# I Want My Rice Cooker **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 21, 2024, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-my-rice-cooker/1011965 "2024-12-21T08:46:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2024, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-my-rice-cooker/1011965/21 "2024-12-21T19:52:12Z")
If you have ever left rice at a high boil until all the water is gone, plus a few more minutes, you would immediately recognize the appeal of a machine to prevent that. Don’t ask me how I know. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2024, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-my-rice-cooker/1011965/22 "2024-12-21T19:54:08Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > If you have ever left rice at a high boil until all the water is gone, plus a few more minutes, you would immediately recognize the appeal of a machine to prevent that. My wife is the one who puts things on the stove and then walks away to do things on the computer. We’ve had our share of trouble over that. ---
**Author:** ![liirogue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dbc845/32.png) [@liirogue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liirogue)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2024, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-my-rice-cooker/1011965/23 "2024-12-21T20:14:09Z")
> [@bump](#): > > The big advantage to having a rice cooker for me is that it’s both more forgiving in terms of measurements- if I get my rices confused and use one’s proportion of water for the other, the rice cookers accommodate that due to the way they work. > > And most importantly, they’ll cook it right, then disengage and keep it warm. You don’t have to remember or listen for a timer or anything like that- it’s just done and warm, and you eat when everything else is ready. This is why I love my rice cooker - it cooks any variety of rice and it comes out perfectly every time, even if I mess up the water ratio. Also, I cook steel cut oats in it. Set the oats to soak in the pot overnight, then turn the rice cooker on before I get in the shower and by the time I’ve made my way back into the kitchen I have a pot of perfectly cooked oats ready to eat. Hard to beat for an easy breakfast. I have a friend that has a steamer basket inset for his rice cooker. He’ll cook an entire meal in one go - rice in the pot and then a protein and veggies in the inset that cooks while the rice does its thing. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2024, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-my-rice-cooker/1011965/24 "2024-12-21T22:50:29Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > bring it to a gentle boil in a covered saucepan for 15 minutes, and then let it sit for anywhere from a minimum of 5 minutes up to an hour or more if I’m not immediately ready to serve it Bring it to a boil in a pot with a well fitting lid. As soon as it starts to boil, turn the heat down to almost nothing, leaving the lid on. About 20 minutes for white rice, about 40 minutes for brown, depending on just how you like it. (And no I am not using converted rice.) Exact timing on any of this is unlikely to matter, except that if you don’t turn the heat down when the pot boils it may boil over and make a mess on the stove. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > If you have ever left rice at a high boil until all the water is gone, plus a few more minutes, you would immediately recognize the appeal of a machine to prevent that. > > Don’t ask me how I know. Does some of it wind up on the ceiling? Because if you do that with what were supposed to be hard boiled eggs, they will wind up on the ceiling. As well as on much of the rest of the kitchen. Not very good for the pot, either. If the appeal of a rice cooker is that otherwise the above is likely to happen, then I do now understand the appeal of a rice cooker. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2024, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-my-rice-cooker/1011965/25 "2024-12-21T23:09:16Z")
> [@solost](#): > > I’ve been cooking for 40 years and this is how I cook rice. It comes out perfectly fine, every time. Yet some p > [@solost](#): > > > [@snowthx](#): > > > > As a result, we’ve reverted to the uncivilized method of cooking rice in a regular pot on the stove. > > I’ve been cooking for 40 years and this is how I cook rice. It comes out perfectly fine, every time. Yet some people swear by their rice cookers. What is their appeal, exactly? Does the rice come out fluffier or something? I used to have a very nice rice cooker. The problem (hah!) was that 2 cups dry weight was the minimum it would do. Which is great. Because I love me some steamed rice (jasmine by preference). But after I hit 40, I really, really needed to cut back on calories and carbs. And that’s when I ditched it. I still make rice, but rarely more than a cup’s worth (tops) which is harder on most good quality rice cookers. And my PCP is already telling me to cut back on simple carbs again because I’m far too close to pre-diabetic for someone at 50 with a family history of diabetes. But dear god, the set and forget is just so much nicer - because while I like to cook, I’m darn lazy. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2024, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-my-rice-cooker/1011965/26 "2024-12-21T23:36:14Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > I still make rice, but rarely more than a cup’s worth (tops) which is harder on most good quality rice cookers. I feed our dogs Merrick brand kibble, which is high quality but grain free. I add brown rice to their meal. So I make rice on a regular basis and cool/refrigerate it for the dogs. When our dinner involves rice I just make 2 cups in the rice cooker, use what we need, and dump what is left into the dog Tupperware. