Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Little miss insomniac did some searching on searchtempest (the easiest way to search craigslist) and came up with this rice cooker at a very reasonable price. (It's $178 on Amazon.) I don't mind it's size, and besides, it's cute!

The website made me a little nervous...it doesn't look very professional, but I did some checking and they seem legit.

Amy

Amy, That rice cooker is a cutie! Wish I had storage room for one. Maybe next time I purge some unused items that I had to have...sigh

Laurie

That is a funny little store. At least they list a phone number, etc. You can give them a call and see if you get a person with a heavy brooklyn accent

Amy,

Are you sure you wouldn't use a larger cooker than that, as with guests, or saving rice for later use? I ask because I almost never cook less than 3 cups (i.e. 2 1/4 c) for myself, and for others I always fill up my 6 c cooker. Still not a huge size, but I have never needed a larger one. I almost never use it all; I actually use more leftover rice than the rice I eat with the original meals! If you don't do this, and if you don't need larger amounts for several people very often, maybe the 3 c would suit you. And it is a good brand!

The brand I have - Aroma - has many duplicates out there since it came out. It was one of the first ones in between the original cheap rice cookers, and the ultra expensive fuzzy logic, and may no longer be around! It has rice cook, quick cook/steam, and porridge/soup modes, plus a "up to one cup" mode (I think I only used this once, and it was to see if it worked, which it did). Many others I have seen have identical buttons. It keeps the rice warm for hours, with no problems, as most of them do these days.

Well, if really want to "go for it" now-a-days, you go for a induction pressure fuzzy logic pressure cooker. The induction is actually pretty clever; it lets you fully insulate (thermos tech) the rice container, yet evenly heat the inside of the container. The pressure cooking speeds up cook times. Very slick. Check out this one. Big bucks, though!

Yeah Paul, I saw those. Not willing to spend that kind of money. I don't really mind the time the fuzzy logic units take...sushi rice lasts as long as its covered with a wet cloth, so I can make it one night, and use it the next. Given that I've only got one day a week where I can get to my fishmonger, it's pretty predictable what nights we're having sushi.

Dave, I know a larger capacity would be good, but if I'm making rice for a party, it's going to be sushi rice, and since that holds well, I'm okay if I have to make a couple of batches.

Amy

Amy,

It's very cute but doesn't seem that practical. A 3-cup rice cooker is really for someone who lives alone.

FWIW, this is the one I have:
http://www.amazon.com/Zojirushi-NHS-10- ... 354&sr=8-6

Not cute, but durable, efficient, and inexpensive.

Too late Josh...it's shipped. Trust me that is plenty big enough for the two of us. I just don't eat that much rice.

Amy

Several years ago I asked a neighbor (1/2 Japanese & fluent) about what rice cooker she recommended. She named all the top brands. When I pressed her on which ONE she had, she surprised me by saying she had 4 or 5 rice cookers! All different sizes and features, fuzzy logic and not. Similar to Italians who serve pasta with every meal, she serves some sort of rice every night. So Amy, you can always buy another cooker if yours is too small!

Paul: that is some rice cooker for $427! Whew. If it did rice cooking, pressure cooking, warming AND sous vide, all with fuzzy logic, now that could be interesting. Someone is probably working on that as I type!

Asians take their rice very very seriously. Also, my rule is don't ever serve rice to Asians in your home. Despite that, I did it once. Serving risotto to a (very polite) vietnamese couple. This was not wise. Sure, I think, I bet they never had rice like this and, I think, that is certainly true, but it as a pretty bad flop (they never said a bad word, of course, but one can tell ). It just wasn't rice like they had been eating daily all their life and they were about to be open to some totally new form of rice. Of course, some guests are more flexible then others.