Rice Cooker

[newbymom05]

Are these worth the cabinet space? I consider myself a good cook, but for some reason I have the toughest time with rice.

[russsk]

I use mine all the time, but I guess it depends on how often you eat rice. Mine can also function as a slow cooker. I don't think it's as good as a regular slow cooker, but I don't use it much for that anyway. If you don't make rice very often, there are smaller models that might make more sense.

[Ola_]

I agree that it depends on how often you make rice. We use ours about once or twice a week and love it. Previously we had a store-brand which sputtered a bit when cooking, now we have a Zojirushi and it's great. It has settings for white rice, brown rice, a quick setting in case you're in a hurry, some other settings that we clearly don't use . It even makes sponge cake. It lets you program it so that you can fill it in the morning and it will be done cooking when you want to eat supper.

[Drummer's Wife]

I have a smaller, cheaper one - but I love it and am glad we have it. It pretty much cooks rice perfectly and effortlessly.

[*Jade*]

Originally Posted by Drummer's Wife

I have a smaller, cheaper one - but I love it and am glad we have it. It pretty much cooks rice perfectly and effortlessly.

Ditto this, I love my rice cooker, I could never get rice to come out nice before having it.

[broodymama]

I'm really glad we have ours. We only use it maybe once a week for rice, but I use it a few times a week for oatmeal or grits. It's nice to throw the oatmeal in there, sit down & nurse the baby & read my email, then breakfast is ready.

[RainbowTurtle]

Originally Posted by Red Sonja

I'm really glad we have ours. We only use it maybe once a week for rice, but I use it a few times a week for oatmeal or grits. It's nice to throw the oatmeal in there, sit down & nurse the baby & read my email, then breakfast is ready.

This is absolutely brilliant! Why didn't I think of that??? Thank you!

[Jaxinator]

I have a steamer with a basket that I always use for cooking rice (because I too for some reason can't make it on the stove). My mom had bought it for me when I had my son. I didn't think I needed it, but 4 years later I'm still glad I have it. You can even make a packet of veg or fish to cook in there.

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-H...8745442&sr=1-4

That's the general idea.

[mamatowill]

Sure do and I love it. Mine also steams veggies and stuff which I find great. I have had mine for 10 years now and when it dies I will be getting another right away.

[meemee]

i loooooooove my rice cooker. esp. to make brown rice. we cook rice at least 5 times a week if not everyday.

i always resisted buying one. felt it really wasnt necessary. i cook rice well on the stove.

but i love i just wash the rice and put it in the cooker and 'forget' about it. i dont need to watch it or watch the clock and turn the stove top rice off.

now that i have it, i cant imagine life without a rice cooker.

mine is a cheapie one and still does well. no complaints.

[newbymom05]

Wow, it's unanimous! OK, I guess I better get a rice maker, thanks.

[Drummer's Wife]

I cook steel cut oats in mine, too. They come out perfect. I can even soak them overnight with a little ACV and water, then flip on the switch when we wake up and they are done in like 15-20 minutes.

[jeninejessica]

I echo everyone else. We got one at our wedding shower and literally rolled our eyes. We had absolutely no use for one, and were a bit peeved that we had to store something else that we had expressed we didn't want.

Turns out we use it tons! Like some of the pp's, ours also steams veggies really well. And salmon! It steams salmon perfectly. We've got the wolfgang puck one, and there's a little basket that just sits overtop of the rice bowl, and you throw the salmon in there, and 30 minutes or whatever later, it's done. Marvelous.

[cristeen]

How often do you eat/cook rice though? For me its a completely useless purchase, since we might eat rice once a month.

[blizzard_babe]

I'm not a kitchen gadget kind of person... but I have come to LOVE our rice cooker. We eat rice quite a bit, and with the rice cooker it's effortless and comes out perfect every time.

[jeninejessica]

Originally Posted by cristeen

How often do you eat/cook rice though? For me its a completely useless purchase, since we might eat rice once a month.

We tend to go in spurts, where we'll use it 2 or 3 times a week for maybe two weeks, but then we'll not use it for a month. We don't use it just for rice though- it also steams veggies on it's own, salmon like I said, and there's actually recipes for tons of other food, I just haven't tried anything else.

[SubliminalDarkness]

I have a cheap, small one that can cook two cups of rice at a time. We use it several times a week and it is definitely worth it. I can make rice fine on the stove, but sometimes I get distracted with the kids and it'll end up burning before I can turn it down to simmer. With the rice cooker, that's not a worry.

[bjorker]

Our rice cooker has been great for dp, esp b/c it also steams veggies. I even steamed my placenta in it (a step to encapsulation).

You can cook quinoa in it too! A cup of water per a cup of rinsed quinoa for 20 minutes.

I thought they were kind of silly before, but my mom got the cooker for dp for xmas and we definitely get plenty of use out of it.
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[maddymama]

Hi Mamas,
So... enlighten me on steel cut oats in the rice cooker. I'm assuming it's one cup oats to two cups water..... then turn it on. Will it automatically shut off when it's done like it does for rice? Mine is ancient (35-40 years old that my parents got as a wedding present that they gifted to me years ago- the thing is awesome).....
What else/ other grains can I cook in it? Polenta? Millet?
~maddymama

[Ellien C]

MILs solution to perfect rice: Put the rice and the water together in a pot on high. As soon as it starts to boil, put a lid on it and turn it to low. keep it there for 20 minutes. Do NOT PEEK. DO NOT OPEN THE LID!

The secret is not opening it.