Title: NSZCC00 Created Date: 8/24/2011 7:40:23 PM.

The electronic rice cooker has come a long way from traditional stove to programmed mode that lets you change to setting and order whatever you want to do with your rice. In fact, electronic rice cookers are not meant for cooking rice alone but indeed a great steamer for cooking brown rice, vegetables, meat and much more. Cooking rice needs a little effort, time and persistence but these are no longer required in case of electronic cooker. All you need to do is just pour the water over rice and change the settings, sit back and relax and let the cooker will notify you once it has cooked. Yes, of course, you might be running to grab special offers that are popping around the online shopping portals. However, it is not recommended to get the products in hurry. Keep in mind, the discount and offers are not an automatic sign that they are made from a reputed brand.

You must try to know to choose the best rice cooker and how can you benefited by these products as well.

So, we are here to guide you which one suits your cooking need.

Best Buy Rice Cooker Reviews 2020

1. Zojirushi NS-LAC05XT Micom 3-Cup Rice Cooker and Warmer.

Our top pick for the list is Zojirushi NS-LAC05XT minicom, which comes with stylish design and has reliability to save your dollars. It is our top pick in terms of quality and reliability.. The manufacturer has incorporated the strong stainless steel body, which ensures durability and longevity. In fact, this versatile product holds high customer satisfaction and good ratings at the Amazon portal. This sleek, stylish and unique product is equipped with micom fuzz logic technology. Aside from this, LCD display makes it easy to adjust the settings and monitor the cooking process. The program in this rice cooker can be customized, thus enables effortless cooking. One of the interesting things is that this rice cooker comes with the additional accessories includes stream stray, measuring cup, serving spatula etc.

Features

• Comes with recipe book & user manual
• 610-watt microprocessor
• Simple yet stylish design

2. Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 Neuro Fuzzy Rice cooker

Yet another product from the same band, these hold high customer satisfaction, reviews, and ratings. If you are cooking for a large family, you must have a 3-cup rice cooker. Without having to compromise the quality, Zojirushi series offers a high-quality product at a reasonable price. The fuzzy warmer is up for all your cooking needs. Interestingly, Neuro-fuzzy cooker consumes less time as compared to the traditional cooking process. The sleek and round look adds charm to the fuzzy cooker. What’s more? It comes with a complete set of menu for porridge, quick cooking etc. The great blends of digital controls and LCD displays make the Fuzzy cooker works like a charm. The preset timer will get your food ready without hassle. It features 8 different types of settings – keeps warm features, automatic mode etc.

Features

• Ideal for large family
• High customer satisfaction
• The most recommended

3. NS-TSC10 Rice Cooker

Next, to our top picks, NS-TSC10 features fuzzy logic technology, automatic keep warm and 2 delay time settings. The fuzzy cooker can be programmed according to your cooking needs. With this computerized rice cooker, you can extend the basic rice cooking to other varieties of cooking such as cake, steam, ice cream etc. Aside from this, Quick cooker enables you to prepare rice cake, sweet, etc. In terms of capacity, you can hardly trust the NS series as it is ideal for large family. If you want to tackle some kind of urgent and last minute cooking, it did cooks far well. While preparing brown rice, sushi, or vegetable rice, you will feel much more comfortable.

Features

• Fuzzy logic technology
• Automatic keep warm mode
• 2 delay settings

4. ARC-753SG Stainless Steel 6-Cup Rice Cooker

You might have enjoyed using many of the aroma accessories, though Aroma stainless steel cup rice cooker has craze that attracts more and more customers at the Amazon portal. Unlike another ordinary cooker, it acts as a surgical grade cooking pot that ensures your safety, thus you can use it even when your kids are around. It features surgical grade stainless steel that ensures safety, durability, and longevity. It gets you to rice cooked in a short span of time. Despite the reliability and durability, it didn’t fare well cooking sushi, mixed rice, brown rice etc. This lightweight cooker is available for you at a reasonable price.

Features

• Simple & sturdy
• Reliable
• Affordable

5. Aroma ARC Rice cooker

When compared to the electric & programmed pressure cooker, you can easily get the versatile rice cooker that comes with extraordinary features and available at a reasonable price. Yes, its way very inexpensive that other cookers in the market. Despite the price, Aroma offers a trustworthy product without compromising the quality of the cooker. While opting for a rice cooker, you should ensure that the product comes with the manufacturer warranty. In this way, thanks to the product as it is insured with a one-year manufacturer warranty. In terms of capacity, it accommodates 8 cups of cooked rice and is ideal for feeding the large family where 5-6 members live. The cooking cup measures 8.5×9.3×8.7 inches. The rice cooker weighs around 4.2 pounds, ensuring portability.

