When it comes to handy kitchen equipment, rice cookers just have to be on the list. Whether or not you’re a person who cooks rice frequently, rice cookers are must-haves in any decent kitchen.
Rice can be cooked in a variety of ways, and used in even more recipes. So if you come from a culture where rice is a staple, you will definitely find rice cookers very convenient.
And if rice is only ever cooked occasionally in your household, then that probably means you wouldn’t know how to cook it using a gas stovetop. All the more reason to consider purchasing a rice cooker.
And while you are still mulling over making a buy, I hope this post helps you in making a decision.
Table of Contents
What is a Rice Cooker?
A rice cooker is a kitchen appliance that makes use of intense heat to boil and cook rice.
It is an automated countertop gadget that has a large cooking pot inside it, a thermometer to track and manipulate the internal temperature and of course, a heat source.
There is also a lid that fits on top, a couple of handles to grasp the gadget and some digital controls on the front that allow the user to experiment with various settings to reach the perfect combination in order to make delicious fluffy rice.
Now, there is no need to get a rice cooker of course. In most Asian households where rice is a staple, the grain is cooked using a pot on a gas stovetop. But unless you are experienced with preparing rice in such a manner and get it perfectly cooked each time – then you need one of these automated cookers.
Rice cookers make the preparation process a breeze, all you have to do is pour the grains into the pot, add the appropriate amount of water, close the lid and press a few buttons.
And that’s it. Hot, fluffy rice is ready in a matter of minutes – and you didn’t have to boil or simmer it over a gas stove, controlling the temperatures throughout.
Rice cookers do not only cook rice, they can be used to steam vegetables and make other dishes too since there are numerous models out there in the market that can help you prepare your culinary treats in a jiffy.
How It Works
To keep things short, rice cookers come with an inner pot that is filled with rice grains and a certain amount of water. The latter is added depending on how you want the texture of the cooked rice to turn out.
All that is left to do is switch on the cooker which turns on the heating element of the equipment. This cooks the grains, and by the time the cooking cycle is over – the grains would have absorbed the water and finished cooking. Most cookers would then switch off automatically.
The longer version is that the inner cooking pot has a heating plate beneath it which gets activated once the contents are loaded. The weight of the ingredients will depress the plate and heat it up.
The generated heat is then transferred to the grains through the cooker’s body, which is usually built from conductive metals like aluminum or copper to hasten the process.
The rice cooker would also have a thermometer set up under the body, which will sense the temperature of the contents. As the water starts boiling at 100°C, temperature remains stable and the rice starts cooking.
Once the temperature rises, it means all the water has been absorbed and the rice has finished cooking. The thermometer senses this change in temperature and the cooker switches itself off, or moves on to a warming cycle.
And that’s the basics. Most modern cookers come with programmable menu options that add a few more technicalities to this process which changes the texture and structure of the resulting dish.
Rice cookers that have Fuzzy Logic technology built in, tend to be more intuitive and less prone to human error. Keep reading below to know what that is.
What To Look For
Capacity
Sizes largely differ for a rice cooker depending on options, settings and how much money you want to spend. However, I have listed the average sizes you ought to look for, so you can have an idea.
While these can range from 2 to 20 cups, you may want to stay away from the larger end as they are only used for commercial purposes. If you are not running a restaurant, a capacity of 3-5 cups should be sufficient for you.
When I say cups, rice cookers often come with their own measuring cups that have a standard size of 180 ml or 6 ounces. This is the equivalent of ¾ of a US cup and is used to measure dry rice grains to put into the cooker’s pot.
Functionality
Fuzzy Logic technology
The term refers to how the rice cooker is programmed in order to make some cooking decisions by itself. Based on a few input rules, the rice cooker’s algorithm makes intelligent decisions dynamically.
For instance, it can calculate the temperature at which the contents should cook based on how much amount of water and rice is added to the pot.
This helps dramatically reduce the manual effort required to apply the correct settings and increases the precision of cooking the exact texture of rice (or anything else) you want.
Induction Heating
- This sort of heating technique allows for heat generation through the cooking pan if the pan is made up of a magnetic material.
Through a phenomenon called hysteresis, this process of inductions aids temperature sensors or thermometers in the cooker in improving their accuracy. - Induction heating also helps in cooking food more evenly as the heat distribution area is spread across the cooking pan instead of just going up and down.
- The temperature can also be instantly adjusted by manipulating the magnetic field produced in the metal coils when electricity is passed through it.
Other Settings
One-touch button for plain rice
Most rice cookers come with a single button to prepare fluffy delicious plain steamed rice. There are no combinations or timers involved to make things complicated and this is quite a useful feature for people who regularly cook plain rice. If you’re one of them, make sure your cooker has this feature.
Auto shut-off
Almost all modern rice cookers come with an auto shut-off feature that prevents the rice from overcooking once it’s ready, which explains why rice cookers are often preferred when preparing perfect rice.
When the rice absorbs all liquid inside the bowl, the temperature starts to rise gradually. The cooker, through its built-in sensors, detects the change and will either transition to a warming cycle or switch off automatically.
Cooking Time
This takes an average of 20-30 minutes to cook plain rice but the timing also depends on the kind of rice grains you put in, the amount of water added and the final texture of the rice you want to achieve.
A cup of brown rice may take an hour to cook but the time increases if you add more cups.
Similarly, 1 cup of wild rice may take up to 75 minutes to cook, while a single cup of packaged rice will take 45 minutes.
The range also differs for sticky rice for sushi or high-starch rice for risotto. Could take up to 40-50 minutes for the former and about 20 minutes for the latter.
An increased amount of added water will also increase the cooking period accordingly.
The make and model of the rice cooker impact the total preparation time. Older models take considerably more time to cook than newer upgraded ones.
Price
If you do not cook rice frequently then any entry-level cooker starting from $20-30 will do for you. If you prefer more automation, go for the mid-range ones. An expensive cooker like the $300-$500 ones are not required unless you run a restaurant.
What can you cook with it?
Rice, of course. Sticky rice, mushy rice, long-grained, short-grained and even fragrant rice – there’s no end to the all the rice dishes you can cook with a rice cooker.
However, there are other things you cook with it too. Some of them includes steamed vegetables, beans, lentils, grains and even chicken.
If you do want to experiment with recipes, you can purchase multi-functional rice cookers that can allow you to cook oatmeal, quinoa, risotto and porridge.
If you are considering buying a rice cooker for making some fancy sushi at home, instead of visiting an expensive restaurant – you can check out my list of the best rice cookers in the market for sushi-making.
While fish and eggs aren’t usually cooked in these cookers, it isn’t entirely uncommon to have them cooked as part of other dishes.
There are ways you can also use a slow cooker to do the same things (almost), but there are always differences between the two. You can read more about it here.
Best Brands to Pick From
Some other notable manufacturers are Aroma, Hamilton Beach and Instant Pot. You can never go wrong if you pick from these brands as they give great value for money and are pretty efficient at what they do.
