Rice cooker

notreallyirish

Does anyone use a rice cooker?  What do you use it for (in addition to cooking rice)?  I was thinking about getting one but didn't know if I would use it a lot or if it would be one more dusty appliance.

The_Jen626

I use mine about every 2 weeks?  We got it at Costco for about $25.  I only cook rice in it, but I'm very glad to have it, it makes awesome rice.

notreallyirish

I was reading that you could make soups and steam veggies and even meats in them and basically use it sort of like a crock pot (which I also have).  I thought it might be handy to have another appliance that I could set and forget rather than having to watch over the stove, but I didn't know if it was really that easy.

luvmagoldn

We use ours only for rice.  But my DH is Filipino so we use it A LOT.    

mrswright2006

I just got one this fall, and I really love it.  I like cooking brown rice for the kids, but I am really bad at cooking rice (it generally turns out either burnt, or like little pellets in your mouth). With the rice cooker, I can "set it and forget it," to quote the great Ron Popile.  I have steamed sweet potatoes for DS, and I see you can make soups and stews with it, but I generally stick to basic rice because I am boring like that.  

It is also really great for sushi rice.  It comes out so much nicer than if I try and make it on the stove.  I have been on a huge Asian cooking kick lately, and generally send rice once a week in DD's lunchbox for preschool, so it is worth it for us, but I can see how useless it would be for some people.

stargirlsheart

i make steel cut oatmeal in mine a few times a week.  1 cup oatmeal, 4 cups water, crack the lid open a little and the oatmeal turns out perfect every time.

hayleydeee

I have one that I only used for cooking rice. Then I found the prepackaged frozen rice at Trader Joes. That stuff is SO much easier. With the cooker I always got a layer of rice at the bottom that was overcooked. 

passar3588

I have a Black & Decker Rice Cooker/Steamer. I use it at least 3x per week. My DH eats brown rice for lunch several days a week and then I use it for cooking rice for meals as well. I also use it to steam veggies - mostly broccoli. I've had it for many, many years and have certainly gotten my money's worth.

Mereou12

I LOVE my rice cooker! We use it at least once a week for cooking rice, but I also use it as a steamer. When DS1 started solids, I used it to steam fruits & veggies. One of his favorite snacks was steamed apple chunks with cinnamon....with the added bonus that it made the house smell delicious!

 

soralette

We've got a Zojirushi rice cooker that was a wedding present, and I love the hell out of that thing. The rice is always absolutely perfect (fully cooked, never crunchy, never soggy, just a bit fluffy) -- and it'll automagically keep the rice perfect for up to 12hrs after it's done cooking, so you can start it whenever you like during the day and ignore it until dinner. We use it at least a few times a week, just for rice, lol. It never occurred to me to try putting anything else in there! I have been known to make rice with chicken broth instead of water, though.

We had had a cheaper one before, but it broke a year and change before the wedding, and also had the nasty crusty-rice-at-the-bottom problem one of the PPs mentioned. We rarely used it and I hated it when we did because of the crusty-rice problem. Also, it was a HUGE pain to clean.

Deblondie1

soralette:

We've got a Zojirushi rice cooker that was a wedding present, and I love the hell out of that thing. The rice is always absolutely perfect (fully cooked, never crunchy, never soggy, just a bit fluffy) -- and it'll automagically keep the rice perfect for up to 12hrs after it's done cooking, so you can start it whenever you like during the day and ignore it until dinner. We use it at least a few times a week, just for rice, lol. It never occurred to me to try putting anything else in there! I have been known to make rice with chicken broth instead of water, though.

We had had a cheaper one before, but it broke a year and change before the wedding, and also had the nasty crusty-rice-at-the-bottom problem one of the PPs mentioned. We rarely used it and I hated it when we did because of the crusty-rice problem. Also, it was a HUGE pain to clean.

I make mine with vegetable broth. How do you keep it from steaming over?!? What a mess I've been making. 

soralette

Deblondie1:

soralette:

I have been known to make rice with chicken broth instead of water, though.

I make mine with vegetable broth. How do you keep it from steaming over?!? What a mess I've been making. 

I'm using a titch less water than the rice calls for -- my rice cooker says to use the rice's directions wrt rice:water ratios... And the brand we have right now (25lb bag, so we'll have it for a while) wants 1.5c rice : 2c water. So I'm using about 7/8ths cup rice (since it's just DH and me!) and about 1 cup broth.

The rice cooker holds up to 2c white rice, though, so it may just be that I'm not anywhere near its capacity!

ENI36

We love our rice cooker.  We use it once or twice a week, just for rice.  It really does cook the rice better than on the stove.  Or maybe we're just bad at cooking rice on the stove, but IMO it tastes a lot better!