I finally had to break down and buy one. I had disdained them in the past, I’d never had a problem making perfect rice. The kitchen in my new house has a pricey drop in electric cook top that I am struggling to learn to use. I finally went to Kitchenware Outfitters last week and bought a simple Zojirushi. On, off and keep warm. I guess i can steam stuff in it. It made perfect rice on the first try. I’ll try not to be so snobbish about them in the future.
You can make other things in a rice cooker other than rice.
These examples are just the tip of the iceberg.
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Alan Barnes, cook extraordinaire esp. Asian ‘things’ sold me on them. They were staying in a condo in Hawaii and it had one. He was hooked. I love that I can “set it and forget it” and it frees up a burner.
Why??? There’s a reason a couple billion people on the planet use them in their household… 1 touch perfectly cooked rice everytime… Silly not to have purchased one sooner… Status acquisition these days are the $400 + units with induction pressure cooker, platinum infusion fuzzy logic etc.
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True. Whenever we’re in Seattle we go to Uwajimaya for great Asian and other foodstuffs. They must have three dozen different kinds of rice cookers.
I’ve never, as I said, had a problem with cooking rice in the past. It was always perfect. Now I am a convert with this new damned electric cooktop. And, yes I learned to cook rice at an early age on an electric range.
I thought you were going to get an induction cooktop. I’ve said and meant it that you couldn’t give me the most expensive non-induction plus $1k to trade.
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DAMN! Close to $1000 for a rice cooker! I mean, don’t get me wrong, I want that thing. It’s nice to want things, I guess.
What kind of rice cooker is it? Does it do tricks? I have a Zojirushi. It was under $70. It cooks rice perfectly and has a steamer basket. Just off and on. That is all I need.
The high-end rice cookers make better rice. They just do. They are also way more versatile. They aren’t worth it unless you cook rice very frequently, though, IMO.
Now the cast iron super deluxe version is gilding the already-golden lily, admittedly.
I’ve cooked rice all of my life. My family lived in Japan and rice, while not a daily food was on our menu at least once a week for most of my life. I learned to cook it at an early age. What puzzles me is that I learned to cook it on an electric stove. Then my husband and I moved and had a gas cooktop. We had it for over 30 years. We recently moved to Savannah, Ga. and our new home is all electric. I cannot cook rice on an electric cooktop any longer. That prompted me to buy a cooker. I’m not feeling bad about it. Sara Moulton was on The Splendid Table on Sunday and admitted to not being able to cook rice on an electric cooktop. She said she just boils it until tender and then drains it.
Anyway, I don’t need a rice cooker to do much of anything except cook rice. The steamer function is handy. My husband uses it more than I. With our move we did not replace our microwave so the steam feature is handy. I have not find a reason to replace the microwave which is pretty much an expensive steamer. The microwave uses juices or other liquids to steam cook.
I think that the quality of the rice is more important than the method. I don’t cut corners and pay for good rice. We are lucky to be able to get good Carolina Gold rice as well as some very good East Asian varieties. Rice is not simply a white, flavorless food. It is sort of like grits. You can buy cheap quick cooking grits or quality stone ground grits. The flavors are incomparable. Library paste or true corn flavor?
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Which makes me wonder if it’s the rice or whatever or what you cook it in. I’d guess the former.
The rationale, right or wrong, for buying an expensive rice cooker is the same as to why people buy expensive coffee makers.
Machine or beans? Cooker or rice?
Might I add snobbery? Those who think if it costs more then it must be better. And I’m guessing in most cases there’s no rice that’s more expensive than the most expensive rice cooker.
Having both doesn’t hurt the situation.
My grandma sent me off to my first apartment with this (or whatever the current model was 20 years ago) https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00005B6Z4/ref=pd_aw_sim_sbs_201_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=KX2VQ4YMXXKZ8217ADV7
I keep hoping the damn thing will break so I can justify getting a nicer model rice cooker. No such luck.
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That’s not snobbery. Delusional, maybe. But not snobbery.
Cuz, if an owner of an expensive rice cooker is going around bragging about it to people, then it’s not snobbery. But stupidity.
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Good point re rice cookers. But I’ve seen kitchens where everything’s all ‘matchy matchy’ and expensive and they’d never consider the $200 set of cookware I got at Costco 
I’d buy one in a heartbeat if it came in a US friendly 110v version…
Supposed to replicate the high pressure kamado cooking method…like the scene in dreams of Jiro. Perhaps @MaladyNelson can help translate the site
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Or le creuset, all clad, mauviel, wolf, subzero wusthof, jura… [insert your favorite cookware, appliance]…