Features

• Has no complicated menus
• Comes with one year warranty

6. Black+decker

A versatile product from the reputed brand that has all essential features to grab its customer base. The unique design and affordable price tag make it stand out from others. If you want a budget-friendly product that serves your whole family, you can opt for Black+ Decker product. A versatile kitchen companion that ensures convenience & peace of mind. It features a tempered glass lid that lets access easy visibility and helps keep track the cooking process.

Features

• Available at an affordable price
• Comes with a tempered glass lid
• Holds up to 6 cups of cooked rice

7. Tayama Rice Cooker

The simple and affordable choice is worth to buy In the coming years. Aside from the basic features, it comes with the four different types of the cooking menu for cooking not only rice but also brown rice, vegetables, meat etc. The non-stick surface will let the surface absorbs oil easily. It comes with a cookbook that boasts a variety of delicious recipes that impress your family. The small, handy and easy to clean cooker comes with a nonstick spatula, measuring cup and cooking plate. The advanced cooking functions let you cook two different food simultaneously.

Features

• Compact, Handy
• Non-sticky surface

8. Tiger Rice Cooker

You must be wondering to see the product from the Tiger brand as it won’t always appear on the kitchen side, but you can go with it if you want to invest little in getting the versatile product. Its reliable, sturdy and multi-functional cooker rice cooker that can suit all your cooking needs. The rice cooker is not just mean for cooking rice but also used for a variety of cooking needs like steaming vegetables, meets etc. It comes with the attachment of paddle, glass lid, measuring cup etc. Based on your cooking needs, you can make use of the multiple settings to get things done.

Features

• Stylish square shape
• Brushed stainless steel

9. Breville Risotto steamer

What makes Braville steamer extraordinary is it holds 10-cup capacity, which is far better than other medium-sized products. It’s ideal for serving a large family. It is necessary to have a rice cooker for heavy rice consumers. A versatile 10 cup capacity makes it stand out from other low-quality products. Whether it is steaming rice for daily needs, or opting for last minute cooking, Breville steamer gets your rice cooked on the go. The rice features non-stick bowl for enabling easy cleaning. It’s an affordable, basic model that best suits for all the basic cooking purpose.

Features

• Ideal for novice users
• Basic & simple model
• Reliable & durable

10. Cuisinart CRC 4 cup Rice cooker

Are you tired of using a heavyweight pressure cooker? Yes, you can try smaller rice cooker that gets your rice cooked in a short span of time. Meanwhile, this small cooker can be customized to meet all your cooking needs. It comes with a glass lid, which lets you keep track of the cooking process without hassle. The reliable and most efficient rice cooker just needs 310 watts of power to survive in your kitchen. It comes with the attachment of rice scoop, user manual and measuring cup. The product is lightweight and easy to handle, which makes it easy to operate for even a novice user

Features

• Amazing price tag & features
• Small, light-weight, handy
• Affordable option

Rice cooker mentioned are reliable, sturdy and trustworthy. With all these beings told, make sure that the product comes from the reliable brand that offers essential features required for an ideal rice cooker.

Rice Cooker Buying Guide – What To Look for it?

Rice Cooker Buying Guide – Rice cooker is a great addition to your kitchen if you regularly eat rice. Rice cooker frees up your stove top giving you extra space for cooking other dishes. Rice cooker comes with computerized sensors to ensure the rice is not overdone or underdone. It has automatic shut off sensor that will help avoid monitoring and saves your time.

The size of the Rice Cooker – Rice Cookers come in various sizes ranging from 2 cup quart to 8 cups quart serving 2 person to 8 person. There are many brands of rice cookers to choose from. Choose the brand that matches your size and durability requirements. Ensure you buy the right size as large cookers will cost you more electricity. So unless you have a family or 4 to 5 never buy large cookers.

Equipment – Most rice cookers come with either nonstick coated bowl or aluminium bowl, steamer, spatula and measuring cup. Usually the rice cooker is between 250 watts – 650 watts with 3D heating technology which keeps the rice warm for couple of hours.

• The inner pot usually is either ceramic or non-stick or aluminium. The non-stick coating helps the rice not to stick to the pot.
• Some models allow you to preset your rice cooker to start wary early before the actual time of cooking so it. The rice cooker is time sensitive and very flexible.
• Reheat cycle is a feature where you can warm the rice to be still fresh and warm.
• Steaming tray is useful to cook veggies and the most effective cooking to retain all the nutrients in the vegetables.
• In many rice cookers measuring cup is provided to ensure you are not using the cooker beyond its capacity.
• The rice cooker comes with automatic thermostat to maintain any electricity fluctuations.

Price Range – The price ranges from $50 to $100 depending on size and brand.

Rice Cooker Cleaning Instructions

• Take out the inner pot and hand wash the pot and let it dry for at least an hour.
• There should not be any water droplets at the base of the bowl else the coil or the heating pad will damage.
• Clean each time you use it else the a hard layer will form which will be hard to remove later.
• Always ensure to pour water while the plug is out. Remember water is a good conductor of electricity.
• Do not use abbrasive soap on the inner pot else the lining will go bad.
• There are few brands that provide dishwasher safe inner pot. Look for this feature if you have dishwasher at home. Usually Inner pots will be dishwasher safe in the upper row to avoid faster scaling of the coating.

