Rice can either make or ruin a whole meal, there’s nothing quite like perfectly cooked rice, but then again, there’s nothing so bad as grotty rice – a rice cooker really can make like so much easier and all the difference when you just know that you can guarantee perfect rice, every time, from your rice cooker.
Customer Reviews:
"Overall I'm really pleased with this rice cooker. I haven't eaten rice for ages and it's wonderful to have this little pot to make it for me with no effort. it makes enough for 1-2 or maybe even 3 people.
This is my second of these cookers. The first one worked ok at first, but it was hard to make it stay on cook, the button would switch back to warm before it was done cooking. If you have any problems like this when you get it send it back immediately, it will only get worse.
Amazon and Black and Decker were both really good about sending me a new one. The new pot's lid didn't fit as well as the old one, so I ended up keeping the pot and lid for the first one and the base from the second one. For the price this isn't something I"m too angry about, I have a nice rice cooker that makes awesome rice. If the one you get isn't absolutely perfect, send it back. I suspect a lot of the disparate reviews are the result in varying quality within the product. But hey, it's a $12 rice cooker." – M. Ringe
Customer Reviews:
"I loved it, and so did my wife! Absolutely tension free cooking, and the best feature is the delay timer, which helps us a lot to get the perfect rice ready when we want it. Easy to use." – Abdul Gaffar Syed
Customer Reviews:
"This product cooks good rice. No compliants on the quality of the rice, but the cooker boils over from under the lid every time even though I never add more than the recommended amounts,and I've used ever-decreasing portions of rice and water. to keep from boiling over I imagine I will have to cook less rice than I need for the two of us when preparing shrimp creole or beef tips over rice, etc. I guess I'll have to invest in a larger and more expensive rice cooker. it should be excellent for one person." – E. G.
Customer Reviews:
"I have an inexpensive rice cooker. it works more or less perfectly. I always make brown rice. I don't know what brand the cooker is.
I wanted this cooker, which seems legendary and promising, so I bought it. Yesterday I tried it. I didn't have time to read the instructions in depth, but I think I got the gist -- it didn't seem complex. And I also bought The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook -- I have really been bitten by the rice cooker bug. I am basically a cooking illiterate, though.
I really wanted to try it out immediately, but I had a doctor's appointment. So I tried the timing feature. I think it worked fine. The appointment was for 12:30 p.m. I set the timer at about 9:30 in the morning, for the rice to be finished by 3 p.m. I rinsed the rice half-heartedly, because I don't usually do that. The Cookbook I mentioned above said I didn't have to rinse it. as I recall, you click Cook to start the process. it doesn't start cooking immediately when you are using the timer, of course -- it starts cooking when it thinks it is appropriate for the time you have set it to complete, as I understand it.
The appointment took longer than I expected. I didn't arrive home till 4 p.m., which I expected would be no big deal. Everything seemed fine. When I got home the cooker was on "keep warm" or whatever.
I had tried to follow all the instructions I found (and they didn't seem bad to me, as others indicate -- maybe they have been rewritten), but the brown rice (short grain Diamond California Select brown, my favorite mainly because it is cheap and good) was an overwet clammy, sticky bunch of rice. I am tolerant and I like rice, so I liked this ok, but it wasn't as good as the rice I have been accustomed to every day. Cleaning out the pot was not as easy as has been mentioned elsewhere, either. The rice didn't fall out of the pan -- it stuck to the sides to a certain extent. it was still pretty easy, but the other reviews made me expect something wondrous.
This was a shock to me because I expected the perfect rice that is the mantra of the reviews you see here. next time (today, that is) I will try rinsing it more and using less water.
I hope that this review is just a grim warning that perfection can be mucked up by a clutz such as I am. I hope that I am later trying to delete this review because it is so wrong-headed. But we'll see." – Gene Venable
Customer Reviews:
"My old Panasonic rick Cooker broke down after 5 years, back than, that rick cooker cost me more than $50 to buy. Now when I come to buy it at Amazon.com I do not expect to pay much less and can get the same function, even the look is the same.