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-my-rice-cooker/1011965/27 "2024-12-22T00:41:27Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > > [@solost](#): > > > > I’ve been cooking for 40 years and this is how I cook rice. It comes out perfectly fine, every time. Yet some people swear by their rice cookers. What is their appeal, exactly? Does the rice come out fluffier or something? > > I’m glad you brought this up, so I didn’t have to get yelled at. I cook mine in a nonstick pot and set a timer to tell me when to take it off the heat and let it steam a bit. This isn’t rocket science and it works perfectly every time. I use rinsed Basmati rice, which is pretty much foolproof. I’m pretty sure that millions of Indians and other Asians use the same technique without having to buy yet another appliance. **Not that I don’t like the appliances that I have; I just don’t see the need for this one.** But that’s the thing. For more than forty years, this has been an “appliance that I have”. Don’t really feel like changing that up now. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-my-rice-cooker/1011965/28 "2024-12-22T00:44:24Z")
> [@Cee](#): > > I was gonna suggest just findiing heat and water resistent tape and fix it that way or research other easy and cheap ways to fix the hole instead of spending money on another rice cooker. I did make it clear that the loss of the Hitachi rice cooker happened more than two years ago, didn’t I? Perhaps I should have started this thread then. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-my-rice-cooker/1011965/29 "2024-12-22T00:50:15Z")
> [@Cee](#): > > I was gonna suggest just findiing heat and water resistent tape Weld it, maybe? ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-my-rice-cooker/1011965/30 "2024-12-22T01:36:17Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > When our dinner involves rice I just make 2 cups in the rice cooker, use what we need, and dump what is left into the dog Tupperware. -imagines trying to feed the snakes or cats -rice- and the bloody, painful wounds of their displeasure- 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-my-rice-cooker/1011965/31 "2024-12-22T12:52:37Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > But that’s the thing. For more than forty years, this has been an “appliance that I have”. Don’t really feel like changing that up now. Well, you’re usually best off with what you know, right? Although I recall that my sister gently mocked a gift I gave her for Christmas one year. She was a prolific cookie maker during the season, giving them to all her friends and family, and a lot of those cookies had zest as an ingredient. For many years she used one of those old-fashioned zesters, which are labor intensive, so that year I gave her a Microplane. “Wow, I’ve got a tool!” she teased. She called me a year later and apologized, saying that it was the best damn thing she’d ever used in the kitchen. ---
**Author:** ![Cee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cee/32/18345_2.png) [@Cee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cee)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-my-rice-cooker/1011965/32 "2024-12-22T17:11:22Z")
Fuck, sorry. My interpretation was that you still had it and you only now got rid of it. ---
**Author:** ![Cee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cee/32/18345_2.png) [@Cee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cee)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-my-rice-cooker/1011965/33 "2024-12-22T17:13:01Z")
Yeah, I was thinking maybe sodering or welding when I thought of the tape. I think that would probably do better. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-my-rice-cooker/1011965/34 "2024-12-22T17:30:39Z")
My friend was gifted a (IIRC) Korean rice cooker (something about the gifter though my friend’s previous one was suboptimal). Issue one is it takes 220 V – my friend uses a variac ([https://variac.com/](https://variac.com/)). Issue two is all the displays and labels are in Korean – my friend has a cheat sheet nearby. IIRC it makes a cheerful tune when done. Brian ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-my-rice-cooker/1011965/35 "2024-12-22T20:42:59Z")
I probably never would have bought a rice cooker for myself, but I received one as a wedding gift and another one as a later gift. Now I’m hooked. BTW, brown basmati rice looks and tastes much like white rice and is a great substitute if you don’t like regular brown rice. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2024, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-my-rice-cooker/1011965/36 "2024-12-23T00:46:31Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > BTW, brown basmati rice looks and tastes much like white rice and is a great substitute if you don’t like regular brown rice. I’m one of those people who are fond of brown rice. One of the reasons that I like my rice cooker is that I often make a mix of brown rice and quinoa and it cooks them together perfectly every time. I get that it feels like a frivolous item and my friends often laugh at some of my splurge purchases. With that said, anytime I stay in a different place for more than a day, the things I miss most are my Toto Bidet Seat, my Opal Nugget Ice machine, and my Zojirushi. Not one of those are necessary, even in a first world country, but they sure are nice. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-my-rice-cooker/1011965.md?page=1)