Rice Cookers...

[4kiddies]

I'm thinking I want one. Are they worth it? What brand should I be looking at?

 

Thanks!

[Mary in VA]

I guess it would depend how often you eat rice :001_smile: We eat rice quite a bit so I love my cooker. My crock pot and rice cooker are my most used appliances. I got my Aroma cooker from Costco. It has a delay feature, so I can set it for when I want the rice to be done. It's great if we are going to be out. We can come home to almost completed dinner in the crock pot and rice cooker.

 

HTH,

Mary

[Denisemomof4]

I never understood the concept of a rice cooker. I place my brown rice and water in a pot, bring to a boil, let it simmer for about 20 minutes, turn off the stove, then steam for another 20 minutes. I never open the lid to stir, etc. What's different about a rice cooker? It certainly can't be any easier!

[Gooblink]

I love our rice cooker! We use it a couple times a week and you can cook more than rice in it, though I haven't been too creative. I think ours was from Costco, too. We got the "Aroma" brand - I think from Costco.

[Heather in AL]

This isn't quite what you are asking, but I have a food steamer that has a rice function on it and I love, love, love it!

 

Mine is a Black & Decker that I paid $30-$40 for a good 8 or 9 years ago, and when it dies, I'll be getting another one.

 

We use it all the time. Rice takes forever in it (about 40 minutes or so), but we do use it for that. We also use it regularly to steam asparagus, brussels sprouts, green beans, carrots, peas, cauliflower, and broccoli. It can also steam artichokes (whole), cabbage, corn on the cob, red potatoes, rutabaga & turnip, snow peas, squash. The manual also says it can cook the following, but I have no interest in trying them in the steamer: seafood/fish, chicken, eggs, apples, prunes, and pears.

 

Just my thoughts, but if I was in the market for something similar, I'd want another one that does more than just rice. :001_smile: My mom, OTOH, just has a Black & Decker Rice Steamer and uses hers all the time just for that, as they don't steam veggies like we do.

[Heather in AL]

I never understood the concept of a rice cooker. I place my brown rice and water in a pot, bring to a boil, let it simmer for about 20 minutes, turn off the stove, then steam for another 20 minutes. I never open the lid to stir, etc. What's different about a rice cooker? It certainly can't be any easier!

 

I find that my rice sticks to/burns on the bottom of every pot I try to cook it in. I do use pots more often than my rice cooker, though, because of the time issue.

 

However, the rice cooker is way easier. I put the rice in the bucket, add some water, put water in the steamer's container, put the lid on, set the timer and walk away. Clean up is a cinch, too.... no scrubbing the burned on rice, which, as I said above, happens every time I use a pot to cook rice, for some reason.

[Denisemomof4]

I find that my rice sticks to/burns on the bottom of every pot I try to cook it in. I do use pots more often than my rice cooker, though, because of the time issue.

 

However, the rice cooker is way easier. I put the rice in the bucket, add some water, put water in the steamer's container, put the lid on, set the timer and walk away. Clean up is a cinch, too.... no scrubbing the burned on rice, which, as I said above, happens every time I use a pot to cook rice, for some reason.

 

The only time I've burnt rice is when I leave it on too long and the water absorbs entirely. By simmering 20 minutes and then leaving it covered to steam another 20, this entirely prevents that from happening.

 

Thanks!

[kewb]

I love my rice cooker. I have the Aroma one from Costco. I put up a big pot of rice on Sunday and then we have it for the week. Burritos, add some veggies for a side dish, add some to soup, add some salsa for spanish rice. I resisted it for a long time because it is really not that big of a deal to make rice but I can't imagine my life without it.

[Maddysmom26]

I wondered if it was worth it to have another item to store?

 

I cant cook rice to save my life :glare:..

 

The only way I can make rice is the kind that comes ni the bags with holes.. and you drop in the water? lol..

[4kiddies]

I never understood the concept of a rice cooker. I place my brown rice and water in a pot, bring to a boil, let it simmer for about 20 minutes, turn off the stove, then steam for another 20 minutes. I never open the lid to stir, etc. What's different about a rice cooker? It certainly can't be any easier!

 

 

I was in agreement with you up until a few months ago. We love rice here and I use to buy those rice packs you put in the microwave. As we are trying to eat less processed foods I have started doing rice on the stovetop. The problem is, it is never consistent. I either burn it to the pot or it never softens up. And with for small kids dinner is stressful enough without stressing out over the rice.:lol:

 

Thanks for the suggestions on the Aroma. I will keep my eye out for it.

[Laura Corin]

I love mine - I love being able to ignore it.

 

Laura

[Remudamom]

I've got one but I forget to use it. How much rice to how much water?

[MaMa2005]

I don't think I could live without my rice cooker. DS is from China and expects rice on a daily schedule. I paid right at $120 for mine. It is a Zojirushi - http://www.amazon.com/Zojirushi-NS-ZCC10-Cooker-Warmer-Premium/dp/B00007J5U7 - perfect rice every time. No sticking, no burning and it stays warm for as long as I need it.

[oldskool]

We have a Zojirushi rice cooker and could not live without it. It can make much more than rice too. We use it all the time. It is expensive but can be found for less on Amazon.

Lesley

[MeanestMomInMidwest]

We have the Aroma. You add the rice & water, click the button to cook and then when the rice is done it automatically clicks to warm.

 

I think there are two kinds of people: those who prefer a kitchen gadget that does one thing and does it well and those who prefer not to have a million expensive, single-function items cluttering up the kitchen counter.

 

I'm in the latter group, dh is in the former. I use the rice cooker sometimes and like that the rice doesn't stick, etc. But - I think it is a colossal waste of space and if it got thrown out the window in a fit of pique over lack of counter space tomorrow I would happily continue to cook rice on the stove-top.

[TrixieB]

We have a Zojirushi rice cooker and could not live without it.

Same here. It cooks brown rice perfectly. I couldn't believe the difference the first time I tried brown rice cooked in our Zo -- so much better than stovetop-cooked! Plus I can put in the rice, set the timer, and the rice is ready at lunch or dinner.

[Shelly in the Country]

We have a Zojirushi rice cooker and could not live without it. It can make much more than rice too. We use it all the time.

 

:iagree: I love my Zojirushi :001_smile:. Oh, and I can make passable rice on the stove top. Rice cookers just do a consistently better job. The Zoji in particular makes perfect rice. I went with the Zojirushi primarily because of capacity and the Brown Rice setting though.

[Mama Geek]

We bought a Zorjirushi while living in a small apartment and then for a while a hotel room while DH and I were both doing contract work. It was absolutley great. The one we had would keep rice good and hot for about 2 days. The 3rd day it was edible but dried out. It was much easier to clean than a cheaper one that we had for several years before that.

[Guest janainaz]

I love my rice steamer and I did not start using it until about a year ago. I've had it for 15 years!

 

I never realized I could steam vegetables in it. I love it. It's so easy to clean and veggies cook super fast and turn out fantastic.

 

My rice steamer was probably one of the cheaper ones - it's not fancy but works great.

[4kiddies]

Well you guys all convinced me and I bought the Aroma. I love that I can steam veggies in it as well.

 

Now to my next question. Can I use broth instead of water to do the rice?

 

Thanks!

[VaKim]

Well you guys all convinced me and I bought the Aroma. I love that I can steam veggies in it as well.

 

Now to my next question. Can I use broth instead of water to do the rice?

 

Thanks!

 

I love my rice cooker too, and always use broth instead of water. Turns out perfectly every time. :)