If you are deciding between getting a rice cooker or a slow cooker for your kitchen, but can’t seem to narrow down on a choice – then you have come to the right place.
In this article, I have tried to express in layman’s terms how each cooker works, what they are used for, why you should pick one over the other and what to keep in mind when purchasing one.
Without much ado, let’s get into it.
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.
What is a Slow Cooker?
A slow cooker is a countertop appliance that aids in cooking dishes over a prolonged period of time at low temperatures.
This kitchen appliance is best for preparing savory dishes like beef stew or pot roasts. Since they cook the ingredients over an extended period of time, it makes the savory recipes come out much more tender and flavorful.
The long time required to cook the dishes is also convenient for people who have busy jobs.
They can simply leave the slow cooker cooking for hours while they are out, and can come home to a delicious hot meal once they are done.
Why you should Pick a Rice Cooker - Or Not.
While there are many who may argue the need for a rice cooker in one’s kitchen, there are always pros and cons to making any purchase decision.
Let us go over the advantages as well as the disadvantages of owning a rice cooker.
Features
- You can have delicious fluffy rice cooked to perfection every time you use the rice cooker
- Rice can be prepared in minutes, as opposed to longer cooking periods when cooking it manually in a pot
- These are also quite convenient when it comes to automation. For instance setting timers and presets. Either use a preset to churn out a specific form of rice dish, or use the timer manually to set when to start or end the process.
- Rice cookers are very beginner-friendly and involve minimal effort.
People who have little to no experience with cooking rice can always preserve the textural integrity of the cooked rice with the help of a rice cooker. A few buttons and the cooker will take care of the rest for you! - There is no need to stick around and keep changing temperatures to have the perfect structure and texture for your rice. The process becomes very easy once you use the right preset for the kind of rice you want.
- Using a rice cooker is a breeze when it comes to cooking different types of rice – be it long-grained, short-grained, sushi rice or sticky rice. It is not limited to the preparation of only a handful of rice dishes.
Definitely, an easy way to cook rice without compromising on the flavor, structure or aroma. - Coming to dishes, the rice cooker can also cook dishes that do not include rice. Lentils, quinoa, oatmeal or beans, the cooker can tackle any of these with ease.
- Many options also come with steamers for steaming vegetables, dumplings or fish. This can be a great way to cook one-pot meals where you just dump your favorite vegetables and meat with some rice into the steamer and out comes a perfectly healthy meal.
- You can have ready to serve rice whenever you want. If your rice is cooked but you don’t intend to eat it at the moment, then you can make use of the ‘Keep Warm’ setting to keep it from going cold.
- Because of the ‘Keep Warm’ and automatic shut-off features available, I would say this is a very energy-efficient way of cooking rice. Both these options prevent the rice from being overcooked.
When the sensors in the cooker detect a temperature change in the pot – it will automatically shut off or switch to a warming cycle. This also prevents the food from getting cold by the time you have it.
Drawbacks
- While rice cookers are used to steam vegetables and cook dishes like oatmeal and quinoa – these are generally multi-functional rice cookers that need you to shell out a few extra bucks.
Not all cookers have these functionalities. And the basic ones can just cook rice and not much else. - In cases where you decide to add meat or other proteins to your rice, you would generally want them to tenderize well.
But many rice cooker pots do not have sealed pots nor the option to increase temperatures to more than 100°C. This limits our options on the dishes we can make using a rice cooker.
Why you should Pick a Slow Cooker - Or Not.
Features
- Slow cooking is made fast and efficient with the use of a slow cooker (obviously).
- Cooking over gas stovetops over extended periods of time is not only inconvenient but is harmful to the environment with the release of harmful airborne particles.
As opposed to using a slow cooker that would not negatively impact the environment as it is an automated process. - Slow cookers are extremely versatile and cover a wide range of dishes that they can be used for. It can be used to simmer meat, seafood, soup, pot roast and even rice. There’s no end to what you can do with this.
- There are various pre-programmed options that come with a slow cooker. These presets make it much easier to work with a slow cooker when it comes to setting the right timers and temperatures for different dishes.
- They also come in large sizes which makes them all the more suitable for cooking at big family dinner parties.
- Slow cookers also come with a ‘Keep Warm’ setting that helps keep the food warm and ready to serve whenever you feel like eating.
- They are also quite flexible appliances and allow users to play around with a number of temperature and control settings to find their perfect combination.
- Just like phone apps that work in the background, a slow cooker doesn’t need you hanging around it while it cooks for you. The cooking process is automated and will finish your work for you while you’re off running errands.
- Many slow cookers come in inexpensive options that still give provide efficiency and multi-functionality in the kitchen.
I am sure you will find one that is under your budget, or you can take a look at my collated list of reasonably priced slow cookers here. - Last but not least, slow cookers aid in easy fuss-free cooking that will cook healthy meals for you without much need for your active participation. Just put in your ingredients, press some buttons and you will have hearty and delicious meals served to you by your trusty cooker.
Drawbacks
- Slow cookers are, well…slow. I understand that is the entire appeal of it, and is great for bringing out the full flavor of certain recipes.
But these dishes generally need 8 – 12 hours of slow cooking and there is no way to speed this process up. The trade-off is necessary for the absolutely delicious taste later but it will definitely test your patience first. - Too many fresh spices added to a recipe can have an overpowering effect when simmered over long hours.
So it may take some hit and trial to achieve accuracy of the measurements but it’s recommended you add fewer spices than you normally would. - Be cautious during adding ingredients to your slow cooker, as once the lid is closed it’s difficult to make changes to the recipe since they will be cooking for at least 8 hours before you open the lid.
Unless you want to mess up the preparation, it’s best to refrain from making any mistakes during the initial prep.
You can proceed to the next page if you want to learn when you should pick a rice cooker over a slow cooker. And vice-versa.