Warranty – It is always better to take a cooker that is durable as rice is staple food all over the world and is cooked almost everyday. Most of the rice cooker come with 2 year warranty.

Rice Cooker Caring Instructions

• Always follow the manual step wise to cook the rice if you are using it for the first time.
• Never pour water in the inner pot while the wire is plugged.
• The challenging part is to figure out the menu settings. So carefully follow the settings and you will be good to cook rice.
• Before buying the rice cooker always check the watts and how many volts is available at your home.
• Always keep the rice cooker away from conventional oven and other flammable substances.
• Do not keep keep your rice warm overnight as it will dry out the rice and will be hard to bite.
• Try to avoid adding oil, salt and spices directly to the cooker as it will spoil the non-stick coating over a period of time.

Rice Cookers vs Pressure Cookers – The Major Difference

When you are planning to get either a pressure cooker or rice cooker, then it might become confusing for you. If you can’t spend money on both the cookers, then it will be best that you make the right decision by knowing the difference between these cookers.

The major difference between Rice Cooker and Pressure cookers

In both the cookers, you can cook food with the help of steam. This is the only similarity and the rest of the functioning in both the cookers is totally different. The rice cooker comes with an external case, lid, inner pot and heating pad. There might be some extra parts along with it like tofu maker and steam basket. The rice with liquid gets heated up when the heating element in this cooker becomes hot. This makes the evaporation of liquid from the rice and then steam is turned on. Rice starts absorbing liquid and then start becoming softer.

In the case of a pressure cooker, it has got a lid that can be locked and a pressure sensor. The lid comes with a rubber lining and this prevents the steam to escape from the cooker. It helps the cooker to maintain proper pressure in the pot. The food is cooked quickly in this pot as compared to the normal pots. If you will turn off the stove before the rice is cooked, then the water will be left behind in rice. So, you need to have an idea of whistle and timing while cooking food in pressure cookers. If you are looking for a cooker to make rice only, then the rice cooker is a good option but it won’t be best to cook every kind of food recipe in it. That’s why you should only take the decision after you decide about the food you want to cook in the cooker.

I hope at this point you know what kind of rice cooker you wish to buy. Never forget to buy the cooker that has reliable reviews and lasts lifetime. It is a fact that all rice cookers are electric appliances they will have an expiry date for their durability. Hence, choose one that is long-term and safe for everyone to use. By following the above guide and practicing safe methods you can earn yourself a reliable rice cooker that would last longer.

A rice cooker can be a very useful kitchen appliance since it can be used to cook other grains including steel cut oats, wheat berries or barley. Some have special settings for different types of rice. Some can be used as slow cookers. And some have simple on-off settings for those who only want their rice cookers to cook rice.

In countries where rice is a major part of the food culture, rice cookers are an essential appliance in almost every kitchen. If you eat a lot of rice or consider yourself an aficionado who eats rice daily, as do most families in those countries, you might want to consider investing in a high-quality rice cooker that turns out a perfectly cooked product every time.

It may surprise you to find out that rice cookers have been around since 1955 when they first introduced in Japan by Toshiba. In fact, some of the best models on the market are from Japan. It makes sense because Japan is a country where the people eat about 144 pounds of rice per person in one year, on average.

Today’s guide is about the Zojirushi Rice Cooker – One of the most popular Japanese rice cookers on the market.

Zojirushi is known as a manufacturer that provides high-quality food equipment and Zojirushi Rice Cookers are no exception, these rice cookers consistently receive positive feedback from customers. Although Zojirushi Rice Cookers are not very affordable, it’s worth it in the long run.

So today, we will guide you through our picks of the best Zojirushi Rice Cookers, features to look for when Zojirushi Rice Cooker and how to choose the right Rice Cooker.

Features to look for when choosing a Zojirushi Rice Cooker

Here are some of the common features you will find in various Zojirushi rice cooker models that help in boosting their functionality and versatility:

Keep Warm Function

Zojirushi is the first brand to introduce the keep warm function for rice cookers. Although taken for granted today, it was a revolutionary improvement to when you would have to adjust your cooking meal schedule just in time for dinner or after arriving home from work. Which means that once the rice reaches fluffy deliciousness, the rice cooker automatically switches to Keep- Warm – Helping to keep the rice fresh and hot until we’re ready to eat.

