Rice Cookers

[Lisa0825]

I have been wanting to buy an inexpensive rice cooker. I can make rice just fine in a pot, but I understand that a cooker will keep it warmed and moist, plus I could use it to make rice at events, rather than having to use a stove top. I was thinking about getting one I could use for myself and to use for pot luck parties, which we have about once a month at work.

Does anyone have one? What do you think of them?

I actually have a party tomorrow, and I am making red beans and rice (Mardi Gras themed party), and I was thinking about running over to Target on my way from my morning meeting back to the office. Are these contraptions easy enough to pick up, unpack, plug in, and use right away? That way I could have FRESH rice for my party rather than trying to reheat it.

Thanks for any input

Here is what Target stocks...

http://www.target.com/c/home-kitchen-dining-kitchen-appliances-pressure-cookers-rice-cookers-steamers/-/N-5xtrh#navigation=true&viewType=medium&sortBy=bestselling&minPrice=from&maxPrice=to&isleaf=true&navigationPath=5xtrh&parentCategoryId=9976312&facetedValue=/-/N-5xtrhZ5zkty&RatingFacet=0

[elleng]

1. Friend had one and liked it,

sorry, don't remember which. Was red. Not difficult at all to use.

[Lisa0825]

3. Thanks!

I need to decide tonight if I will make the rice on the stove first thing in the morning before work, or buy the rice maker and make it just in time for the party. I am leaning toward buying the maker, but thought if it was not such a great idea and I posted, someone would clue me in

[NEOhiodemocrat]

2. I have a Proctor Silex Rice Cooker

Kids gave it to me so not sure how much it cost, but don't think it was expensive. I really like it. It cooks great and does keep it warm once done without drying it out. They are super simple to use, I always put in the maximum amount they call for (love the extra rice with milk and sugar for Breakfast) and the only problem I have had is the moisture coming out of the exhaust hole on top leaking down onto the counter. Not a major problem, I could just put less in

[Lisa0825]

4. Sounds great!!!

I would love to be able to keep rice nice and warm and moist for a party. I hate it when it gets cold, but my warmer would just dry it out. Thanks for the review

[Mira]

5. I'm a bit late to the party - I have a simple "Breville"

it was not expensive, you plug it in and follow the directions. It works beautifully for all you say you want to do.
I have no problem cooking rice
(my Mom would pre-cook it, put a clove studded onion in it, and then put the entire pot in her bed to keep it warm, but neither Mom nor I ever said she was a good cook)
but what I like about a rice cooker is the non-attention needed once plugged up. Would not want to be without it.

[Warpy]

6. Mine just cooks the rice and shuts off

Most Chinese restaurants around here use this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Aroma-ARC-996-Uncooked-Capacity-Digital/dp/B004O87GQU/ref=sr_1_8?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1329431002&sr=1-8

[NRaleighLiberal]

7. we bought the cheapest we could find - Bed Bath and Beyond - works just fine.

We use it for rice and for quinoa, mostly. I never thought we would use one - I am pretty good with rice, and it is so easy - but it is nice to just put in the rice and the water and turn it on...come back 20 or so min later and you are all set to go.

[gkhouston]

10. I've got a 20-year-old Black&Decker cooker that's still going strong.

We like brown rice, which takes longer to cook. Sometimes we cook rice one evening simply to have it on hand later in the week.

[Major Nikon]

13. FWIW, there's a B&D 6 cup rice cooker on Amazon for $13.64 with free shipping on orders over $25

I don't own one, but from the reviews it seems to be pretty good and fairly popular.

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-Uncooked-Yields-Cooked/dp/B000UWD9OW

[surrealAmerican]

8. Most of these units are well enough insulated ...

... to make the "keep warm" setting unnecessary. I always turn mine off right after cooking, even if the rest of the meal will take another hour. Actually if the heat stays on the rice on the bottom will brown and form a "crust".

If I want cool rice (for sushi), I need to take the insert out of the base and wait a few hours for the rice to cool down.

[Lisa0825]

9. Thanks everyone! I ended up buying an Aroma 20-cup that was on sale... but it was a crazy morning..

So, I leave the meeting at 9:40 and start heading toward my work, which Target is at about the halfway point on the drive. I pick up the cooker and head to work. The party was at noon, so I figured I would have plenty of time to cook the rice, which should take about 35 minutes, according to the instruction manual.

