Rice cooker.

[worth1]

Due to my schedule I'm considering buying one.
Not gonna spend hundreds of dollars but don't want a basic one either.
I found one that HEB sells that has all the functions I want and I've been satisfied with their products.
I don't want to just use it for rice either.
This one has presets for different rice and other things as well.
It can also go up to 450 F degrees.

Do any of y'all have and use one?
I've never wanted one before because all they did was cook rice I thought.

Here's the one I'm looking at.

https://www.heb.com/product-detail/kitc ... ck/6385049

[pepperhead212]

I'd be looking at that lid, to see if it comes off, for washing it. If it won't come off, it seems it would be difficult to wash. Otherwise, it looks nice!

[maxjohnson]

We only use the japanese elephant brand rice cooker. They are expensive. if I was going to buy an american brand, I would go for a dedicated rice cooker with similar simple design, with just a flip switch and two mode, warm and cook. Looks like Aroma brand have that design and pretty cheap, but I can't vouch for it. I once bought my mom a multifunction one and she didn't use it.

[Whwoz]

A pressure cooking rice cooker, interesting. We are on our second (third?) and use it often for cooking rice or steaming vegetables. Basic unit only with steamer tray. Works well for what we want

[worth1]

The Idea of a multi function plug in contraption seems right for me.
If it was only a rice cooker I wouldn't be interested.
I can make rice on a campfire.
I have so many uses for this to replace my stove burners and or oven.

[pepperhead212]

I think my Instant Pot finally died on me, as the last few pressure cooking showed the timer starting, but the pressure hadn't built up, with the valve popping up. It is 10 years old, so it lasted longer than most things like that, and I'll have to replace it. I've certainly gotten a lot of use out of it!

[Shule]

I used to use rice cookers on a regular basis between about 2004 and 2011. I don't remember what kind. I only used them for rice and amaranth. They worked better for white rice than brown rice.

Anyway, they were nice, and made making rice very easy and pleasant. However, I think I ate too much rice. Although I still love rice, I've since gone on a low-rice diet for some reasons. One of those is that some rice (not all of it) is supposed to have more mercury in it than high mercury fish.

[Danny]

Have one of the basic sorts, I think it is an Aroma, about ten years old or such. Cooks rice fine, and veg or meats to be steamed as well. If we were looking to get another one, would really consider the Z brand one out of Japan. Very good wareentee and high priced, but they last. Sot of like investing in an All American Pressure Canner versus presto....at least for us. YMMV.

[Mark_Thompson]

Sounds like @worth1 wants an Instant Pot or similar, said in the first post he doesn’t want a basic rice cooker. My Ninja brand Instant Pot type machine is legit, but puts you into the spending hundreds of dollars range you said you wanted to avoid.

[CrazyAboutOrchids]

I love my 6 qt InstantPot.... It is 11 years old. I use it for rice, steaming vegetables, making soups, can even make small cheesecakes for dessert. Does require some accessories. Doesn't cost hundreds, covers lots of cooking areas.

[rossomendblot]

I use a pressure cooker for rice. Works great using these timings and liquid-rice ratios - https://www.hippressurecooking.com/easy ... amed-rice/

[pondgardener]

I love my 6 qt InstantPot.... It is 11 years old. I use it for rice, steaming vegetables, making soups, can even make small cheesecakes for dessert. Does require some accessories. Doesn't cost hundreds, covers lots of cooking areas.

When Amazon has their special promotion days, you can get a 6 qt Instant Pot for about $60. I usually use mine for steaming fish, stews and cooking potatoes for mashed. Works great for chicken too.

[Jeannine Anne]

I have had many rice cookers over the years and have never found one I was exactly happy with. I have since bought a ZOJIRUSHI and it is without doubt way above anything else I have had and I am very glad I bought it. It has settings for several different types of rice and I use all of them. It was not cheap but in this case I think you get what you pay for. It is by the way induction .Oh and it keeps rice warm for hours without any loss of taste or texture to the rice which can be very useful. I have never had even the tiniest problem with it or the rice is cooks, it is one of my favorite kitchen items

Just as an extra, I also have a ZOJIRUSHI bread maker. I generally make my own from scratch but if I am ill it is my back up, I premix a couple of ready to go mixes so if I am sick, it can do the job for me. I use the exact recipe that I use for my regular everyday bread. Again the brand works excellently, it makes a big loaf, also many types and it comes out beautifully.

[worth1]

Y'all are horrible.
I've never considered an instant pot.

[Jeannine Anne]

Y'all are horrible.
I've never considered an instant pot.

I
I have to share this.. I laughed at the Instapot and behind closed doors I laughed at the users too... then I got one for Christmas from a rellie..oh dear but I had to try it to be polite.and was frankly amazed to find it definately has it's uses. I would not boil eggs in it or potatoes or rice but it does come in useful for stews and for cooking tough meats etc,that I would normally do in a regular pressure cooker but this is easier

.Would I replace it if it got broken...yes..now I am laughing at me,

[worth1]

Y'all are horrible.
I've never considered an instant pot.

