Alton Brown is a favorite celebrity chef of mine and he has a basic aversion to ‘Unitaskers’, those being kitchen gear items that only do one thing only.  I have to agree with him in most cases.  Now, I don’t know how he feels about Rice Cookers as it is by definition a unitasker, but I know that I find mine indispensable.

Generally speaking, I don’t care for ‘converted’ rice, no matter who’s uncle made it.  It is quick…  and that is about all I will say for it.  I much prefer a good basmati or jasmine rice, and a medium grain brown rice like Sunbrown Calrose Brown Rice is even better.  But, they take time to cook, and in our 24/7 busy world, that isn’t convenient.

Enter the rice cooker.  A good rice cooker allows you to put the water and rice in the machine in the morning, set the time you want it to be ready, and walk away.  The result is perfectly cooked rice ready when you want it, all with minimal fuss.

Like everything, rice cookers come in all sorts of sizes and shapes.  When I purchased mine 15(?) years ago, it was one of the better ones available, and I needed to go to an Asian kitchen store to get one.  Now, they are much more readily available, and of course on Amazon.  The one I went with back in the day was a Zojirushi rice cooker with fuzzy logic and timer.  I love it, and it has served me very well.  When I have to replace it, it will be with another Zojirushi model.

The fuzzy logic bit basically means that the unit detects when the water in the bowl is absorbed, and turns the unit down from cook to keep warm.  It also determines the correct cooking time for the amount of rice to ensure that it is ready at the right time.  I really recommend this feature.  The timer is also highly recommended, as it gives you that ‘set it and forget it’ function.

I have had opportunity use a more basic rice cooker, and it really did do a sub-par job.  It was small, and tended to boil over and cook the rice unevenly.  Size and quality really do matter with rice cookers.

One accessory that is a great help when working with ‘real’ rice is a rice washing bowl.  Any regular rice should be rinsed very well under cold water until the water runs clear.  This removes the surface starch from the rice grain, which is left in place makes for sticky / gummy rice.  By washing the rice, you end up with a light, fluffy finished product.

If you like rice with your dinners, even from time to time, this is a great investment for your kitchen.

Enjoy!