Just in case this being revived by a spammer has anyone curious, this shit is the greatest and everyone should own one (if you eat rice constantly like me)
https://www.amazon.com/Zojirushi-NS-TSC10-Uncooked-Cooker-1-0-Liter/dp/B0074CDG6C/
Agree, Zojirushi is the best rice cooker. Once you have one you’ll never use anything else.
Zojirushi is the best brand. Accept no substitutes.
That is, in fact, exactly what I ended up getting a long time ago. It’s baller.
We have one that has to be 30 years old, still works great.
The Wirecutter recommends a slightly different Zorirushi. They say the NS-TSC10 is good too, but not quite up to the same level as their pick. It is a lot more expensive, so you’d hope for a better result.
For sure. I went with what felt like a happy medium in their line, but it’s hard to go wrong with almost anything they make. My girlfriend’s Zojirushi thermos is amazing.
Spam bots aside, you know what makes totally awesome rice, super fast?
The instant pot.
That’s what I’ve been using for rice lately, and it makes perfect rice every time.
Plus, it does a million other things.
I too have a Zojirushi and it’s amazing. We’ve made pretty massive quantities of rice in the thing at this point.
The strangest quirk about them is the tunes they play to start and finish the cook. I dig it, it helps you know when things are done, but the tune …
For those without one, the starting tune is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and the finish is Amaryllis.
We love the starting tune so much. It’s so cheerful!!
And yeah, I do a big batch of rice in there almost weekly, sometimes 2x/week. It’s been going strong for a couple of years now. I can’t imagine going back to my pre-rice-cooker existence.
/Ad-Mode-Off
One thing I’ve never done is used the measuring cup they have. I’ve always used a standard measuring cup. At any rate we make about 3-4 uncooked cups of brown rice a week and a couple of cups of white, usually basmati. The thing can keep rice warm for a loooooooong time.
I do use it, just cuz Japanese cups are moderately different than US cups, and the water measurement ratios marked on the cooking vessel are based off that. Then again, it’s also bright enough to vent more as needed, I assume; my rice seems to come out fine even if I over or undershoot the lines a little and am too lazy to correct it.
I’ve always wondered about that, given what they say about rice and food poisoning. How hot is the keep warm setting?
It kind of bums me out a little, because for some reason various ones seem to just randomly have features or not features without really any seeming rhyme or reason.
Like the one I have has a cake setting and also a steamer basket. But the Wirecutter “best one” doesn’t. I really don’t get that. (Maybe they did some market research and found no one uses those settings, but it just seems kind of random.)
150 F for the keep warm. To raise it back to serving them you select, “reheat.” Mine also has an extended keep warm setting which is slightly lower at 140 F (I think.) The lower temp keeps the rice from drying out as fast.
Both are above the temp to prevent developing any bacterial issues. However, the flavor and texture of rice starts to break down after a while and it dries out as well. But what this means is I can set rice to cook and go to bed and wake up to awesome rice. Same for making it before going to work. Come home to fresh rice.
I hope you know you can turn this off, or change it to just a beep. I turn the sound off because…
I set my Zojirushi Rice Cooker before I go to bed to make a bowl or two of oatmeal with the timer. In the morning, after I get back from walking the dogs, a hot serving of delicious oatmeal is waiting for me. That’s why I turn the music off – it would wake my wife up!
I honestly did not know that! Also, can you share what setting and water ration you use for oatmeal? Steel cut or rolled oats?
For steel cut, I just do 2.5 cups of water for 1 cup of oats.
Wait, that’s an induction cooker. Is the white rice cycle any faster, or does rice need the soak period for best results anyway?
Btw Japanese people massage and polish the rice before cooking it. I was dubious but I tried one time and spent five minutes on it. It did seem much better, like how rose brand is better than Thai Jasmine rice (in the sticky rice department)
To mention the Instant Pot again… I think that one of the things about it that is nice is that it seems to achieve more standard results in cases where you aren’t soaking your rice first (which I never do). It just changes from a 1:1 rice/water ratio to 1:1.25 water ratio.
Do the fancy rice cookers also work with a pressure cooker type process?