This feature is beneficial for busy individuals who wish to arrive home with warm rice ready to be prepared. This also works great for re-heating meals if there are still some rice left over everyone has eaten. You may want to keep the rice warm for a few hours to eat again at the next meal. The keep-warm feature can typically keep rice warm for up to 24 hours at a high enough temperature (higher than 60 degrees Celsius or 140 degrees Fahrenheit) to discourage bacterial growth. However, it’s not recommended to keep rice warm for multiple days in a rice cooker because of the danger of bacterial growth and possible food poisoning.

Computerized Fuzzy Logic Feature

The fuzzy logic theory was introduced by UC Berkeley professor Lotfi Zadeh in 1965. While fuzzy-logic rice cookers operate under the same premise as conventional models, their mathematical programming can make precise fluctuations in cooking time and temperature depending on the program selected. These rice cookers may include different keep-warm and quick-cook cycles for outstanding results with all kinds of rice including sushi rice, umami rice, porridge rice, mixed rice, fluffy rice, white rice, sweet rice and brown rice. Some also offer texture settings that allow users to select soft or hard and wet or sticky rice.

This is one of the most advanced technological features added into the Zojirushi rice cookers. When the rice cooker has fuzzy logic feature, it is considered as belonging to the high-end class, so it’s more expensive than the regular models. The inclusion of this feature is beneficial because it aims to guarantee the even cooking of rice. It is a good choice for beginners since it helps prevent the risk of getting overcooked, undercooked or burned rice. The fuzzy logic feature also supports the ability of a rice cooker cook various kinds of rice. So, if you intend on doing anything else with your rice cookers such as rice porridge, oatmeal, brown rice, seafood, and vegetable, then you are better off choosing fuzzy-logic models.

MICOM Technology

Some models of rice cooker from Zojirushi also utilize microcomputer chip technology (MICOM technology). This helps improve the functionality and versatility of a rice cooker because it works in introducing various menu settings for users. These settings also make the process of cooking rice varieties easier than before by supporting precise control.

MICOM rice cookers are more advanced rice cookers that also help automatically control the cooking temperature and cooking time according to the amount of rice that you should cook and the type of rice being cooked. That means you can leave your MICOM rice cooker to cook the rice without having to check it constantly. These rice cookers are also automatically programmed to incorporate soaking and steaming time, thus eliminating the need to re-program for the different phrase of heating and cooking.

Retractable Power Cord

It has a retractable feature designed to help in neatly tucking the power cord into the unit. The built-in retractable power cord, found in most Zojirushi rice cooker models, is beneficial because it ensures that no more messy power cord obstructing or getting in the way of other kitchen tools.

Induction heating rice cooker

While conventional rice cookers apply heat directly from an electrical plate underneath the inner cooking pan, induction heating models get their heat from an alternating electric current from the wall outlet to heat the entire pan, allowing for far more accurate heat distribution.

There are several differences between conventional rice cookers and induction rice cookers that you should consider before making the final selection.

First of all, while a common rice cooker heats only the bottom of the external vessel, an induction heating rice cooker can heat the inner pan to produce more evenly cooked food.

Induction rice cooker is designed to be able to make precise and instantaneous adjustments, which means that you can adjust the temperature, the time, and the power every time during the cooking process and this is not the case for common models.

Additionally, since induction heating utilizes the inner pan as an element, it is faster to heat the cookware with rice cooker induction heating.

Having a looked at the common factors that make all of the Zojirushi Rice Cookers that we’ve selected for this review so fantastic, it’s time do a detailed review of each of the Zojirushi Rice Cookers. After reading these reviews, you will be in a better position to decide which rice cooker is going to be suitable for your needs.

So without further ado – let’s dive into the best Zojirushi Rice Cookers!

Zojirushi Rice Cooker Comparison Table

Reviews of the Best Zojirushi Rice Cooker

1. Zojirushi NS-VGC05 Micom 3-Cup (Uncooked) Electric Rice Cooker and Warmer | Best 3-cup rice cooker

[CLICK ON IMAGE FOR PRICE]

Zojirushi NS-VGC05 3-cup rice cooker has most of the functionalities of the high-end rice cookers. It works great for making grits, polenta and the icing on the cake is that it can make cakes as well. With this small and compact rice cooker, you can get perfect rice every single time. If you want to cook as little as 1/2 cup of rice without compromising on the quality, then this may be for you. The Zojirushi product is labeled as 1-year warranty.

Pros

• Give you perfect rice every single time.
• Can make cakes and cheesecakes that turn tasty and fluffy.
• Compact size that works well in a small kitchenette or a dorm room.
• Fuzzy logic technology.
• Modern design makes it a great kitchen addition that matches all styles.
• It keeps warm for hours.
• Easy to use and clean.

Cons

• There are no settings for brown or long grain rice varieties in this unit.

Our review

Zojirushi NS-VGC05 is among one of the earlier MICOM lineups that you could call an oldie, but a goodie. With the capacity of making six cooked cups, it’s the perfect choice for singles or small families. In other words, this 3-cup rice cooker cooks just enough rice to easily feed 2 to 3 people. Most people cook rice as a side dish to go with a stir-fry or some other main dish. So if you only use rice as the only main dish, you may want to double up.

