In case you eat plenty of rice otherwise you’re simply bored with making it on the stovetop, rice cooker could make higher high quality rice than you’ll be able to on the range, all whilst you’re busy cooking different components of your meal. It might end up completely cooked rice and porridges of any sort — all you might want to do is measure precisely. However with totally different manufacturers and applied sciences it may be arduous to know which rice cookers are price your hard-earned cash.
To search out the perfect rice cooker for you and your kitchen, we spent weeks testing 18 totally different rice cookers from fashionable manufacturers comparable to Zojirushi, Tiger, Cuckoo and extra. After dozens of check cooks and consuming means an excessive amount of rice (a phrase we’d by no means thought we’d write), two rice cookers stood out among the many relaxation.
Finest general rice cooker
The Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy constantly had the perfect leads to all of our cooking checks. It cooked completely fluffy rice each time and has useful options that make it a should for individuals who prepare dinner and eat rice often.
Price range decide
The Cuckoo CR-0655F cooked rice that was scrumptious and a giant improve from stovetop rice, although not on the identical stage because the Neuro Fuzzy. It additionally has related options comparable to a fast prepare dinner and maintain heat and it prices significantly lower than the Zojirushi, making it the proper rice cooker for individuals who need to spend much less.
The Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker was the clear winner in our testing. Whether or not we cooked sushi rice, brown rice or basmati rice, the rice got here out fluffy and scrumptious each single time. It was the best high quality prepare dinner we received out of all of the rice cookers we examined, tied with the Tiger JKT-D10U which cooked equally scrumptious rice however prices about $80 extra.
The rice from the Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy was top-notch, and it has loads of options that make cooking rice a straightforward and nice expertise. The Zojirushi’s microprocessor (“Micom” for “microcomputer” within the firm’s nomenclature) makes use of software program (“fuzzy logic”) to find out how a lot water and rice is within the cooker so it makes the proper pot each time — even in the event you aren’t excellent in your measurements.
Which means in the event you by chance add an excessive amount of or too little water to your rice, the Zojirushi will make up on your mistake and regulate its cooking course of to supply scrumptious rice. We examined this ourselves by including an additional cup of water in a single prepare dinner and one cup fewer in one other. This might usually end in a very ruined batch of rice, however with the Neuro Fuzzy it was nonetheless edible and really not that dangerous.
It’s simple to prepare dinner rice within the Zojirushi and fortunately it’s a breeze to wash as properly. Most cookers we examined had between two and three removable components that may simply be hand washed. The Neuro Fuzzy has two components — the inside pan and the inside lid — that may be eliminated and washed in mere minutes (like most pots in rice cookers, it may well’t be thrown within the dishwasher).
The Zojirushi is all about ease of use, whether or not that’s within the type of its forgiving software program, easy-to-clean components or the Neuro Fuzzy’s helpful “Maintain Heat” and “Prolonged Maintain Heat” options. These robotically activate after cooking and can retailer your rice on the excellent temperature (about 140 levels Fahrenheit, heat sufficient to inhibit bacterial development that may trigger meals poisoning) so you’ll be able to scoop up leftover rice to eat hours after its completed cooking. The conventional maintain heat will final for 12 hours, after which the prolonged maintain heat will activate for a further 8 hours.
The Zojirushi additionally has a “Fast Cook dinner” perform, which introduced its regular prepare dinner time for sushi rice from 42 minutes right down to 31 minutes. The standard of the rice isn’t pretty much as good as the total 42-minute cycle, nevertheless it’s nonetheless significantly better than any stovetop rice we’ve eaten.
Options like a maintain heat mode and fast prepare dinner are featured in most of the different rice cookers we examined (together with our different two winners), so whereas they’re good to have, they aren’t what pushed the Zojirushi excessive. Our alternatives actually got here right down to the standard of rice, and in that space, the Zojirushi simply couldn’t be beat. So in order for you a rice cooker that’s easy to make use of however most significantly makes an incredible pot of rice each single time, the Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy is the one for you. If you wish to study extra about our favourite rice cooker, try our full, in-depth evaluate right here.
