It also boasts a delayed-start-time function and the ability to slow-cook or steam vegetables, meat, beans, soups, and stews. It’s a particular pleasure on this Zojirushi because of the automatic Keep Warm setting that kept rice right at serving temperature for hours.

But the thing that really set this machine apart from most of the competitors was its use of induction heating, which provides a precise, even heat source that warms the whole pot rather than just the bottom. S ince cooking rice usually entails gentle, even heating, we’re not so worried about damaging the nonstick surface with high temperatures, as we would be when using an electric pressure cooker or other multi-cooker for things like searing (we prefer electric pressure cookers with stainless steel pots). Settings include a 'GABA' option that’s designed to germinate brown rice, and 'Yumami' function for white rice that uses phased temperatures to release sugars for a sweeter flavour. As with the sushi rice, we followed the cooker’s instructions and cooked the rice on the recommended setting. It should not be conflated with electric pressure cookers like the Instant Pot, which costs less than half of what this Cuckoo model costs.Although labeled medium-grain, it is considered a sushi rice, and it cooks to plump and sticky short grains.

The difference of 10 or 20 minutes between an okay batch of rice and an amazing one isn’t too significant for people who care about great rice, especially if you start your rice at the beginning of cooking dinner or use the timer function. The results were a little too firm when we used the machine’s measurements of water and rice, but they came out a little mushy, with quite a few burst and exploded hulls, when we used the 1:1. Like if you’re braising something that takes three hours, you can time it so that the rice is done right when your braise is done.The rice isn’t perfect, but this model is a great option for college students or anyone on a budget. This Cuckoo suffered the same design issues as the CR-0675F, but with the addition of a sputtering pressure cooker valve.

After each use, wash the inner pot by hand with the soft side of a sponge (in the dishwasher, the pot’s nonstick coating can deteriorate). Items are untested and unsorted by Jobalots and may be damaged, coming directly from the source company. Also on the lower end is the Cuckoo CR-0351FR, a tiny, 3-cup wonder that cooked fast and sloppy rice. You should be able to use your spatula or paddle to scoop out rice without leaving residue or stubborn rice bits stuck on the bottom.ENJOY PERFECTLY COOKED RICE EVERY TIME - Our rice cooker's double layer body design provides better thermal efficiency and insulation, ensuring perfectly cooked rice every time. We were excited to test the Tiger JBV-A10U because it’s one of the cheapest cookers that still offer fuzzy-logic controls. Taking up less counter space is always better from a storage perspective, but the quality of the rice was more important to us in the long run. One common complaint we hear from people using a Zojirushi Micom or other premium rice cookers for the first time is that they take a long time to cook.

Note that most manufacturers use uncooked-rice cup measurements to identify the maximum capacity of their machines, but some, such as Instant Pot and Hamilton Beach, use cooked-rice measurements to indicate their models’ capacity. The Zojirushi’s quick-cook setting made firm white rice that felt a little too al dente (it wasn’t nearly as good as the results from the Hamilton Beach or the Cuckoo). Also, I wash it by hand, and it’s usually a bit of a struggle getting in and around the lid (which you have to detach).Despite its induction and pressure cooking capabilities, the NP-NVC10 took 55 minutes to make a 2-cup batch of white rice, 10 minutes longer than both the Neuro Fuzzy and NS-TSC10. Many traditional preparations for long-grain rice, such as Persian tahdig , use a combination of boiling followed by steaming, as opposed to an absorption method where all the water cooks into the grain (which is what happens in most rice cookers).