Rating  - Takes up counter space, but worth it
I bought this on the recommendation of a friend and I'm not at all sorry. I keep it on the counter and it does take up a good chunk of space, but it's worked so well, I'm good with the space issue. I had a bottom-range rice cooker before this one and it was ok as long as you ate the rice immediately. This one keeps rice warm for a very long time without overcooking the bits touching the pan. I'm looking forward to trying to make soup in it.
Rating - Feeding a Daily Habit
In Hawaii, many of us eat rice every day, so most of us have rice cookers on our kitchen counters. I'd been wanting a "fuzzy logic" cooker for a long time, but my old-fashioned, bridal-shower-era aluminum cooker took its sweet time easing into retirement. When it was time to say farewell, I'd narrowed my choices to the higher-end Zojirushi line.
My sturdy Zojirushi was worth the wait! Rice comes out dependably, every time. White rice. Jasmine rice for curries. Mixed brown and white or wild rice and brown or white. Never overcooked; never crunchy. There are multiple settings to accommodate all kinds of combinations -- "reg/sushi" is best for everyday, and hit the "pre-washed" button if you've washed the rice grains. The others are self-explanatory with one possible exception, sweet, which is probably not a common choice. A steam vent up top keeps the rice from getting overly sticky, and the included rice paddle may look like it has measles but it's designed to keep the rice from sticking.
I'm a gadget geek, so the computer melodies that indicate the start and end of cooking make me smile every time I hear them, and sometimes that's twice a day (I do love my rice). The warming function seems to work well, keeping the rice quite hot without drying it out, but for best flavor you would want to eat the rice within 30-60 minutes.
The non-stick coating truly is ... no more soaking the aluminum pot in cold water to get the "goo" off. Instead, a quick hand-wash with hot soapy water is all the bowl and the detachable cover liner need. As to the measuring cup, as one person noted, it's not exactly a dry measure 1c. I keep it in my rice tub, scoop out however much I want to prepare, wash it in the sink (old habits die hard) and then use the knuckle measure technique to add water. Basically, no matter how big/small your hands or the dimension of the cooker, rest your pointer finger barely touching the top of the rice; the water level should hit your first knuckle. I boost this a bit for brown and wild rice.
This cooker has given our family more than 3 years of faithful service so far, and my eye hasn't wandered.
Rating - great machine, but not immortal
I bought my 10-cup Zojirushi two and a half years ago, and have used it on average three times a week ever since. It's been pretty great, but at this point the teflon on the bowl is completely shot and must be replaced (note that I've used the plastic paddle almost exclusively and have never scratched the bowl with a metal utensil). A replacement bowl is about fifty bucks, so be aware that even if you tenderly wash it by hand, it has a life-span of about two years.
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Customer Reviews for Zojirushi,NS-ZCC18,023596225084,0023596225084,B000A7NN4I, |