The Cuckoo CR-0655F Rice Cooker made rice that was scrumptious and of the same high quality as different rice cookers we examined that have been double its value, although not on the identical stage because the Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy or Tiger JKT-D10U. In case you don’t want the perfect of the perfect, this Cuckoo rice cooker gives the proper steadiness of value, ease of use and high quality rice.
In our rice checks, the Cuckoo CR-0655F made much better rice than the finances choices and different mid-tier cookers we examined. Its closest opponents have been the Tiger JAX-T10U-Okay and the Hamilton Seashore Digital Programmable Rice Cooker. The Tiger and the CR-0655F had related performances, particularly within the rice checks however the Tiger JAX-T10U-Okay prices greater than twice as a lot. Alternatively, the Hamilton Seashore is just $60, however couldn’t fairly compete with the standard of the Cuckoo, however if you wish to save much more cash it’s purchase.
The Cuckoo’s rice was a bit stickier and gummier than what we made utilizing the Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy, nevertheless it was nonetheless fluffy and had a pleasant consistency. The Cuckoo additionally had a shorter prepare dinner time than most of the different rice cookers at simply 34 minutes. Its fast prepare dinner perform didn’t minimize a lot break day the method, nonetheless, and nonetheless took 32 minutes.
The CR-0655F has the usual options you’ll discover in most high quality rice cookers like a maintain heat mode and fast prepare dinner, together with totally different presets for several types of cooks like brown rice and porridge. Nonetheless, this Cuckoo has one function that we didn’t see on another rice cooker: Auto Clear. In case you don’t need to scrub the nonstick pot after you make rice (which isn’t all that arduous to be honest), you’ll be able to put some water within the pot and activate auto clear, which makes use of steam to loosen up any particles. It does take 25 minutes so it’s a slower course of than simply washing it within the sink, nevertheless it requires much less labor which is likely to be interesting to some.
The one function the Cuckoo rice cooker doesn’t have that we’d love is a deal with. Most different rice cookers we examined had one, which makes them loads simpler to soak up and out of storage. However apart from that small element, there actually isn’t a lot to not like concerning the CR-0655F. It’s easy to make use of, cooks scrumptious rice and its pink coloring seems to be cute on the counter. In case you’re searching for however not nice rice cooker for lower than $100, the Cuckoo CR-0655F is unquestionably the one to purchase.
Rice cookers can differ loads in value; you’ll find one at your native Goal or Walmart for $25 or spend upwards of $700 on Zojirushi’s newest mannequin. That can assist you work out what you need out of your rice cooker, we’re breaking down the fundamentals.
With the costlier cookers, you’re paying for extra superior cooking expertise, bigger capability, extra stress cooking options, and extra elaborate digital controls.
On the most simple stage, a rice cooker will simply be somewhat pot with a lid that’s positioned on a heating component to prepare dinner rice — the identical course of as what you’d do on the stovetop, simply in its personal equipment and on a timer. These cookers don’t usually make rice any higher than you’d over a burner, however they do are typically small so it can save you area.
We propose stepping as much as a minimum of the subsequent stage, the marginally costlier rice cookers which have a lid that locks in place and seals, so much less steam is launched through the cooking course of, that means the next high quality prepare dinner. The Hamilton Seashore Digital Programmable Rice Cooker & Meals Steamer is a superb instance of a machine like this, and there are different fashionable choices from manufacturers like Aroma, Tiger and Zojirushi which are constructed equally. Usually this stage of rice cooker introduces extra modes for particular sorts of rice like brown rice and capabilities like fast prepare dinner and maintain heat.
The subsequent stage introduces digital controls and pc chips to assist excellent the cooking course of. Just like the “Micom” (Zojirushi’s abbreviation for “microcomputer”) within the Neuro Fuzzy, these pc chips assist decide the ratio of water and rice to regulate the prepare dinner and produce the absolute best rice no matter sort or recipe. These rice cookers can differ loads in value relying on different options.