I saute the rice in a bit of butter, and then add the appropriate amount of water. I stir it up a bit, and I see this little black thing... a tiny little BUG!!! Well, I thought about it a moment, and I realize that it is nearly impossible to guarantee no bugs ever get in a factory making food, so I briefly consider thoroughly inspecting the rice and if there was no more...

....UH OH! I find at least a half dozen more, and then A LARVA!!!! EWWWWWWWW!!!!!!

So by this time, it is about 11:05 and the party starts in 55 minutes! My parking space is a couple blocks from my building because I am too cheap to pay for the closest lot, so I borrow my office-mate's car (a 2012 Camaro) so I can dash to the nearest grocery store to buy more rice. I look at her key chain and I don't see anything that looks like a key, but I remembered she had remote starting, so I figure it must just need a button pushed. The car starts, I get in, buckle my belt, and attempt to put the car in reverse. The dang shift won't move! I try everything I can think of to no avail!

I try to call my coworker from my cell phone, but she is on the phone, so I end up having to run back inside to ask her how to shift her car! Turns out there was a button on her keychain that makes the key pop out like a little switch blade, and even though the remote starts the car, the key MUST be in the ignition in order to drive. LOL!

So, I finally get to the store, buy more rice, and get back to the office. It is now 11:35, and I need to rinse out the cooker, add the rice and water again (to hell with sauteing it!!!), and get the cooker started!!!

After cooking for about 20 minutes, the party organizer starts coming around asking people to go ahead and start bringing their food down because apparently there was some confusion about whether it started at 11:30 or noon, and some people would need to be back in the office by 12:30.

ACK!!! My rice still needed another 10 minutes to cook!!! But people are starting to go through the line, and miss my awesome Red Beans and Rice, and I didn't go through all this for NOTHING!!!!

So I bring the beans down, then unplug the cooker and plug it in down there. I quickly opened it and scooped out a small bowl of gooey rice, and close it to let the rest cook more. At the end of the cook time, I open it and try to fluff it, but it's kind of sticky, (like very sticky Chinese rice) because I had opened it too soon in the first place and had caused it to stop steaming.

So, while I was fully intending to have fresh, hot, perfect rice by choosing to purchase the appliance, that did not happen.

However, my beans totally kicked ass and were a big hit! LOL!

[elleng]

11. WHAT A DAY!

Glad you're !!!

[maddezmom]

14. holy cow! what a day you had

glad your beans were a hit!

[tammywammy]

12. I have two rice cookers

Since I live by myself, I have a small 3 cup cooker for regular use. Then I also have a larger 8 or 10 cup cooker, maybe 12 cup, I'm not sure. If you look around you can find rice cooker recipes. I have a recipe for black eyed pea and sausage jambalaya all made in a rice cooker.

[Retrograde]

15. Not just for rice!

Last edited Thu Feb 23, 2012, 01:26 AM - Edit history (1)

I've used mine for barley, cracked wheat and wild rice as well, and I almost have tapioca down!

This is my model: I recommend the fuzzy logic ones since you can do a lot more with them. I also like this model since the rice won't stick to the bottom of the bowl and burn, like my old single function model did. It's pricy, but I've been using it on the average of 3X a week since I got it ten years ago (or more). The nicest parts are 1) it doesn't take up an extra burner and 2) you can start the rice while you're deciding what else to make and it will keep it warm.

[and ur bird can sing]

16. I think it's a waste of space and money for the average person

I knew an Asian woman who had one and seemed to use it quite often but then again, she's Asian and rice is a staple of their diet. Rice is to them what wheat is to many of us.

You can reheat rice. It's a snap to make (although I admit that it took me a while to get the hang of it, and occasionally I still muck it up but...).

[Lisa0825]

17. If it was a single function unit, I would probably agree.

But it also steams meat and vegetables, and you can make soup in it too. I just like that it is no fuss. I have brown rice cooking right now. I don't have to watch the clock, for one thing. And from what others have told me (except for when you open it too soon and muck it up like I did), it pretty much makes it perfectly every time. I can also time it, so if I want it to start cooking hours later, I can.

And there are actually some really interesting recipes on their website! Flan??? In a rice cooker? LOL!

http://www.aroma-housewares.com/kitchen/appliances/easy-recipes/for/Rice%20Cookers.html