Fuzzy Logic Technology

Zojirushi NS-VGC05 is equipped with the latest Fuzzy technology. Capable of artificial intelligence, the rice cooker will know how to adjust temperature and cooking times accordingly for the best, fluffiest rice. The benefit you have as a user is that this machine takes the hard work out of cooking rice to give you perfect rice each time.

Compact Design

The beauty of the Zojirushi NS-VGC05 electric rice cooker is that it’s so small, making it ideal for households of two or three or a child who’s away at college and needs to eat right! The rounded rice cooker also makes a minimal footprint on your countertop, which means it’s perfect for tiny kitchen spaces.

Timer and keep warm setting

The rice cooker comes with a delay timer that has two different settings. This function allows you to set things up and return to cooked rice when you’re ready. You may get benefit from this feature if you want to use your unit to cook rice or porridge in the morning, but then use the same rice cooker to cook rice for dinner at night.

It also comes with a keep warm feature, which allows food to stay fresh for a longer period of time, no more worries about serving cold food or timing everything perfectly.

Menu sections

There are 7 menu options include white/mixed/sushi, porridge, cake, rinse-free, and quick cooking. For times when you’re in a real hurry, the rinse-free and quick cooking function will come in handy. There’s also the added convenience of being able to cook porridge, steam vegetable or even bake a cake.

However, unlike many Zojirushi rice cookers, this rice cooker doesn’t have a brown rice setting. But it doesn’t mean you can’t cook brown rice in it. All you need to do is to rinse your brown rice a few times in water. Let it soak in water for an hour or so. Pour the brown rice in the inner pan. Add 1/3 to 1/2 additional water to the white rice water line. Select “white rice” on the menu and hit “start”. You can play around with additional water to test the doneness.

Detachable cord

You can find the retractable cord on just most of Zojirushi rice cooker models. But in this one, you will get the detachable cord. While many people like the retractable cord, some prefer the detachable cord for some reasons. With a detachable cord, they don’t have to worry about the plug end getting in the way of storing the rice cooker. They just simply unplug it from the rice cooker and the wall and then place the plug inside the unit. Safe storage and easy cleaning are other good reasons for choosing this.

Easy to use and clean

With the clear instructions and easy-to-read LCD panel, it doesn’t take much time to master the menu settings. It’s a matter of figuring out the rice and water ratio for each rice variety. You can know this by testing a few batches of different rice before cooking.

Like all Zojirushi rice cookers, this unit has the removable pan and lid for effortless cleaning, particularly since the cord is detachable too.

Alternatives to the Zojirushi NS-VGC05 3-cup rice cooker

If you want a 3-cup rice cooker that specifically cooks brown rice (doesn’t include cake, rinse-free, and GABA brown rice settings), you might want to check out the Zojirushi NS-LAC05XT Micom 3-Cup Rice Cooker and Warmer. This unit makes perfect brown rice and offers great value at its price point. However, before you choose the NS-LAC05XT model, you should consider if the abilities to cook GABA brown rice, rinse-free rice and cake are all that important for your needs from a 3-cup rice cooker.

Alternatively, if you’re specifically looking for a 3-cup rice cooker that has the brown rice setting or the GABA brown rice setting (no cake setting), then take a look at the highly popular Zojirushi NP-GBC05XT 3-cup rice cooker instead. With the ability to cook both brown and GABA rice and the induction heating technology, this machine wins out over the two 3-cup Zojirushi rice cookers. Although it comes with a higher price point, users say it’s worth every penny.

As you can see, where the Zojirushi NS-VGC05 rice cooker stands out among the three is its cake making function. So if you’re not a big brown rice eater, then this Zojirushi rice cooker may be the most value-for-money unit that you need.

2. Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 5-1/2-Cup (Uncooked) Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker and Warmer | Affordable Zojirushi rice cooker

[CLICK ON IMAGE FOR PRICE]

The Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 5-1/2-Cup Rice Cooker is ideal for those who enjoy eating various types of rice since it has the ability to cook perfect rice whether it be white rice (regular/sushi, softer or harder), mixed rice, porridge, sweet rice, semi-brown rice, brown rice, rinse-free, and quick cooking. This 5-cup rice cooker cooks enough rice to easily feed 3-5 people. It carries a 1-year limited warranty.

Pros

• The multi-menu choices pretty much covered every type of rice available.
• Ideal for a medium-sized family.
• Micro computerized Neuro Fuzzy Logic technology.
• Is packed with 2 measuring cups- one for regular rice and the other for rinse-free rice.
• Programmable melody or beep audio indicator
• Spherical inner cooking pan and intuitive heating system.
• Easy to clean and transport.
• Built-in retractable power cord.