We predict this stage of rice cooker is sufficient to fulfill virtually everybody’s rice cooking wants, due to their potential to prepare dinner deliciously fluffy rice. All through our testing, we tried some fancier machines that use induction heating, however discovered that the standard of rice didn’t enhance a lot. We examined three rice cookers with induction heating, however we thought the Neuro Fuzzy cooked pretty much as good if not higher rice than all of them. However in the event you do need to make investments extra in a rice cooker, induction heating produces larger temperatures which may theoretically result in fluffier rice.
The actual top-of-the-line rice cookers are induction items as properly, however are additionally absolutely sealed to allow them to perform like stress cookers, supposedly creating the proper setting for rice. We didn’t check any rice cookers with each one in all these options on this spherical as a result of they are typically extraordinarily costly — just like the $700 top-of-the-line Zojirushi.
We did check a few stress cookers just like the On the spot Pot to pit them towards conventional rice cookers, however each batch of rice we made in them got here out extraordinarily gummy and moist; the standard simply wasn’t on par with a lot of the different rice cookers we tried.
We examined 18 rice cookers by cooking 2 cups of the Nishiki medium grain rice on the plain/white rice setting. We in contrast the style and consistency of every rice towards related fashions and narrowed the pool right down to a smaller group of finalists. We then cooked one other batch of white rice, a batch of Lundberg lengthy grain basmati rice and Lundberg quick grain brown rice. We in contrast the prepare dinner of those batches towards one another and weighed different elements comparable to additional options, ease of cleansing, dimension, design and extra.
Efficiency
- Sushi/medium grain rice: We cooked 2 cups of Nishiki medium grain rice on the cooker’s plain/white rice setting. We then tasted and instantly in contrast the flavour and consistency of the rice with different rice cookers. We appeared out for burnt bottoms, wetness, fluffiness and general style. We eradicated rice cookers that made the worst rice.
- Brown rice: After narrowing down the pool, we cooked 2 cups of Lundberg quick grain brown rice on the cooker’s brown rice setting. We then tasted and instantly in contrast the flavour and consistency of the rice with different rice cookers.
- Basmati rice: After narrowing down the pool, we cooked 2 cups of Lundberg lengthy grain basmati rice on the cooker’s brown rice setting. We then tasted and instantly in contrast the flavour and consistency of the rice with different rice cookers.
- Totally different modes: We counted what number of totally different modes every rice cooker had comparable to settings for brown rice, porridge and extra.
- Different settings: We counted what number of additional options and settings every rice cooker had comparable to maintain heat, a timer and auto clear.
- Ease of cleansing: We eliminated all washable components from every rice cooker and cleaned them, judging how arduous or simple it was and the way lengthy it took.
Design/Construct High quality assessments
- Capability/sizes: We counted what number of dimension choices can be found for every rice cooker.
- Footprint: We researched every rice cooker’s dimensions.
- Weight: We weighed every rice cooker on a kitchen scale.
- Twine size: We measured every rice cooker’s twine with a measuring tape.
- Normal design/look: We judged how every rice cooker appeared and any additional design selections.
Hamilton Seashore Digital Programmable Rice Cooker & Meals Steamer
The Hamilton Seashore rice cooker was virtually one in all our picks, however simply couldn’t beat out the Cuckoo CR-0655F. If the Cuckoo continues to be a bit too costly for you, we’d positively advocate going for the $60 Hamilton Seashore Digital Programmable Rice Cooker. It’s received the identical options as costlier machines like fast prepare dinner and maintain heat, and cooked rice higher than another rice cooker in its value vary — apart from the Cuckoo CR-0655F. The rice high quality is unquestionably a step down from the CR-0655F however continues to be stable and can do the job for individuals who solely eat rice each infrequently.
The Tiger JKT-D10U made rice simply as scrumptious because the Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy. It was a prime performer in all of our rice checks, however because it’s costlier than the Neuro Fuzzy at round $300, we expect the Zojirushi is the higher purchase. Nonetheless, if you’re a loyal Tiger fan and also you’re searching for top-notch rice, you’ll be able to’t go improper with the JKT-D10U.
Zojirushi Induction Heating System Rice Cooker & Hotter NP-GBC05
This Zojirushi rice cooker additionally cooked scrumptious rice, nevertheless it wasn’t fairly on the identical stage because the Neuro Fuzzy or the Tiger JKT-D10U. It does have induction heating, so in order for you a rice cooker with that expertise this can be a good choice. Nonetheless, this cooker is just accessible in a 3-cup dimension, so in the event you’re making rice for greater than two to a few folks directly it is likely to be too small on your wants.
