using the porridge setting.
We got a good deal on it because a local Japanese supermarket was having a sale on their last-year’s models of rice cookers. I suggest checking out your local Japanese (or even Korean) market and see if they’re having any sales. I wouldn’t be surprised if Korea makes cookers of a price and quality to compete well with Japan’s, too.
What I do is just bring the water + salt to a boil first, then toss in a drizzle of olive oil and stir in the rice. Turn the heat down to medium-low, cover, and let sit for 20 minutes. Takes only a couple minutes to get going, and then you can forget about it until your timer goes off.
(That’s for white rice anyway, especially basmati. I don’t generally cook brown rice, so I’m not sure if it would work as well for that.)
The main difference is that Zojirushis have very even cooking, which results in rice that is uniformly fluffy. Other appliances I’ve used tended to heat unevenly, resulting in a crusty, overcooked exterior and an interior that was mushy. This should not be a problem with any of the big name brands while new. The problems usually happen as the products get older (and for rice cookers, older usually means more than 6 to 10 years).
Another difference is the rice pot (the removable pot you put the rice in) in the Zojis are sturdier and more uniform, which helps with even cooking. Other than that, all other differences are mainly cosmetic.
NEVER scrub the inside with anything abrasive.
No, not even if you forgot to clean it and it’s all gunky with dried rice. Just fill it with enough water to cover the gunk and run it through a reheat cycle. It’ll be easy to clean after that.
Take care of it and it’ll last damn near forever, had our 15 years so far.
Did I mention you should NEVER scub the pot with anything abrasive? At least not unless you want to buy another pot in a few years.
My wife makes rice in the microwave and it comes out perfect every time. I can post the instructions for you if you’re interested.
As far as your worry about rice being “empty carbs”, you should check out this link and you might feel better. Also, check out the link there for the thread where Alan Aragon puts the hammer down on what he calls “bro science”. He’s a nutritionist that only makes claims that can be backed up by legitimate studies. He’d make a great Doper.
yourselves, authors of Eat This, Not That. Yes, I know Alton Brown says I should be able to cook it in a pot, and I did. But then it came out with little black specks on some of the outer grains. No sign of anything black in the raw rice, so I have to assume it came from the pot (which is seldom used due to its small size). And hell, if the frickin’ Japanese use rice cookers, why the hell can’t I?
How is cleaning out a regular pot any different from cleaning out the removable rice cooker pot? It’s one similar sized pot either way.