What do people look for in these times? Convenience and comfort. With your busy day, of course you want something that will work fast and efficient, that goes with your kitchen appliance. If you are someone who eats rice every day or it’s part of your daily meal, you wouldn’t go for the traditional way of cooking it unless you have a few extra times to spare. But with The Advantages Of Using A Rice Cooker, you can excitedly announce now, “No more burnt rice!” This is why rice cooker became very popular as it does the job well with minimal to no human intervention.
Rice cookers are the best saving kitchen appliance you didn’t know! It can now cook a few dishes for you, deviating from the common notion that it is only for rice. Aside from giving you a perfect rice, timesaving, automated, warming features and a lot more, you will now be enjoying steamed vegetable, soup, porridge, and all that is allowed to be cooked in that marvelous rice cooker!
Let us show you more why you shouldn’t think twice in buying that rice cooker.
Contents
Benefits Of Rice Cooker
There are many benefits that rice cooker has given us such that it has automated the cooking process, rice consistency, and others that are brought by its features. These are elaborated below:
Simplified Cooking Process
Do you remember reading the steps on cooking rice before knowing that rice cookers exist? For some who has tried the traditional way of cooking rice, searching for the steps to cook perfect rice is the go-to. With the popularity of rice cookers, you would see in almost all households a rice cooker. Rice cookers simplified the cooking process as it does all the work after you placed the washed rice with water in the rice cooker. You just wait when it’s cook and voila! A perfect rice!
Automated Cooking
Gone are the days when you have to struggle really hard just to eat a good rice. Aside from making sure that the measurements of the water and the rice are equal, you have to constantly check on it if you do not want a burnt rice. Who wants a burnt rice anyway? Rice Cookers definitely changed people’s life!
Human participation in the cooking process is reduced to the preparation only. Once the rice is washed and measured along with water, you only put that pan in the rice cooker, close the lid, press the button and you can now leave and do your work or other personal activities. It works independently and very much automated! Such that it will cook on its own by controlling the heat temperature andonce it is cooked, it stops cooking and switches to warm. This is how standard rice cookers work, for advance rice cookers there are other settings and functions. The good thing is, most rice cooker has warming function; thus, you can best be assured to still have a warm rice after a few hours
Rice Consistency
For people who want to get that perfect rice, they wouldn’t feel bad going on and on with the trial and error. Well, for some who doesn’t afford to waste rice and time, they would just settle with how the rice was cooked. This was one of the problems people have encountered with the traditional ay of cooking rice. Well, this will never be the case with rice cookers. It does all the cooking with the ingenious technology used to make it. It has the ability to detect the presence or absorption of rice in that if it was already absorbed, it will trigger the switching to WARM, indicating that it is already cooked. Will you have different result? No, you won’t. it will cook your rice consistently perfect. Unlike when you do it traditionally, if you do not monitor it, the result may either be undercooked or overcooked or burnt rice. Consistency is such a challenging feat in traditional cooking.
All thanks to rice cookers, you can enjoy a perfect rice, everyday!
Warming Function
The best thing about most rice cooker models available in the market at present is the warming function. This comes in after the rice is cooked, it switches to the warming function, maintaining a consistent temperature so that your rice will still be perfect even after a few hours, without any burnt part at the bottom. Plus, you wouldn’t have to eat cold rice.
This is such a blessing to people who really have a busy schedule, they are assured that they will still have a warm and perfect rice after it has been cooked, like 4 hours ago.
MultipurposeFeatures
Yes! It has multipurpose features. It can now cook variety of rice and a few side dishes. A rice cooker and dish cooker, in one! Amazing right? You can cook your rice and dish at the same time, you wouldn’t even have to spend so much time and effort doing so. A real savior! The standard rice cooker has now evolved to many different types which has more functions and cool features, you might not even be needing other kitchen appliance when you have this!
See why you must buy that magical rice cooker? It can give you all that you are looking for, a prefect warm rice and a tasty side dish with minimum effort. The convenience and efficiency are riveting!
Is it worth getting a rice cooker?
A hard YES! After reading the benefits mentioned above, you might have been convinced now that it is worth getting a rice cooker.
A rice cooker now does rice and dish cooking at the same time. A few years from now, you might not know what manufacturers has in store to improve more the features and functions of this superb kitchen appliance. Getting one will save you from spending too much cooking rice in your stove, when you could have used that time to do you back logs at work or watch that series which had been sitting in your Netflix list for a while now. That is how convenient rice cookers are, it cuts off almost in half the amount of usual cooking time and it gives you extra time to do other things. Plus, you can do these even while cooking since you can just leave it doing the cooking. The process is simplified and automated, you do not have to be at the kitchen all throughout.
Want more? You can cook soup and side dishes in a rice cooker. Steam that vegetable in your rice cooker and make a salad, a quick meal when you are busy or heading to work with little much time to prepare food and eat. The thing is, you can decide not to buy a rice cooker if you are not into rice, but you may want to think again since it can also cook other food. You might need it, for that purpose. At least if you change your mind about rice, you will now have a way to cook it.
Moreover, a wide range of choices from US rice cooker, Japan rice cooker, Korean Rice Cooker, and other brands awaits you. Also, you won’t have to think about the price so much. There are a lot of rice cookers that are affordable, these only becomes more costly when you are looking for more features and functions.
Is it healthy to cook in rice cooker?
It is healthy to cook in rice cooker. Let us start from this statement. Generally, cooking in a rice cooker does not actually affect the rice or pose any risks when you eat a rice cooked in it.
