The Cookware HeadQuarters

Rice cooker Guide:

Rice cookers can date it existence from earliest of times as British Museum has a ceramic rice steamer dated to 1250 BC on display. Can you imagine that?

Japanese company Mitsubishi was the first one to make electric rice cooker in mid 1940s, it was basic set electric set up and not very user friendly. In mid 1950s Toshiba created first commercially successful rice cooker. It was a simple design, with rice pot was place in another larger pot with water in it, so outer post boiled the water rice was cooked.

Today rice cooker have changed a little bit, using similar ways of way using insulated outer pot to boil rice in inner pot. Many rice cooker inner bowls are non-stick type and Teflon type of material, making easy for rice not to stick at bottom. That is reason why one should never use metal utensils to get rice out, even if your rice pot looks basic metal like.

Rice cooker sometime also known as a rice steamer by experts. Rice cooker is a cookware to steam rice or vegetables and comes in various sizes, depending on your family size need. For example many Asian family’s diet is rice-based and most likely will be using larger size of rice cooker.

At our home, we eat rice and tofu based diet so large rice cooker is must for us and we have gone through many types and brands to know which ones type of rice cooker are best for busy cooks.

Rice cooker comes in 3 types;

1) Electric rice cooker (basic ones and expensive with more features)
2) Gas powered (More suitable for restaurant or catering business)
3) Rice steamers for microwave ovens (Quick and easy)

Click here to see some of top rated Rice Cookers

We will look at electric rice cooker in much details in this guide, as it is most convenient and commonly used in household kitchen. Electric rice cookers are used most inside the home and some in commercial restaurants. Gas powered rice cooker are usually better suited for large restaurant as they are larger size and expensive. Microwave rice steamers are used for cooking small quantity rice in microwave oven.

Click her for more details on various types of Rice Cooker article.

Why use electric rice cooker when you can cook rice in a stock pot?

Cooking rice seems like simple enough process but cooking fluffy and al-dente rice is much more complex and requires constant monitoring. If you are cooking rice in without a rice cooker or steamer in a stock pot or large sauce pan, it requires that you put enough water slowly and keep watching the cooking process to make sure rice does not stick or burn at the bottom and to get fluffy rice that is not sticky and aromatic. Putting rice in rice cooker automate the process and does not required your full attention and when rice are cooked, most rice cooker goes in “warm” mode automatically without you having to worry about burning it. Only thing you have to worry about is putting rice and enough water in the inner pot and set it and forget it without much further attention.

How rice is cooked in rice cooker?

Rice cooker has inner removable pot, and underneath in outer insulated pot, there is a thermostat and heater that helps during the cooking process. When you put the inner pot filled with the rice and water, it pushed the spring against thermostat underneath for thermal contact and ensures heating at full power. That heat boils the water inside the inner pot and cooks the rice, some water is absorbed by cooked rice and rest is boiled off to steam through the glass lid. Once rice is cooked, thermostat that monitors the inner temperature, switches off the rice cooker in “warm” mode. Some sophisticated rice cooker can switch off the machine by itself.

What to look for in rice cooker?

For most family, electric rice cookers are best for its price and convenient way to cook. There are two types, basic electric rice cooker and fuzzy logic electric rice cooker. There are some inexpensive rice cooker with basic features and some rice cooker with very advanced features available.

Basic rice cooker are inexpensive and does fine job of steaming rice. If you want to make more than just steaming rice, a good fuzzy logic electric rice cooker comes with many features and can cook and do many things, with little bit more price. Fuzzy logic electric rice have great features such it cooks food via heat induction making a superior quality rice and other food. It also does automated correcting and fluctuating temperature to cook best fluffy rice. It also can cook more than basic rice such as soup, stew, porridge and even sushi rice.

Features to look for in a rice cooker:

• Clear glass lid: to see cooking process before opening
• Reheat function: to use to warm up rice that has gone cold
• Auto switch to “warm” or “shut-off” function
• Non-stick inside: Rice comes of easy and so is cleaning
• Quick cook function: no need for pre-soaking rice
• Capacity: Large enough to feed your family
• Easy maintenance and clean up

Our recommendations:

Pick a good quality basic or fuzzy logic rice cooker, based on your budget, features and how you will be using it in your kitchen. Here are some of Top Rated Ricer Cookers we like;

Best Selling Rice Cookers

• Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 5-1/2-Cup Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker and Warmer, Premium White

• Sanyo ECJ-D55S 5.5-Cup Micro-Computerized Rice Cooker/Steamer

• Zojirushi NS-LAC05XA Micom 3-Cup Rice Cooker and Warmer, Stainless Steel