Zojirushi Micom Rice Cooker & Hotter NS-TSC10A
This Zojirushi cooker has a pc chip in it identical to the Neuro Fuzzy, nevertheless it didn’t make the identical high quality of rice. It’s a stable rice cooker however we expect the Neuro Fuzzy outshines it in almost each means. For $30 extra, we expect our greatest general decide is the way in which to go.
This rice cooker had a really stable efficiency. It cooked tasty rice and had loads of helpful options. It was in rivalry for our runner-up spot, however the Cuckoo CR-0655F had related qualities for simply $80. It’s costlier than our decide, however you positively gained’t be disillusioned in the event you select this Tiger machine.
The Tiger JBV-A10U simply didn’t prepare dinner rice in addition to a lot of the different rice cookers. We predict your cash is best spent on the Cuckoo CR-0655F, which is across the identical value as this one.
The Panasonic rice cooker options induction heating, however we didn’t assume it made a greater pot of rice than the Neuro Fuzzy. The truth is, we thought the Panasonic’s rice was on par with a few of the mid-tier cookers we examined, which is why we don’t assume it’s definitely worth the $500 price ticket.
This Aroma rice cooker was virtually our finances decide, because it made a stable pot of rice and has nice options like fast prepare dinner and maintain heat. Nonetheless, we had points with the steam vent once we cooked rice. The steam that got here out would pool on the highest of the lid and spill over onto the counter making a moist, sticky mess.
This rice cooker has a easy lid that doesn’t entice in a lot warmth, resulting in a mushier rice. Most rice cookers we examined with this function didn’t make excellent rice and the Zojirushi was no exception. We did prefer it higher than the opposite easy choices, so in order for you a tiny rice cooker and don’t thoughts mediocre rice it could possibly be buy, however we expect you’re higher off spending the additional $10 for the Hamilton Seashore.
This huge, 10-cup rice cooker took up tons of counter area and didn’t prepare dinner excellent rice. The underside was burnt and it didn’t style fairly as fluffy because the Hamilton Seashore machine. Until you’re cooking for a big household and wish the 10-cup capability (the Hamilton Seashore can prepare dinner 7 cups), we don’t assume this rice cooker is price your cash.
The Oster DiamondForce made some fairly mediocre rice. It’s low-cost, however we expect spending the additional cash on the Hamilton Seashore and even the Zojirushi NHS-06 is properly price it.
Just like the Oster DiamondForce, we actually don’t assume this rice cooker is price shopping for. In case you spend the additional cash on the Hamilton Seashore, you’ll get significantly better rice and a greater cooking expertise too.
This tiny, 2-cup rice cooker is cute, nevertheless it didn’t prepare dinner excellent rice. It could possibly be reward for somebody residing in a small house or a university dorm, however we nonetheless assume the Hamilton Seashore or Zojirushi NHS-06 are higher choices.
Aroma Housewares 8-Cup/2 Quart Digital Cool-Contact Rice Cooker & Meals Steamer
The rice from this Aroma had a burnt backside and didn’t come out very properly in any respect. The Skilled Model is unquestionably a greater choice than this one for about $10 extra, however we nonetheless advocate the Hamilton Seashore over each Aroma machines.
We wished to see if a stress cooker might make rice on the identical stage as a devoted rice cooker, however sadly the outcomes have been underwhelming. The rice from the On the spot Pot Duo Plus was gummier and mushier than a lot of the conventional rice cookers we tried. If you wish to consolidate kitchen home equipment the On the spot Pot is a superb decide, however in the event you’re simply searching for a rice cooker we don’t assume it may well compete.
This stress cooker from Cuckoo had related outcomes because the On the spot Pot. The rice we cooked was mushy and didn’t style excellent in any respect. The machine has tons of different capabilities so it is likely to be price a glance in the event you’re out there for a stress cooker, nevertheless it isn’t definitely worth the cash in the event you simply need a rice cooker.