I am very happy and hope this one will last." – C. K. Leung
Customer Reviews:
"We purchased the acclaimed, top end NS-ZCC-10 Neuro fuzzy rice cooker. we expected perfect rice because after all it incorporates the latest software and heating technology. we are very disappointed. Rice is overcooked and clumpy. We've tried to troubleshoot (more water, less water etc), but you know, the bottom line is that this cooker does not deliver excellent rice. we got better results with our no-tech, aluminum $50 plug in rice cooker.
Very disappointed. I do not recommend you spend your money on this product." – John R
Customer Reviews:
"This is a wonderful rice cooker. I bought the first one for myself 2 years ago.
Believe it or not, my 7 year old grandson asked for one for Christmas 2010 and a 25 lb. bag of Jasmine Rice from Thailand....even a 7 year old can operate this computerized cooker. He's getting his Christmas wish with this latest cooker.
" – H. Acton
Customer Reviews:
"We used to use a Cuckoo brand rice maker (authentic Japanese) for many years. Our family is now too big for a3 cup cooker, so we bought this one. So far, it is working wonderfully. The rice cooks perfectly. my wife loves the cake and soup settings. Eggs are really easy to hard boil (or soft boil, if you want it). my only problem is getting the bowl out. Just like my old rice cooker, you don't have easy handles to grab. not a big concern, since I am already used to it from my old one (and this one is easier to get out than my old one). we thought that this cooker would take up too much space, but it is only slightly bigger than our old 3 cup cooker. Overall, I recommend it. In fact, my mother-in-law wants to get one now." – Steven Ray
Customer Reviews:
"We never even plugged it in. it dose not have a timmer wich really makes it useless for starting in the am and haveing rice for dinner." – BD
Customer Reviews:
"I've only made rice with this. it comes out well every time, following the water-to-rice instructions (brown, white, wild, mixed - all work). However, the seal is a bit annoying to clean, and the removable silicome part that goes in the lid (it's two parts, one plastic, one silicone) is very small and I am always worried about losing it. I doubt there is a better design out there, though. The one-piece lid makes for a tight cooking seal and well-prepared rice, so unfortunately I think the cleaning issues are inherent to design." – N. Black
So how do you know which is the best rice cooker? it really is down to personal choice, after all, the best rice cooker for you might not be my favorite – see what I mean? Rice cookers are available in 3 basic sizes, 3 cup, 5 cup or 10 cup, depending on how many people you need to feed!
The Zojirushi rice cooker is, for many, the best make of rice cookers in the world. If you need to cook for a whole family, then one very popular model of rice cookers is the Zojirushi NS-ZCC10. it has lots of favorable reviews from people, who have had them for years, is easy to clean, easy to use and can cook sufficient rice for a family of four people. If you need a rice cooker suitable for the whole family then the Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 is definitely one of the best Japanese rice cookers available today.
Customer Reviews:
"We purchased the acclaimed, top end NS-ZCC-10 Neuro fuzzy rice cooker. we expected perfect rice because after all it incorporates the latest software and heating technology. we are very disappointed. Rice is overcooked and clumpy. We've tried to troubleshoot (more water, less water etc), but you know, the bottom line is that this cooker does not deliver excellent rice. we got better results with our no-tech, aluminum $50 plug in rice cooker.
Very disappointed. I do not recommend you spend your money on this product." – John R
Customer Reviews:
"This is a wonderful rice cooker. I bought the first one for myself 2 years ago.
Believe it or not, my 7 year old grandson asked for one for Christmas 2010 and a 25 lb. bag of Jasmine Rice from Thailand....even a 7 year old can operate this computerized cooker. He's getting his Christmas wish with this latest cooker.