Cons

• Doesn’t keep the rice fresh for long.
• Only displays remaining cook time at end of the cycle.

Our review

The Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 5-1/2-Cup Rice Cooker is one of the best 5-cup rice cookers on the market since it offers its owners multiple features so that various meals can be cooked quickly and deliciously. With this computerized rice cooker, cooking rice for your medium-sized family is only a few simple steps away. If you’ve been on the fence about investing in a high-end 5-cup rice cooker, definitely add this to your short list.

Neuro-Fuzzy logic technology

One of the reasons why Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 rice cooker has been the best-seller is because it’s equipped with the Neuro Fuzzy logic technology which allows for the rice cooker to think for itself. While the rice is being cooked, this technology allows the machine to keep an eye on and monitor the process and adjust the temperature and time of the cooking based on a variety of factors, including how much rice is being cooked. This feature provides the unit with the flexibility to cook different rice types and makes sure your rice cooker cooks perfect rice each time.

Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 Capacity

With the ability to cook up to five and a half cups of rice (which yields about 11 cups of cooked rice), the Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 rice cooker is a very good choice for a medium-sized family. Keep in mind that the cup that comes with all the Zojirushi rice cooker models is only 6 oz vs. 8 oz for a U.S. measuring cup.

Menu selections

This Zojirushi rice cooker offers a variety of cooking selections that allow you to cook all sorts of rice: white, mixed, semi-brown, brown, sweet, porridge. Regardless of what choice you make, the rice comes out moist and perfect. There are three heating selections: Automatically keep warm, extended keep warm and reheat cycle. When the cooking cycle has ended, it shuts off with a beep, indicating that the meal has been prepared.

Cook rice with rinse

Most of us are probably more familiar with this kind of cooking – rinsing the rice a few times before cooking. When you cook rice with rinse, you can choose from “soft” or “hard” in texture. Personally, I always like the rice has been cooked so that it is still firm when bitten. If you cook other kinds of rice such as sushi, brown or sweet rice, there is an option for that.

Cooking pre-washed rice

Pre-washed rice applies a new milling technology developed in Japan, where bran and residues are milled from the rice without any compromise of the quality. This helps save some time from rinsing the rice before cooking.

To cook re-washed rice, you need to use the green measuring cup, which is different from the clear up for all other types of rice. Then press the “pre-washed” on the lower right-hand corner to get perfect rice.

Keep warm settings

This unit is capable of keeping the rice at the perfect temperature for hours and reheat when you need it. The automatic keep warm setting turns on as soon as the rice is done the cooking, it can keep the rice warm for 5 hours. The extended keep warm setting can be used to keep the rice for 12 hours if the dinner isn’t going to be served within a certain amount of time. With this setting, the temperature is adjusted slightly lower to prevent dryness, discoloration, and odor of the rice.

Reheat cycle

When you have leftover rice, you can use this function reheat the leftover rice to perfect temperature to serve with lunch the next day without having to cook an entire batch just to warm up the rice.

Built-in retractable power cord and handle

The Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 rice cooker has the built-in retractable power cord, which provides extra safety and easy storage. The unit also comes with a fold-down handle, which makes it easier to carry and transport.

Other features

To help you to accurately measure out the rice, Zojirushi includes two measuring cups, a nonstick rice spoon/scooper, a rice spoon holder, and recipes to help you get started.

The rice is cooked in the Teflon non-stick inner cooking pan that allows for spherical heating while prevents rice from sticking. If you get interrupted during the cooking process there is a programmable delay timer with 2 settings. There is a stay-cool side handle on the inner pan helps to protect your hands from getting burnt as you detach the nonstick inner cooking pan. The rice cooker also comes with a detachable inner lid that allows for easier cleaning.

3. Zojirushi NP-NVC10/18 Induction Heating Pressure Rice Cooker & Warmer

[CLICK ON IMAGE FOR PRICE]

The Zojirushi NP-NVC rice cooker combines the best of all worlds in existence to date in artificial intelligence (AI), induction heating technology and nuanced features to turn rice cooking into a pleasant experience with a delicious outcome. It is the perfect option for the frequent rice eater that appreciates the nuances of rice prepared in different ways. But this unit is certainly cost prohibitive for many users. If you are simply looking for the most value-for-money rice cookers, you may want to consider more affordable options above. This Zojirushi rice cooker carries the one-year limited manufacturer warranty.

Pros

• It offers the best heating technologies to date in this rice cooker to cook rice to perfection and save you time in programming the setting each time.
• Plenty of settings to allow you to cook all varieties of rice.
• Delayed-start feature allows you to cook rice on your schedule much easier.
• Automatic Keep Warm, extended Keep warm and Reheat functions.
• The platinum infused nonstick inner pan favors a better water absorption, this results in better tasting rice.
• Easy to use and clean.

Cons

• It’s very expensive.
• It doesn’t cook anything else effectively as it cooks rice.

