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The Insider Pick:
A high-quality rice cooker is simple to use, does an excellent job of producing several styles of delicious rice, and cleans up effortlessly when you’re done. The Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker is our top pick because it doesn’t take up too much counter space and uses fuzzy logic to create outstanding rice.
As a regular maker of sushi, I can tell you that cooking rice perfectly is an art. You must pick your rice carefully, rinse it several times, and ensure there is an airtight seal as it simmers. World-class sushi restaurants use a pot on a stove to craft their rice. Of course, most of us are not world-class sushi chefs. We want an easy way to create well-textured rice as a side dish. This is where rice cookers reign supreme.
If you eat rice regularly, a rice cooker is an effortless way to get your daily dose of starchy goodness. With most devices, you just measure out the rice, pour in water to the appropriate line, press a couple buttons, and wait for the machine to let you know your rice is ready. Basically, set it and forget it. Even if you are a seasoned pro when it comes to cooking rice on the stove, a rice cooker is indispensable when you want to free up burners or if you simply don’t have a range available.
It’s also worth noting that the measuring cups that come with rice cookers typically are smaller than a standard eight-ounce cup. Instead, they are about six ounces in volume. This is important to keep in mind when measuring out rice as you put it in your cooker. If you use a standard cup, you are likely to end up with tough, undercooked rice.
While researching the best rice cookers, we looked at hundreds of ratings and reviews of countless cookers from both buyers and experts. The rice cookers included in our guide are durable, have several intuitive functions, and can be used for a wide variety of rice.
SEE ALSO: The best Crock-Pots you can buy
The best rice cooker overall
Why you'll love it: If you are looking for a cooker that produces delicious results no matter what type of rice you put in, the Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker is the best.
What sets the Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cookerapart is its use of “fuzzy logic.” Basically, a microcomputer adjusts the cooking time and temperature to adapt to the rice, whether it’s brown, sweet, white, or porridge. At the bottom of the inner body of the cooker, there is a thermal sensor that keeps tabs on the rice and reports back to the microcomputer, which makes the appropriate adjustments.
The nonstick internal cooking pan features handy lines indicating how much water to add for each type of rice. Both the cooking pan and inner lid can be removed for easy cleaning, though they are not dishwasher-safe.
Other features include a large LCD screen, programmable delay timer for having your rice ready when you get home from work, handle and retractable cord for easy transport, reheating cycle, and an extended keep warm mode. There are two sizes: 5.5-cup and 10-cup. Both come with a one-year warranty.
Wired recommended the Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy to “rice geeks” who are particular about tenderness and texture. The reviewer was impressed with how the device handled basmati, medium-grain white, and long-grain jasmine. However, they were put off by the long wait times.
A Tasty Mess was emphatic in her recommendation of this rice cooker. She mentioned that the cup is closer to six ounces, rather than the standard eight ounces. But, the brown rice the reviewer made turned out to her liking: not underdone or overdone and with the right chewiness.
More than 1,300 buyers on Amazon left a positive review of the Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker. The most helpful reviewer has been eating rice on a daily basis for 35 years. He found that this device makes rice comparable to how his mother’s. Plus, the “keep warm” function helps the rice maintain its freshness for up to three days.
Another buyer shared a story of using the cooker on a daily basis for about nine years. After five years of use, the battery died, but they were able to replace it on their own and get it going again. The only consistent complaint is that it cooks too slowly.
Pros: Adjusts to the type of rice, uses “fuzzy logic,” produces tender rice, small footprint
Cons: Somewhat slower than other options
The best multipurpose rice cooker
Why you'll love it: The Aroma Housewares Digital Rice Cooker is an affordable appliance for cooking 20 cups of rice as well as steaming vegetables and slow cooking.
The Aroma Housewares Digital Rice Cookeris unique in that it can steam vegetables and meat while rice cooks. There are easy-to-program controls for slow cooking, flash rice (speeds up the cooking time for grains that usually take longer), steaming, brown rice, and white rice.
It also has a keep warm functions and a 15-hour delay timer, which is useful for when you want your rice and vegetables to be ready when you get home from work.
The Aroma rice cooker yields 20 cups of cooked rice and comes with a serving spatula, rice measuring cup, and steam tray. The inner cooking pot features measurement lines that make it easy to determine how much water to add. And, the pot is removable for cleaning.
Rice Cooker Advice recommends the Aroma rice cooker because it does an excellent job steaming vegetables and producing “Goldilocks” rice. However, the reviewer did find that keeping the non-removable lid clean was a challenge and suggested wiping it down after each use.
Over 2,400 buyers on Amazon have left five-star reviews of the Aroma Housewares Digital Rice Cooker. One buyer had given up on making rice because it always ended up sticking to the pan, but while looking for a healthier alternative to pasta, she decided to try this rice cooker. She found the instructions were easy to follow, rice came out delicious every time, the cooker doesn’t take up much space, and it’s easy to clean.
Another buyer liked that they could set the cooker, and 35 minutes later there would be enough rice to feed his large family and anyone else who wandered in.
Pros: Large capacity, several uses, including steaming vegetables
Cons: The attached lid can be difficult to clean
The best rice cooker for GABA rice
Why you'll love it: If you are looking for an affordable fuzzy logic cooker that can help you enjoy the health benefits of GABA rice, the Cuckoo Electric Heating Rice Cooker is an excellent solution.
GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) rice is becoming increasingly popular as we learn more about its many health benefits, including lowering blood pressure and improving brain function. Enter the Cuckoo Electric Heating Rice Cooker, which has six cooking settings, including a GABA function, turbo cook, keep warm, and timer.
The Cuckoo rice cooker produces up to 12 cups of cooked rice. The inner pot has a non-stick surface and is removable for easy cleaning, though it’s not dishwasher safe. The company offers a one-year warranty on parts and labor.
The Electric Heating Rice Cooker is the top-rated Cuckoo appliance on Warm Chef. The reviewer recommended it to people looking for a cute, unique design. The reviewer also noted that it didn’t consume much energy to product fluffy rice. Rice Cooker Advice also recommended the Cuckoo rice cooker because it was able to keep rice warm for 24+ hours without turning it yellow or drying it out.
About 91% of the people who reviewed the Cuckoo rice cooker on Amazon gave it a four- or five-star rating. The most helpful reviewer compared the Cuckoo rice cooker to a much more expensive Zojirushi induction model. The reviewer found that the rice cooker produced better results and was more durable. The buyer also noted that it kept rice warm for 72 hours before it started to yellow.
Other reviewers agree that the resulting rice is top quality. One buyer recommended rinsing the rice and letting it soak for about half an hour before cooking it on turbo mode.
Pros: Uses fuzzy logic, keeps rice warm without drying out for 24+ hours, has GABA rice cooking function
Cons: Only available in pink
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