" – H. Acton
Customer Reviews:
"We used to use a Cuckoo brand rice maker (authentic Japanese) for many years. Our family is now too big for a3 cup cooker, so we bought this one. So far, it is working wonderfully. The rice cooks perfectly. my wife loves the cake and soup settings. Eggs are really easy to hard boil (or soft boil, if you want it). my only problem is getting the bowl out. Just like my old rice cooker, you don't have easy handles to grab. not a big concern, since I am already used to it from my old one (and this one is easier to get out than my old one). we thought that this cooker would take up too much space, but it is only slightly bigger than our old 3 cup cooker. Overall, I recommend it. In fact, my mother-in-law wants to get one now." – Steven Ray
Customer Reviews:
"We never even plugged it in. it dose not have a timmer wich really makes it useless for starting in the am and haveing rice for dinner." – BD
Customer Reviews:
"I've only made rice with this. it comes out well every time, following the water-to-rice instructions (brown, white, wild, mixed - all work). However, the seal is a bit annoying to clean, and the removable silicome part that goes in the lid (it's two parts, one plastic, one silicone) is very small and I am always worried about losing it. I doubt there is a better design out there, though. The one-piece lid makes for a tight cooking seal and well-prepared rice, so unfortunately I think the cleaning issues are inherent to design." – N. Black
Customer Reviews:
"This is my first Rice Cooker that is over $80. The one thing I like is that fact that it keep the rice warm after it cook. The normal white rice cooking take a long time. I don't know if it is going to make the rice taste better, but I am using the quick cook. a lot faster." – Amazon Buyer
Customer Reviews:
"I've owned this cooker for about 1.5 years and have had great success with it. it makes excellent, restaurant quality, rice. it also works well for steel cut oats, as others have said. it is only used about once a week, so I hope that it will last for may years to come!" – D. Clay Rakestraw
Customer Reviews:
"The manual for this product clearly says that when cooking on the porridge setting, the product automatically switches to keep warm when it is finished cooking. However, that is not the case.
The only functions that automatically switch to keep warm are the rice settings. I use my Aroma to cook hot cereals and grains for the family for breakfast. However, we all have different schedules. this missing feature is a real disappointment. If the grain is cooked on time for the first person, it is cold for the last. 
The work around I use is to cook the cereal or grain on the brown rice setting. However, the sensor logic doesn't understand my goal, so the cereals and grains do not come out as well as they do on the porridge setting. But, at least this way everyone gets a warm breakfast. 
A plus is that this item is half the price of similar models. And it does a great job cooking rice." – Kim Marchok
Customer Reviews:
"The none stick jacket peels itself off after some time. So, I cut two stars off for poor none stick coating." – C. Mc
Customer Reviews:
"This cooker is pretty good. it cooks fast, and is very easy to clean (residue does not stubbornly stick to the surface and washes away easily). I have used it for probably six months or longer now without experiencing any serious issues. But, I have to agree with one other reviewer here. it leaks out water badly through the lid and makes a mess on the counter. With that being said, however, I must add that it also depends on much water you use. If you use the right amount of water for the right amount of rice, it does not leak. So, the whole point if leaking is a moot point. But, it still does make the lid very messy after cooking the rice. I don't know why, especially when I have used another Black & Decker earlier and that never made a mess on the lid. at least not like the one this does.
So, to sum it up, this may not be an excellent rice cooker. But, it is very good. And compared to many others out there, this one is damn good. I have used Aroma which leaked badly started building up some kind of spongy material on the lid. I had used another one before that, an unbranded one, which just died one day. this was within two-three months of use. it just didn't turn on. With Black & Decker, I have never experienced any such problems. And it is a hell of a lot easier to clean a B&D cooker as opposed the previous ones I have used. So, this cooker is very much worth buying. Giving it less than five stars would be unfair because this has proven better than anything else I have used." – Ram Eachambadi
Customer Reviews:
"every to use, neither too big or too small, can cook for 1-3 people. and the steak is very good to use! I love it, the only weakness is that you can leave it warm until the water is gone, then there will be a horrible smell, that is all. I will recommend it and the price is really acceptable, even including the shipping fee." – who
Customer Reviews:
"Bought this to replace our 10 year old rice cooker. Should have done it along time ago. this does great with all kinds of rice, I like the fact that you rinse the rice in the cooking container first, with the measuring system it makes it EZ to get just the right amount of water for the type of rice you're cooking. Timer function is great, I set it up for rice to be done in the AM, and drop it into my Mr Bento and it keeps everything hot until lunchtime at work. The nice thing about this unit is it cooks all kinds of great foods as a slowcooker, and my wife has made great risotto dishes, vegetables, etc etc. it is a little pricey, but a very functional and impressive product so the price is fair. Thumbs Up!" – Parrott57
