Slim + Rice Cookers

[Guest guest]

Hi Sandy,

The type of programmable rice cookers I've been using are also called

" fuzzy-logic " or " micom " (micro-computer controlled). They look like a hat-box

with an LCD and push buttons and usually have several cooking programs that let

you cook various foods or types of rice or cereal and set the time your meal is

done. Probably among the best ones are the Zojirushi brand machines followed up

by Sanyo and Panasonic; also some other brands, like Tiger get high ratings on

customer feed-back on places like Amazon and Cooking.com. I think it's useful

for the machine to have a cycle for brown rice as well as regular rice. Though

usually you just need to add more water and let it soak a while to cook the

brown rice in any cooker.

 

For me the most useful size are the five and the ten cup models, as you have

room for a lot of kale, spinach and other greens or sometimes steamed veggies in

a separate tray on top, of what for me is usually a brown rice-legume meal. The

larger capacity machines are not that much larger physically than the smaller

ones. They don't use that much more electricity, and the top brands are I think

well insulated and usually quite efficient with energy. My energy bills went

DOWN when I started cooking with mine so much vs the microwave stove and oven.

You can still cook small quantities of rice in a larger cooker, down to one 6

ounce rice-cooker cup -- you just may need to measure the water by hand rather

than following the marks on the side of the bowl.

 

The kind I've been using is the Sanyo 10 cup model. It was relatively

inexpensive and highly rated by a lot of users. Also I've also seen some on eBay

at half their retail price, which makes it a pretty good bargain. The reason why

I got that one is that it comes with a traditional plastic insert steamer tray

for steaming veggies, and a general cooking program they call a " slow-cooker "

program that the Zojirushi models generally do not have. It turns out that the

slow-cooker on the Sanyo runs on a high heat level, close to or at a boiling

temperature, and is good for cooking beans and soups but not for real low-temp

slow cooking. Also after two years of constant daily use I needed to replace the

titanium bowl insert for around $40 as the non-stick surface started to

flake(!). It turns out I rarely use the steamer and may have been better to have

paid a little more for the Zojirushi quality, since I use the machine so much.

But even after, it's still working very well and I can't beat the " automatic "

meal service it's given me for the price. Any time I've ever had meals prepared

for me in my house with my food when I wasn't there, it's always cost much, much

more!

 

OTOH a poster on the general vegetarian group recently bought an inexpensive

Tatung classic on-off style rice cooker that comes simply with a stainless steel

bowl insert -- that might stick a little but shouldn't wear out and will never

flake. He raves about it. The whole cooker I think costs less than my

replacement bowl for the Sanyo, likely cooks quite well but without any fun

countdown programable features.

 

I'd advise reading a lot of the reviews on Amazon.com and Cooking.com and buying

from a vendor that will let you return the cooker with low cost if you don't

like it.

 

I'd be interested to know what you decide, take care

 

Slim

 

 

, " Sandie Robison " <sweetpearobison

wrote:

>

> Hi Slim,

> I read your advice about using a rice cooker that is programmable so that the

food is ready when you walk into the door. I'm new again to the rice cooker

world and would like your recommendation on which brand/size to purchase. I want

to get one today so I can start eating more rice and try other recipes that you

have posted.

>

> Thanks,

> Sandy