I have researched the best rice cookers for the past few days because I really need a reliable one for everyday use. I read reviews on The New York Times, Consumer Reports, and Popular Mechanics, and they are marking these two as the best:
CUCKOO Rice Cooker 6 Cup Uncooked / 12 Cup Cooked
AROMA Digital Rice Cooker, 4-Cup
However, I’m having trouble deciding which one would best suit my needs and need your expert advice.
In my home, I usually cook white rice, brown rice, sushi rice, and sometimes porridge or mixed grains. I want a rice cooker that can handle all types well, keep rice warm without drying it out, and ideally have a delay timer and quick-cook function.
So which one should I buy?
Any recommendation will be appreciated!
Thanks in advance
I’m going to throw a monkey wrench in the works and suggest you look at a Zojirushi rice cooker. Most of Hawaii swears by them. Ours is used every day for many many years.
If the only thing you need a rice cooker to do is cook rice, the cheapest model will work just fine. For that matter, a regular saucepan with a tight-fitting lid works just fine. I cook rice 2-4x per week. Sometimes I use a cheap little one-cup cooker, sometimes it’s a pot on the stove, and if I need more than just a couple of cups, I use an 8-cup Aroma.
Yes… 100% agree – I have a cheap one from Walmart (had it for years) It does the job perfectly and the cook bowl & lid go into the dishwasher for easy cleaning.
In addition to rice, I cook lentils and pearl barley in my rice cooker. I have to adjust the water (I add), but other than that – push the button down and let it do its thing (while I do something else).
I grew up with a Tiger and National models, but have used my Zojirushi ever since I’m on my own (30 years or so). I only have had 2 tube coolers, and an upgrade was because I gave mine to my parents when they downsized and moved.
Zojirushis are great, and last a long time. With that being said, they are generally more expensive and rice cookers have come a long way and caught up in functionality.
If you cook a lot of those different rices frequently, I would go with the Cuckoo. A basic rice cooker may work well enough for different rices to make them palatable, but the newer tech I find just handles the different water and moisture levels of varying grains better. It’s worth the investment if you cook different rices a lot, and the textures are indeed better.
If you mainly cook just white and the occasional brown rice, then go for the basic Aromatic.
Since you listed brown rice as a concern, I’d pick the one that does that the best since brown rice cooking can be tricky and is different from white rice. Cuckoo might have an edge and is a bit larger and is customizable.
re: Zojirushi rice cookers are excellent and pricey. A friend had some rice from the top end Zojirushi (induction pressure, $800 model) and it was excellent….but $800 bucks? Even the low end Zojirushi models are around $200-ish.
Rice cookers last for decades. Those who have them, may not be familiar with current models.
I have a National from the 70’s. It performs well, thus a National circa 1975 is the best rice cooker. With 70 years of experience using rice cookers and eating rice, I am an expert.
Perhaps instead of asking for Best, and Experts, you should ask for recommendations.
Edit: a rice cooker does not know what grain you are cooking, the cooker “cooks” based on weight. Weight is determined by the amount of water used. When the water is gone, the cooker shuts off. If you used an incorrect amount of water you may not like the results. Dry or mushy grains is not the cooker but rather the cook.
Not quite. The cooker cooks based on temperature. Once the water in the pot simmers off enough, the temperature of the rice (or whatever is in the pot) rises and the little plate on the bottom of the outer pot senses the temperature rise, thus kicking the cooker to a lower setting (warm).
The New York Times I saw… recommended Zojirushi. Anyway, it comes down to how much you willing to pay. There are cheap rice cookers (<$100) and expensive rice cookers (>$300). You can of course just cook rice on stovetop too.
I can’t explain how it works, but the modern digital ones will cook different grains better - more variation. I don’t know if this is just through weight, temperature, level of moisture, etc. The newer ones will have different settings for your different rices, and that definitely offers different cooking times based on what you select. My Zojirushi has a nice “Quick Cook” option that forgoes some of the soaking time for rice and it can speed up cooking if you are short on time. Specifically, there are some rices I’ve seen that are designed for this “quick cook” option. I’ve used the quick cook option for brown rice and it’s still come out nice and palatable.
If someone is cooking the same grains every night (aka my parents!) then the simple rice cookers are great - it’s highly dependent on you to put the right water to rice ratio. If you want more precision, and enjoy experimenting with different grains, the newer digital ones will supposedly give you better results and are a little more forgiving if you accidentally use too much water.
Just saw this thread. I bought the same pressure one for our new stay…
Our previous same TOL Zoji was about $300 less. I dunno if I want to blame it on t-rifs.
It’s nice but not $800 nice…does make a better rice that I can do on the stove though.
And the crazy part about the price point is that there inner pot scratches easily. Not fingernail deep but you see scratches. Maybe because it’s a super smooth pan versus if I’m using Demeyere Alu5 as the NS as a reference. Used it only 3X and I see scratches in the new Zoji.
Our previous ones scratched just as easily…so I was on the -lookout- to see how fast or slow the newer one did.
Haven’t looked. A soft sponge and a rinse is more than sufficient for the non stick surface.
I’m sure there is a rhyme or reason for the super smooth surface. I dunno if it’s too smooth and not allowing enough texture-bite for a thicker NS coating. Whatever the case may be, when you’re close to spending a rack after taxes, just slightly disappointing it’s nothing new…scratches just as easily as the previous model as such
I have a Zojirushi 5.5-Cup Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker & Warmer (Made in Japan) (#NS-ZCC10WZ) that I got last January at a store called Superco. I was having trouble in my saucepan getting sushi rice correct so I finally just decided to get a rice cooker. I really like it and I’ve done all kinds of rice in it except mixed grains. The Superco had the cheapest price on them, plus I decided to do a PayPal offer of credit and get another $20 off so got it for $160, a lot better than Amazon! The company is trustworthy, I actually called Zojirushi first and they said Superco was legit and part of any warranty. I’ve also called Zojirushi about a couple rice instructions, like regular long grain. There’s also recipes on their website. I even called Zojirushi about which rice cooker to get before purchase because others have various presets and the person said I would be most satisfied with the Neuro Fuzzy and after using it I can’t say they’re wrong. And brown rice turns out great, too! You use their cup to measure the rice, and Japanese cups are a little smaller than standard U.S. cups, so keep that in mind. It hasn’t been a problem for me. I’ve been careful with their inner pan because I heard it can scratch so only use their plastic rice paddle. I never wash my rice in the pan itself. I use a mesh bowl strainer in a steel mixing bowl. I like the retractable cord, too. The extended keep warm is great. Only thing that is bothersome I heard is about the battery for the clock which never shuts off is that eventually when it dies, you have to replace it somehow but not warranted after, I bookmarked that somewhere.