Customer Reviews:
"After filling the house with smoke twice trying to cook rice (which we love with our fish), I purchased this rice cooker for my husband. it makes perfect rice every time, and keeps it warm so we can adjust dinner time. it also makes a smaller amount if we need it and we can also cook our favorite steel cut oats for breakfast. The spatula lets you scoop easily and all of it is very easy to clean. I'm very happy with the Zojirushi! not only that, I shouldn't have any more smoke damage! ;o)" – tstratfo
Customer Reviews:
"I bought this to replace our olllllllld rice cooker that served us well for many, many years. it was time for a bigger and better appliance and this one is BIG... make sure you have counter space. So far every batch of rice I've made with the zojirushi has been perfect including white, brown, basmati, and mixed. I still want to try using it with other grains like quinoa, and I want to make a cake in it because it says you can. The rice cooker is easy to set and works its magic quietly until the rice is done when it plays a cute little tune (not necessary but funny). be careful when you open the lid because the steam is slightly pressurized and comes out in a blazing hot cloud! I got a steam burn on my hand the first time I used it but that was completely my fault. one great feature is how rice stays at the perfect temperature and humidity inside the cooker so you can serve fantastic rice for hours without it getting dry or crunchy. a couple of times I've forgotten that there was still rice in the cooker and gone to bed only to discover in the morning that the rice is still perfect, even when the cooker has turned off over night. Love it!" – Leenie
Customer Reviews:
"I am the type of person who would prefers having their food stick to a surface rather than having it not stick but be exposed to carcinogens and all sorts of other chemicals that I don't know about. I searched for this stainless steel rice cooker. The rice is in contact with steel, not teflon. If I only remembered to add a little vegetable oil to the water and rice, then I'm sure that it wouldn't stick to the bottom as much or not at all. And in even in the worst case, it takes a little scrubbing to get the caked on food off.
The rice cooker itself works very well. I cooked quinoa in it the other night and it cooked it perfectly. it automatically switches from cook to warm based on the amount of water that is put in. it cooks fast." – wolfie
Customer Reviews:
"My girlfriend and I eat a lot of rice, so she wanted to buy a rice cooker. After reading a bunch of Amazon reviews for various cookers, we decided on this one. We've now had it for 3 months and have no complaints about it. White rice always comes out well if you put the amount of water the instructions tell you to. we also use it to cook boxed yellow rice, which sometimes comes out too dry. We've been getting better at estimating how much water to use for it though and it has been coming out better. Metal pot inside comes out and is non-stick material for easy cleaning. we haven't used the soup setting yet, so I can't comment on that." – Kyle Conroy
Another popular model of rice cooker from Zojirushi is the Zojirushi NP-HBC10 – this 5.1/2 cup rice cooker is built to last, makes perfect rice every time and even has a warming function which is designed to keep your rice warm for up to an amazing 48 hours, while still retaining that “just cooked” taste. it really is amazing, but then, the Japanese certainly know a thing of two about rice and Japanese rice cookers are the best in the world – probably!
Unfortunately many people will have to be governed by price when choosing their next rice cooker. There are really only two things you need to know, does it cook tasty rice every time and what does it cost? There is a good choice of cheap rice cooker available, but the quality of rice might not quite live up to the expectations of the Japanese rice cookers. Just one final thought on the subject – a cheap rice cooker is still likely to do a better job of cooking the rice than you can manage without it.
If you buy the best rice cooker you can have the best rice. It’s as simple as that, and many people think that the Zojirushi rice cooker is one of the best on the market. Unique version for reprint here: For Perfect Rice every Time – buy a Rice Cooker.
Rice Cooker - Up To 49% Off! | MyShopGuide
After an exhaustive search for a rice cooker without a non-stick coating I was pretty much left with the ME81 from Miracle. on this basis alone, I would have given it 5 stars. It's very basic; when you plug it in, it goes to a warming mode (the directions state brown rice should be warmed for 15 minutes prior to cooking). when ready to cook, you simply depress the cook button. It then heats the contents to boiling and when ready, automatically switches back to the warming mode. The rice can continue warming for a couple of hours. Whenever ready to stop, simply unplug the unit and fluff the rice.
the trick to know how much water in a rice cooker/pan when you are cooking white rice (thai jasmine or the other kinds) is just put rice in it, no matter how much (from 2 cups and more will explain how to do it when you are only cooking 1 cup), rinse it twice which is enough, no need for five, because then the rice will be too soft and the taste will be too bland, and then pour some water on it.
