How To Find The Best Rice Cooker
You've heard me say it many times on this website - get the best rice cooker you can afford. Stop trying to cook it in a pot on your stove.
A rice cooker will make your life a lot easier, especially when you're making sushi. These handy little devices almost guarantee perfect rice everytime! Measure your rice and water, flick the on switch and you're good to go. No need to keep an eye on it.
The following tips are just my guidelines to help you find the best rice cooker. There is a bewildering array of choices and things can get quite sticky without some guidance.
Avoid All-In-One Rice Cookers
Stay away from rice cookers that also let you bake bread and do a host of other strange things. Honestly, why would you want to make bread in your rice cooker and how good could it be!
Also, I'm not a fan of those cheapo rice cookers that cost about $20 and make only three cups of rice. I found the inside of the pot scratches very easily.
Cleaning Your Rice Cooker
The first rice cooker I ever bought drove me nuts because the lid couldn't be removed for cleaning. Trust me and make sure that get one with a removable lid.
A majority of electric rice cookers have an aluminum cooking bowl that makes for easy cleaning. If you can afford it, get one with a stainless steel bowl - it will last longer and be less prone to scratches.
Cooks A Variety of Rice
I think the best rice cooker you can buy includes the option to cook different types of like brown rice. It's the hardest to cook and I never seem to get it quite right if I do it on the stove top.
Make sure you don't do what I did and place your rice cooker directly under your cupboards. The steam shooting out from the top was enough to discolour them.
Sushi Guy's Choice For Best Rice Cooker
My choice for the best rice cooker is the Zojirushi NP-HBC10 5-1/2-Cup Rice Cooker
It cooks perfect rice everytime. One thing that I really like is that the rice on the bottom of the pot doesn't end up brown and crusty. My last rice cooker did that all the time!
It also cooks a variety of different rice including the notoriously hard to make brown rice. Of course it's great for sushi rice and sweeter, softer rice like Jasmine.
The lid on the Zojirushi NP-HBC10 is detachable. I love that! It just makes clean up very easy. It also comes with a stainless steel bowl that holds up over time to cleaning and everyday use.
This brand also includes a spatula, spatula holder, and rice-measuring cup. These little extras are great!
You can get this great little rice cooker at Amazon for 33% off!