Rice Cooker
What type of rice cooker should I get?
A rice cooker is not vital when making sushi at home, but a good one sure
does make things easier. I have found that those with 'fuzzy logic'
functionality often produce a better quality product however your results may vary. I have no personal preferences and you certainly don't
need to go out and buy a gleaming $100 rice cooker that may or may not make the
best rice. I, for example, still make quite good rice with my $30 Panasonic rice
cooker I bought 6 years ago. But to give you a few ideas, Cook's Illustrated
(#13, March/April 1995) did a rating of rice cookers. Here are their results
(viewer recommendations are welcome as well):
| Model |
Cost* |
Capacity |
Cooking Time |
| Rival 4310 |
$58 |
2-11 cups |
24 min |
| Oster 3811-20 |
$59 |
3-20 cups |
29 min |
| Hitachi RD-4053 |
$35 |
1.5-9.5 cups |
22 min |
| Zojirushi NHR-G18 |
$72 |
4-17 cups |
35 min |
| National SR-SE10N |
$100 |
1.75-9 cups |
24 min |
| Sanyo EC23 |
$49 |
3-16 cups |
33 min |
| Salton RA-10 |
$60 |
3-20 cups |
32 min |
*Prices (and models) may have changed a bit since 1995
Ratings: 1 = Very good performance 2 = Average performance 3 = Poor
Performance
| Model |
Quality Of Rice |
Keeping Warm |
Steaming |
Cleaning |
| Rival 4310 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
| Oster 3811-20 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
| Hitachi RD-4053 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
| Zojirushi NHR-G18 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
| National SR-SE10N |
2 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
| Sanyo EC23 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
| Salton RA-10 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
You can find rice cookers just about anywhere. Most can be found in most
major department stores or restaurant wholesale supply companies. In the US, you
can find rice steamers at Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Bed Bath & Beyond, etc. Some
large food wholesalers like BJs, SAMs, COSTCO, etc. also stock them.
If you don't find a rice steamer, a food steamer with a rice bowl attachment
will do an excellent job. Be careful. Some smaller food steamers have tiny rice
bowls. Depending on your rice requirement, you may need to do multiple batches;
this is time consuming.
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