There is a small appliance that is growing in popularity in America. This small appliance is the rice cooker. This little appliance can do much more than just cook rice. It is at home both in the kitchen and in the dormitory room.
Rice cookers can cook rice of course, but they can also cook other hot cereals, steam vegetables, cook deserts and even cook stews and soups. While not all rice cookers can do all of these tasks, many are able to do most of them.
The top rice cookers come from the country where they originated, Japan. You will find several less expensive rice cookers from other places, but the Japanese make the best rice cookers by far.
You will find rice cookers range in size from a three cups to ten cups. Buy the size that is closest to the amount of rice you normally cook. While larger cookers will cook smaller amounts, they work best at full capacity, but not over filled.
You should also know that the Japanese cup is only six ounces and the American cup is eight ounces. This may mean that you will need to make some adjustments for recipes. Just remember that if you are using rice cooker cups, they are only three-quarters of the American cup.
Most Japanese households favor the mid-sized rice cookers.
One feature that you will find very important for easy cleanup is the non-stick pan. This is a very high quality non-stick coating and rice literally slides out of the pan. A quick rinse and you are ready to cook the next batch.
There are several types of rice cookers available. Choose the one that meets your needs and budget.
On/off models cook the rice and then turn off automatically. There may not be an indicator light but these inexpensive models are very versatile and do a great job at cooking rice.
Keep warm models cook the rice and then after it is done maintain the rice so that it is warm when you are ready to use it. Just be sure that you unplug the rice cooker when you are finished with it since there is no off position.
Some of the rice cookers also offer fuzzy logic. This means that they have differing settings for soups or rice texture. Some even have a setting for sushi rice.
Some of the newest models of rice cookers offer induction heating. They make perfect rice every time and compensate for variations in water or rice measurements and for different types of rice.
If you enjoy steamed vegetables with your rice, be sure that the rice cooker you choose has a steamer basket. You can steam vegetables as the rice cooks. For extra flavor in your rice add a couple of bullion cubes to the cooking water.
If you have a college student who will be living in a dorm room a small (three to four cup) rice cooker is the perfect gift. It allows the student to have rice, steam vegetables and warm soups. It is a great way for the student to have healthy meals and avoid eating only fast food.
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