However, like most appliance, for it to properly work and maintain its safe use, you have to do your part. Check the manual of the rice cooker on its use and maintenance. Food excess deposit will result to mold build up and will attract bacteria growth in your rice cooker if not regularly cleaned. You have to clean it every after use to make sure that no molds or any dirt will linger in your rice cooker. As it is normally non-stick, cleaning it will unlikely be burdensome. After all, it is for your safety. You should stick however to the proper cleaning of your appliance per the instructions in the manual.
While the rice cooker will have no effect on the rice, it can pose danger when not maintained properly.
What should I look for when buying a rice cooker?
Knowing what to look for when you are buying a rice cooker will help you decide quickly on what to get. Otherwise, you just tire yourself going around back and forth in the appliance aisle at the mall. To save you from this struggle, you should make some points first on what you need and want for a rice cooker before heading out. The following are the must look for when buying a rice cooker:
1. The Rice Cooker Type
Have you ever heard that there are already multiple types of rice cooker across all brands? Yes! If you do not have any idea about this, you might just need up getting a headache deciding what should be the best for you. Rice cookers come in different types like standard or conventional rice cooker, smart rice cooker, multifunction rice cooker, heat inducting rice cooker, and a lot more. Consider making research about them and the brand you are most comfortable with, if you will choose a brand made from US, Japan, China, and others..
When you already determined the type of rice cooker you want, it would be easier to decide on the other things like size or capacity and features.
2. Size or Capacity
How much rice do you consume every day? Do you often eat rice? How many people would be eating rice? Will you be using it for large events? These are the questions that you have to answer to know the size or capacity of the rice cooker you will get. It would be very impractical to get a big rice cooker or a 12-cup rice cooker when you only have a small family, especially when rice is not always in your meal.
Rice cookers come in different sizes or capacity ranging from 3-cup to 16-cup. It is important to know the minimum and maximum capacity of a rice cooker cine there are some large models of rice cooker that cannot cook small amount of rice.
3. Functionality/Features
The features or functionality of a rice cooker largely depend on the rice cooker type. If you get the standard or conventional rice cooker, then its only feature is cooking and warming, with a single button which you can switch to ON and automatically switches to WARM when the cooking cycle is done. If your only interest in buying rice cooker is to cook rice, then the standard type is the right for you. But if youant to venture on other functions like cooking variety of rice or side dish, then get those upgraded version.
4. Quality
Who doesn’t look for quality anyway? Most people look for quality almost always in everything and refuse to settle for less. That is how we are as a consumer/costumer. With a good quality of rice cooker, you can actually expect it to be durable and withstand time. If you are looking for a high-quality rice cooker, you may choose either those non-stick aluminum and stainless-steel rice cooker or ceramic ones. Also consider the brand, whether it is a Japanese Rice Cooker, Korean Rice Cooker, Chinese Rice Cooker, US Rice Cooker, and the like. Mostly, these rice cookers already carry good name and reputation in the cookware industry.
5. Cost
Most people go for quality and affordability, and that is completely understandable. If both can go together, then why not? Right? But expect that rice cookers with more features and are truly of high-quality would actually be more expensive. If you are looking for a good investment in your kitchen, then expensive rice cookers would be a great option noting its quality and durability.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Is stainless steel rice cooker good?
Stainless-steel rice cooker is good since stainless-steel does not wear off; thus, with the right coating, there is no risk of aluminum or chemical leaching. Although it is not heat-conductible and does not heat quickly compared to other materials, it is safe to use. Moreover, stainless-steel rice cookers are stain and scratch resistant making it very much durable
2. Which is better steamed rice or boiled rice?
Steaming and boiling rice are the two methods of cooking the rice. The difference is the amount of water used since boiled rice needs more water and since raw rice is fully submerged into it throughout the cooking process which results in firmer and fluffier cooked rice. Whereas the steamed rice cooks through absorption of the water that vaporized into steam which results to stickier form of rice when cooked. This is the only difference between the two, as per research, there are no proof that nutrients and minerals from the rice will lessenif it is boiled or steamed.
3. What else can be cooked in a rice cooker?
With the new features and functionality of rice cookers, you can cook other dishes now with it aside from rice. You can cook steamed vegetable and sea food, soup, porridge, noodles, steamed muffins, pasta, and even cake! What an incredible innovation!
4. Is rice cooker harmful or useful?
Rice cooker is useful. Think about its many benefits, reducing cooking time for you to have more extra time for your other activities, convenient and simplified cooking, perfect food, and many others. It is generally safe and useful, but it can get harmful only when you do not follow its proper use and maintenance. Of course, an uncleaned rice cooker may attract mold build up and bacteria growth, these things will surely pose danger to your health. Thus, you have to always make sure that your rice cooker is cleaned and well-kept. Other than that, you have nothing worry about rice cookers.
Conclusion
Rice cookers are miracle workers in the kitchen! They are one of the best kitchen appliances that you will have. They offer only convenience and solution to many problems of people like time constraints, cooking processes, and others. With the fast pace of technological advances, innovations and developments may be continuously introduce in rice cooker making it more incredible than now.
If you often cook rice or you just need an appliance that can cook dishes for you quickly, rice cooker is the answer. It cooks rice perfectly and is now capable of cooking some dishes, which you can do at the same time. With minimal effort and time, you will be having good food. Plus, it is safe only that you should do your part in maintain its cleanliness to avoid any possible dangers that an uncleaned rice cooker can bring. Overall, buying a rice cooker is recommended!
