Have you ever heard of electric rice cookers? Basically it is a kitchen appliance that automates the rice cooking process.
The most modern machines cook not only white rice, but also brown rice and sushi rice as well. Some models go beyond that and they also work for steaming vegetables, chicken and fishes.
Rice
You can, too, pre-program certain foods such as rice and oatmeal and have them ready only a few hours later. Can you imagine just putting the ingredients in the evening and going to bed to wake up on a lazy Saturday with freshly made oatmeal? And in case you feel extra-lazy and decide to sleep a little longer, the rice cooker will switch automatically to warming mode, so the food will not overcook -- it will just maintain the temperature.
Other common traits to most rice cookers are the presence of a retractable cord, as well as removable inner lid and pot for easy cleaning and maintenance. Speaking of which, my family has had a Zojirushi cooker for 20 years. They are very robust and well built.
These cookers are available basically in three different sizes: for individuals (or couples), for families and for restaurants.
The 3-cup models are very small and cook your rice really fast. You can find some brands that make rice on between 20 and 25 minutes. These are ideal for college students due to their versatility as a rice cooker and as a steamer, while they are small and easy to store.
When I moved out and came to Japan, I did some research and I ended up buying a Panasonic cooker, 3-cup model. It is also a Japanese, reliable brand. There were two main selling points for me: it was a bit cheaper than the Zojirushi model and it saves some good 4-5% of electricity. I don't know if all models are like that, but I found that to be pretty amazing.
The 5-cup models are a bit bigger. These are ideal for families with four to six mouths to feed on every meal. Although you will be far from using the entire capacity of this rice cooker on every meal (most likely around half if you really like rice), this is a good size because it either allows you to cook extra rice for two meals at once or you are able to make more rice for an unexpected guest.
This is the size of the rice cooker I have back home. You can also use the warming function during the winter and serve soups and stews in your rice cooker. The warming function will keep your foods warm, although not necessarily keep cooking them.
And if you really like these machines, or you are a restaurant owner looking for further automation of your kitchen, you can buy a 10-cup cooker. These are a bit too big for families, although you can buy one of these if you entertain a lot. If you manage to find Sanyo cookers, they offer some models with a program specially made to bake breads. So this machine can be a rice cooker, oatmeal maker, warm foods, steam vegetables and also make you bread. Talk about versatility, huh?
Electric rice cookers can be a great aid to any kitchen. They serve a wide variety of needs and automate processes to free your time. I hope this article has helped you grasp that.
Electric Rice Cookers - Automation & Flavor
Max White lives in Japan and maintains BestRiceCooker.org, a site devoted to bring the best reviews of rice cookers. If you are interested in a detailed Panasonic rice cooker buyers guide or other brands, make sure to click one of these links.
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