Our Review

The Zojirushi NP-NVC rice cooker is one of the best Japanese rice cookers on the U.S market. It has lots of great and innovative features to reach the ultimate goal of enjoying rice cooked to perfection no matter how you’d like it. If you frequently eat rice and can afford it, this can be the best rice cooker you’ve ever owned.

Let’s see why this unit deserves all the attention of the rice enthusiasts.

Heating: Pressure and Induction Heating with Fuzzy Logic and Artificial Intelligence

Pressure Heating

The best thing of this Zojirushi rice cooker lies in the heart of the heating technologies since it features all the bleeding-edge heating elements in one rice cooker. To start off, the rice cooker comes with pressurized heating in three different settings of temperature and pressure. To cook white rice, the setting is at 104 C/219 F at 2.1 psi (pounds per square inch); brown rice at 105 C/221 F at 2.8 psi; sushi rice (firmer than regular white rice) at 100 C /212 F at 0 psi.

Another advantage of pressure cooking is that it converts the beta starch into alpha starch making rice softer and easier to digest. The added benefits of pressure cooking help to cook rice faster than common rice cookers as well as to give you the possibility to have fresh rice for days, but not for hours.

Induction Heating

The induction heating transfers heat via a strong magnetic field, which is created when the current passes through the copper coils (The current is supplied by the wall socket). When the inner pan is placed into the external vessel, the magnetic field is activated which invariably heats up the cooking pan and so does the cooking cycle.

The induction heating effectively turns the whole cooking pot into a heat conductor instead of just emitting heat from the base. Therefore, the heat is conducted more efficiently and more evenly. This enables the rice to be cooked from all sides.

AI Fuzzy Logic Technology

If that’s not impressive enough, The Zojirushi NP-NVC rice cooker is also armed with artificial intelligence (AI) and fuzzy logic technology. The fuzzy logic enables the machine to process information like a human for “it…then” scenarios. For instance, if you cook brown rice, a set of variables of temperature and cooking time would be called upon which different if cooking sushi rice.

The Al is like adding human memory since it is programmed to pick up on your cooking tendencies from previous rice-making experiences and adjust the cooking cycle accordingly. It will remember important metrics like the typical capacity of rice you cook to automatically set the proper temperature and time. It even makes adjustments for the final “wait” period that happens during the steaming process. This is an amazing feature because the rice cooker actually thinks things through on your behalf and learns from past rice cooking experiences.

Another impressive feature of the Al is its ability to learn about the environment it’s working in (climate, water quality, outside heat and humidity can all affect cooking times and temperatures) before adjusting accordingly to ensure perfect rice texture and consistency.

Platinum Infused Nonstick Inner Cooking Pan

Another brand-new feature is the platinum infused nonstick inner pan which helps the rice absorb water more easily, this results in better tasting rice. This pan also has shown to alkalize water and break down proteins built upon each surface of the rice again so that water can penetrate the grains more easily. The end result is rice that’s sweeter, richer and packed full of retained nutrients.

Menu selection

The Zojirushi NP-NVC rice cooker can be used for cooking all varieties of rice including white rice (regular, soft or firm texture), mixed, sushi/sweet rice, porridge, brown, GABA brown, umami, steam-reduce, scorch, rinse-free and quick cooking. Unfortunately, it doesn’t cook anything else effectively as it cooks rice. All other foods apart from rice ware cooked in an average manner.

Umami setting is a special setting. To the Japanese, “Umami” is thought of as the “5^th flavor”. It means “good flavor”. So this setting allows you to capture the “good flavor” by pre-soaking the rice longer than what is typical of white rice. This slow process allows you to make the rice that tastes sweeter than average.

The steam-reduce and scorch settings are brand new features.

As the name of the feature implies, the steam-reduce settings cut the steam by 50% vs. regular setting. This probably helps shorten the cooking time, less energy is consumed or less mess on the inner lid. This setting cannot be used to cook mixed or sweet rice because it is separate setting and cannot be used simultaneously with these initial settings.

The scorch setting lightly toasts the bottom of the rice, which is a handy feature for dishes like Rice Roni.

Cooking capacity

5.5 cups of rice, or 1 liter – Zojirushi Induction Heating Pressure Rice Cooker & Warmer NP-NVC10

10 cups of rice, or 1.8 liter – Zojirushi Induction Heating Pressure Rice Cooker & Warmer NP-NVC18

These two sizes address most of the household needs from singles, small to large families as each model also has a minimum amount to cook as 2 cups.

Other features

Like other Zojirushi rice cooker models, this one also has Extended Keep Warm, Automatic Keep Warm, and Reheat functions that are displayed through the Keep warm monitor.

The inner cooking pan and the lid of the Zojirushi NP-NVC10 can be removed, which makes it easy to clean. The non-stick pan needs to be cleaned by hand with gentle soap.

