The Consumer’s Guide to Rice Cookers
Put the Spice of Life into Rice Cooking
If you’re like most people who haven’t yet bought a rice cooker, you probably eye rice with some degree of reservation. Deceptively simple, rice hardly seems like a difficult food to master. Yet most people find it to be a hit-and-miss affair, often producing thicky-sticky clumps of unappealing white stuff that they hardly know how to serve. Then they force themselves to eat it - it’s a sin to throw out food – and if there are children in the house, they must down every bit because of the starving children around the world.
But it doesn’t have to be that way! Many are the initiated who are now producing moist, flavorful rice of all kinds and colors, perfect every time with a quality rice cooker. At the same time, they are steaming vegetables in the accompanying steam tray to complement their menu. The extra-efficient are even presetting the delayed start timers on their machine models. These cookers are a boon to their resourcefulness, with delicious slow-cooking casseroles and stews waiting for them hours later when they walk in the door!
Rice cookers come in a range of sizes with a host of convenient features. You will find 3-cup modest machines and industrial 20-cuppers with a full gamut in between. Simple inexpensive models cook your rice, hot cereal and pasta; 3-in-1 brands boast additional double cooking racks and steaming trays for single-handed meal preparation. How do you choose the right model for you?
First of all, consider size. How many people are you cooking for? Ongoing needs are likely determined by family size, with the occasional dinner party taken into account. Factor in the shelf or countertop space you have available. The larger the capacity, the more space it will occupy.
Balance budgetary allowance with convenience. Added features will save you time and hassle. You may pay more at the outset for that quick-cook cycle or nonstick interior, but you’ll save time in the cooking and clean-up later on.
Sophisticated models will bless your cooking with priceless versatility. If what you want is unadorned, unadulterated white rice, then an inexpensive no-frills rice cooker will fulfill your needs. It will serve you spaghetti, oatmeal, and other cooked grains, as well. If the world of slow-cooking minestrone soup and Hungarian goulash beckons, then you’ll wish to widen your wallet for a high-ended unit replete with specialty settings. This type of rice cooker acts as a slow-cooker and is well worth the price.
Now that we’re into the warm-up, let’s see what’s cooking with rice cookers.
Cooker Characteristics
Rice cookers vary widely in size and capacity. A 3-cup version with .6 liter capacity will accept 3 cups of uncooked rice, producing 6 cups of cooked rice. A 1.8 liter 10-cupper will make 20 cooked cups. Some manufacturers state clearly their reference to cooked and/or uncooked rice cups. If not stated otherwise, they refer to uncooked rice. While some are true indications, with others you must take their overly-broad cup definitions with a grain of salt – or rice, for that matter. (What they lack in accuracy they make up for in enthusiasm.)
In any event, bear in mind that you cannot fill a rice cooker to the very maximum. It will boil over and create a hapless mess.
In addition to size variation, rice cookers differ in color and shape. You will find them in silver, black, white, yellow, and other colors. Sometimes they come with contrasting black lid and handles. In a finish of stainless steel or chrome, they come in square and round shapes.
A transparent glass cover will allow for easy viewing. This obviates the need to open it to check on progress, which could scald face and hands. A viewing window is designed with the same purpose.
Lids with a steam venting hole in the cover are smartest. Otherwise they are liable to create a mass – and mess – of steam residue around the inner edges of the lid. A steam cap-and-vent maintains the moist quality of your rice by preserving the correct level of moisture within the machine.
Covers often feature a locking mechanism to promote child safety.
Cooked to the Core: Rice Cooker Settings & Functions
The settings of your rice cooker define its versatility. Are you a rice connoisseur who delves into the details of white rice, brown rice, sweet rice, mixed rice, long-grain, short-grain, wild (okay, so that’s not rice), sushi…then look for a rice cooker with specialty settings. Some machines have a soup setting, hot cereal setting, and steam function.
Other settings increase efficiency. A warming setting will keep your food deliciously warm for up to 12 hours without overcooking (or over-crunching). A moisture control setting will prevent boiling over.
Do you know how automatic shut-off works? Most rice cookers boast this device. Once the rice has absorbed all the water, the water-less state causes a rise in temperature in excess of 212 F (boiling). The thermostat detects this and turns off the unit.
In some machines the warming function will take over automatically when the cooking operation is shut off. If not, the temperature should nonetheless lower sufficiently to maintain optimum warmth and prevent overcooking.
The GABA Brown setting introduces a new way of cooking brown rice to increase its nutritional value. By soaking the rice for 2 hours at 104 F prior to cooking, the amino acid content is released at more intensified levels, activating the medicinal properties found therein.
Certain brands boast induction heating. This ensures even heat distribution and expedites the cooking process.
A combination double- or triple- function rice cooker are the crowning glories of the rice cooking realm. Their multiple function enables you to cook your casserole, consommé, or beef stew by using the appliance as a slow cooker, and at the same time steam your rice or vegetables in the steam tray. The steam tray sits inside the cooker, at times under the cover, at times beneath the main compartment or bowl. Some units offer 2 stainless steel steam trays; others allow you the possibility of inserting your own into the steam racks. While these high-ended rice cookers are more expensive, their versatility is worth every penny.
Rice cookers have not been left behind in this age of increasing computerization. Electronic touchpad controls and digital displays are one thing, but fuzzy logic computer technology and MICOM micro-computerized temperature controls are quite another. The closely monitored cooking conditions they create remove the margin for error more than ever before.
Features & Frills
These added features are sure to enhance your enjoyment and customer satisfaction.
A delay-start timer means you can set your cooker to go on at a later hour. It can activate in as many as 13 hours from setting time to produce just what you wanted - perfectly cooked, perfectly timed!
Measuring lines on the interior of the cooker indicate the water level. This makes it quick to fill the machine with water. (Otherwise you have to use a measuring cup.)
A removable bowl is a pleasure to clean. It is usually nonstick and dishwasher-safe, to boot.
A detachable inner lid fits just beneath the cover and is another easy-to-clean feature.
A detachable moisture collector saves you more time and effort.
A nonstick interior means that the entire interior is specially treated – a special treat for you!
A detachable cord is easy to store; a retractable cord is convenient to use.
No-slip feet are an excellent safety device.
A carrying handle increases portability.
Quick-cool cycle makes the aftermath a breeze!
Quick-cook cycle cuts your cooking time by 30-50%.
Cool-touch housing and/or lid handles promote safety in the kitchen.
A bell signals you that cooking is done.
Let’s not forget the accessories:
Steaming basket, usually of stainless steel, is a perfect way to steam the broccoli you will be serving on a bed of rice.
A measuring cup is for measuring out the rice. Chances are it’s calibrated for precise water-to-rice quantities.
A recipe book will add to your repertoire.
A spatula, scooper and serving spoon are extra conveniences. A holder will let you hang the scooper or spatula from the side of the unit.
So put the heat on, and make a rush for your new rice cooker today. And the next time your Asian neighbor greets you with his traditional native greeting– “Have you had your rice today?” – you will proudly affirm that you have. After all, it will be a cinch to make with your rice cooker, designed so smartly for living in ease and comfort…
