Choose A Rice Cooker For Perfect Rice

If you are looking for one of the most versatile kitchen appliances that you can find, look no further than the rice cooker. Rice cookers do several other things besides just cook rice and are useful appliances in both kitchens and dorm rooms.

Of course you can use a rice cooker to make excellent rice every time, but they also can be used to cook other hot cereals, soups, stews, steamed vegetables and even deserts. Be sure that you choose a rice cooker that has the features that you will use.

The best rice cookers are made in Japan. There are other models that may be less expensive from other countries, but you will enjoy using the Japanese rice cookers the most.

You will find rice cookers range in size from a three cups to ten cups. Buy the size that is closest to the amount of rice you normally cook. While larger cookers will cook smaller amounts, they work best at full capacity, but not over filled.

Remember that a Japanese cup is only six ounces. Most Americans are more used to an eight ounce cup. To adjust recipes, remember that rice cooker cups are approximately three fourths of an American cup.

Most Japanese households favor the mid-sized rice cookers.

If you want easy clean up from your rice cooker, choose the one with a non-stick pan. This non-stick pan is great for rice. Rice just does not stick to it and slides out leaving a clean pan. A quick rinse and you are ready to cook again.

There are three basic types of rice cookers, the on/off models, the keep warm models and the fuzzy logic models.

On/off models cook the rice and then turn off automatically. There may not be an indicator light but these inexpensive models are very versatile and do a great job at cooking rice.

Keep warm models cook the rice and then after it is done maintain the rice so that it is warm when you are ready to use it. Just be sure that you unplug the rice cooker when you are finished with it since there is no off position.

Some of the more expensive rice cookers have fuzzy logix. This means that they have differing settings for soup or brown rice. Some of these machines even allow you to choose the texture of your finished rice.

The most expensive (over two hundred dollars) rice cookers offer induction heating. These rice cookers make perfect rice every time. They can compensate for variations in measurements in rice or water.

If you want a rice cooker that is also a steamer, be sure to look for the plastic steamer tray. This tray allows you to make perfectly steamed vegetables very quickly.

For a college student living in the dorms, a rice cooker is a perfect gift. Be sure that you get the smallest cooker so the student doesn’t have to deal with leftovers. In addition to rice and vegetables, the student can always throw in a package of Top Ramen noodles for a quick lunch.