Rice cookers have been hugely popular in many parts of Asia for quite a while, however it hasn’t been until more recently that they’ve gained such a large fan base here in the west. Many people have grown to love their rice cookers and those that have ever tried one never want to go back to cooking their rice in a pot on the stove.
Due to many varying reasons, rice is becoming ever more popular in the west, but cooking rice can be time consuming and if you mess up you can easily ruin an entire meal. Using a rice cooker is incredibly simple and makes cooking rice all but foolproof.
In addition to their simplicity, rice cookers make near-perfect rice, every single time, all you have to do is put in the correct amount of water. For those individuals and families that make rice a regular part of their meals, buying a rice cooker will save you an incredible amount of time and hassle.
If you’re in the mood to learn to cook, even how to make sauce, getting a rice cooker wouldn’t be a bad move, it will help you out a lot. Plus, there are a ton of sites out there that will help you get going by teaching you numerous rice cooking tips.
But before you go out and buy your new rice cooker there are a few things that you need to keep in mind:
1) Cost of rice cookers
You can get the bare-bones rice cooker for $15-$30 or if rice is a big part of your diet you might want to consider a higher-priced cooker, some of these can easily reach to $150-$200 or even more. Simple, inexpensive rice cookers usually have a non-stick inner pot, a glass lid and a start button. As long as you measure your water properly it will cook your rice to near perfection. However if you enjoy a variety of styles of rice then the basic cooker may not give you the quality that you’d like.
Cheaper rice cookers can’t always cook brown rice with the quality that many would like, nor do they have options such as a warmer that will keep the rice warm for hours after it’s finished without drying it out. Another option that’s very nice but not usually available on the cheap rice cookers is the timer. The timer will allow you to have your rice perfectly cooked right when you get home from work or when you wake up in the morning, allowing you to enjoy rice with your meals no matter how busy your schedule is.
2) Size of the desired rice cooker
Some people never cook more than a couple cups of rice at a time, however others need to be able to make enough for a large family and will need 10 cups or more. There are rice cookers to fit any size family or occasion.
For a single person I normally recommend a rice cooker that holds 3-5 cups, 5 cups is great in case of company or if you want to make a lot extra for fried rice or other dishes that call for day-old rice. Small families shouldn’t go smaller than 5 cups and the 10 cup sizes are great for larger families.
3) Miscellaneous options
Rice cookers some with many different options, here is a list of things to pay attention to:
Make sure the bowl is non-stick
For flip-top lids, having a removable inner lid makes clean-up much easier
If you cook different types of rice make sure the rice cooker supports them for better results
Measuring lines on the inside of the bowl allow for more precise measuring of water.
There’s a lot to choose from when deciding on a rice cooker, I’ve been using a higher-end cooker for years now and couldn’t see my life in the kitchen without it.