I
I have to share this.. I laughed at the Instapot and behind closed doors I laughed at the users too... then I got one for Christmas from a rellie..oh dear but I had to try it to be polite.and was frankly amazed to find it definately has it's uses. I would not boil eggs in it or potatoes or rice but it does come in useful for stews and for cooking tough meats etc,that I would normally do in a regular pressure cooker but this is easier

.Would I replace it if it got broken...yes..now I am laughing at me,

I hear that!
Me the same but priorities change.
I'm in a predicament where this is necessary to be able to continue to cook at home.
With either I can fall asleep and not worry about it.
Of which I've done a couple of times.
I recall the time I was boiling eggs and woke up to burnt chicken feathers smell when I was 21 years old.
Not drunk or high just tired from working 16 hours.
God it was horrible.

[Vanman]

I have a larger version of this one: Link did not work.

It is an Instant Pot Zest.

Works great and clean up could not be easier.
It replaced a 50 year old one that my mother gave me. It still works, but the new one works better and cleans up easier.

[Shule]

@worth1
You might be interested in an alternative solution then, if the problem is you need it to turn off when it's done. This solution also tastes a lot better, in my opinion:

Get a convection toaster oven. I mean, a toaster oven with a fan that goes while it's cooking. Then, use the toaster oven's bake setting on your rice in a glass or ceramic casserole pan sized for your oven (you can turn the dial to cook it for a certain amount of time only, of course). Bake on 450° F. for 45 minutes. Use twice as much water as white rice (by volume; not weight). It always turned out great for white rice as long as the fan worked. It's not the same with brown rice. A fan is required.

The advantages of this over cooking the rice separately from everything else are huge. I mean, you can season your rice, add vegetables and all that at the same time it cooks, and it comes out tasting like fried rice at a restaurant (only it feels healthier). You don't have to do anything with it while it cooks. If you can't get to it right away when it's done, then it just waits for you, cooling.

It doesn't turn out the same if the oven lacks a fan, by the way. The rice is much less evenly cooked, and doesn't taste like restaurant rice. So, when the fan on my toaster oven broke (but the rest of the oven still worked), it just wasn't the same.

I've never used an air fryer, but I understand they're similar to convection ovens. I wonder if the results would be similar, too.

I used to bake in that toaster oven in an 8-inch cast-iron pan, too. I did a lot of vegetables with meat that way. I mean, I'd put like a chicken breast or a tilapia fish fillet under a bunch of corn, frozen cabbage, or something, and season it a bunch. Very tasty. Anyway, it tastes way better than fried food. Plus, it doesn't mess up your stove, nor get oil residue all over your house.

I think my toaster oven could fit a 12-inch pizza on the rack. I understand you can get larger toaster ovens these days, which could be really nice.

They're also great for baking potatoes and sweet potatoes / yams, even if they lack a fan.

Our current toaster oven lacks a fan, and I'm on a low-rice diet. Otherwise, I would be cooking white rice in it a lot.

[Jeannine Anne]

I have a counter top oven as well as the regular one,and I use both, it is atoaster oven/convection oven...?? It is a Kitchen Aid and is very big, has a fan. It has an airfry setting, but never used it. My brain will not let me absorb you can "fry'" without fat...to me you can't fry in air so it is a no go. But as an oven it has it's uses . It will easily take a full size 12 size muffin tray , a large loaf of bread or a 12 inch pizza. It is great for baking potatoes etc and I don't have to bend down low which is very difficult for me these days so it has earned it''s place in my kitchen.I particularly like the fact that I can broil in it without struggling to bend down to look so I use it often for that It doesn't heat the kitchen as much as my main oven so it is useful in the heat in summer. It was tested in my usual way...and yes it passed, it does make very well risen good Yorkshire puddings. It has several automatic shut off options which I tend to disagree with so I generally bypass them but they would be great for someone who is apt to nod off when baking.

I can by the way cook veggies etc with rice in my rice cooker.

[Shule]

…

I can by the way cook veggies etc with rice in my rice cooker.

Interesting. That's pretty cool. I don't think I could do that in any of my rice cookers (or at least they probably told me not to).

When baking rice in a toaster oven with a fan, you can add vegetables, oils, sauces, and seasonings while it cooks; I think you can even add meat. Plus, you can cook the rice with your pan of choice (instead of having to use the same non-stick pan every time).

I believe I added meat to the rice while it cooked in our convection toaster oven, too, but I don't have a record of it. If I did, then I probably added a frozen chicken breast or a frozen Tilapia fillet. It's been a while since I had a toaster oven with a fan, unfortunately. I don't call it air frying. This was way back in 2010 when I did this. I didn't think of it as any kind of frying, and I didn't do it fat-free. I just called it baked rice (baked with a fan).

Part of the appeal of baking rice (with other things) is the flavor that overhead heat imparts; probably caramelization and stuff like that. But the fan is necessary to make it work out well. Oatmeal, on the other hand, can bake fine without a fan.