The machine has a colored easy-to-read LCD control panel and the stylish design make it such a kitchen appliance to show off to your friends.

Buying Guide| What You Should Know Before Choosing The right Rice Cooker

Why I Need a Rice Cooker?

Why buy a rice cooker when you can cook rice by boiling it in an ordinary pan? Well, there are a couple of reasons.

First, with an ordinary pan, the results can be inconsistent. Not to mention that cooking rice in an ordinary pan leaves you with the trouble of keeping an eye on it to make sure it’s not overcooked or undercooked and draining out the excess water once done. With a rice cooker, you never have to worry about it. Whether you want white, long-grain, fluffy or toasted, wild brown rice, all you do is add rice, measure water, and press start, and you get perfect rice every single time, even when you’re distracted.

If you make a lot of rice and want to save some effort and time, that’s a good enough reason to get a good rice cooker. Moreover, since a rice cooker allows you to prepare food using nearly every type of cooking method from simmering, slow cooking, steaming to boiling, braising, and “baking”, it is not just for rice! In fact, as you already know, it comes equipped with all the multi-cooker functions without the fancy multi-cooker name.

What size do I need?

Before choosing a rice cooker, consider how much cups ( referring to the standardized cup that comes with rice cookers) of rice you want to prepare, not on occasions when you have guests over. Don’t buy a large model than you need because the rice cooker is designed to operate properly with a specific amount of rice and water. You also want to avoid overfilling your unit because it will cause it to boil over which can be a mess.

It is worth noting that each cup of raw rice will yield two bowls of cooked rice. For example, a 3-cup rice cooker can make up to a maximum of 6 bowls of cooked rice, and a 5-cup rice cooker can make up to 10 bowls of cooked rice. Also, when buying a Japanese rice cooker, beware that one Japanese cup is 200 ml in compared to one American cup is 240 ml.

Now consider these common sizes:

• 3-cup rice cookers – About 1-2 cups of rice, usually for 1-3 people
• 5-cup rice cookers – Around 2-5 cups of rice, usually up to 5 people
• 10-cup rice cookers – More than 5 cups of rice, for up to 10 people.

If you’re like many people, you may ask what if I have guests over? The ideal way is to cook twice when you have guests over or you need to cook more than your rice cooker’s capacity.

Do I Need an advanced rice cooker or just a conventional model?

If you don’t use your rice cooker very often and are not that picky about the quality of your rice cooker, you may be okay with a conventional model. However, if you want to cook something more than just rice, then a quality, more expensive model will make your job a lot easier. Bonus features include MICOM technology, induction heating, fuzzy logic., which you can find in some Zojirushi rice cooker models.

Rice Cooker Features

Fuzzy Logic

As mentioned above, fuzzy logic feature helps to make rice uniform and with each grain fully expanded, giving the rice great sweetness and aroma. Frequent rice cooks who work with a variety of grains will not be disappointed by the performance of fuzzy logic machines.

Induction Heating

Induction heating improves rice cookers in three main ways:

• The temperature-sensing methods can make minute adjustments to the temperature.
• The heat distribution area can encompass the inner cooking pan
• The level of heat created in the cooking pan can be changed in an instant by weakening or strengthening the magnetic field that is generating it.

Porridge cycle

This was designed for cooking Asian breakfast rice. You can also use for other breakfast cereals and other slow cooking recipes.

Reheat cycle

The reheat feature warms rice back to proper temperature in about 5-10 minutes and then maintains the heat until you are ready to eat.

Texture setting

Allows you to select the rice texture you prefer such as regular, soft or firm.

Quick cook function

The quick cook function bypasses the soak time and goes right to the cook cycle. This feature can be useful if you have to cook rice in a hurry.

Fuse protector

This feature helps trip and prevent possible fires. This is important for a machine you may leave on unattended.

Auto cord reel

Keeps the cord out of the way so your children or pets do not accidentally yank the unit off the counter.

One more tip…

Neuro Fuzzy Rice

We hope at this point you would have an idea on how to choose the right rice cooker. But buying the right rice cooker does not mean that it would last a lifetime, in fact, there is no such thing. Since they are electronic appliances just like your cell phones and laptops, there are chances for them to break down. However, you can lower this chances by following some tips that we are going to share with you below.

• First, NEVER add ingredients such as salt, oil and other spices into your rice cooker as this will scratch the pot’s non-stick coating.
• Second, NEVER rinse your rice inside the inner pan of your rice cooker, as this will also damage the non-stick coating.
• Third, we want today again, don’t use a rice cooker that is much larger than what you really need.
• Finally, always keep your rice cooker clean. Make sure the heating element under the inner pan is clean, and to computerized rice cookers, make sure that the control panel is clean.

We hope this guide has helped you a bit on choosing a Zojirushi Rice Cooker suitable for your needs. Good luck finding one and enjoy!

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