Okay, so we're Asian American so eat rice almost daily. I eat brown rice, and the rest of the family eats white rice. We have a Zojirushi neurofuzzy logic rice cooker. Unfortunately, our family is not large enough to use the rice cooker sold at Costco, so I had to bite the bullet and spend a bit more. *Normal* rice cookers don't cook brown rice very well; the cycle is too short. Our rice cooker has settings for eight kinds of rice, a regular keep warm, and a low keep warm feature. The best part is that it has a timer; I don't know other rice cookers that have this feature. Rice mere kept warm, especially without turning/fluffing shortly after cooking, is not nearly as good.

It sounds like a brown rice and a timer would be the most important features for you. Our heavy use justifies the cost on a $/use basis, but of course YMMV. I think I must have spent close to $100 four or five years ago, so that would be enough to take my breath away if we weren't such heavy users. Just before we bought the current rice cooker, we had gone through two simple, cheapy rice cookers that didn't last at all. Moreover, they didn't have the timer we love, nor did they cook brown rice.

Hope this helps.

I use a rice cooker to cook brown rice 3-4 times a week. It is basically fail proof with the rice cooker. Mine is by the Japanese maker Toshiba and has a timer function, as well as different cycles for brown and white rice. I love it and use it more than any other appliance except my coffee maker.

Few rice cookers will keep rice warm at a really high quality for that long, but they sell rice cookers with timers.

Rice cookers are good for more than rice -- beans, whole grains, etc.

If you eat a lot of rice, they are totally worth it. If this is to encourage you to eat more... I'd start with something fairly cheap and see if you really use it. It's not hard to spend $600 on a really fancy rice cooker. I have mid-range one I use for all kinds of dishes but the old plain jane Tiger makes better straight up rice. Fabulous. Way better than on a cooktop. There is a learning curve with brown rice, though, since they are mostly designed for white rice.

Well, I might be biased because I grew up using and always having a rice cooker (I'm korean) but I cannot imagine not having one. The modern ones (Zorijushi brand rice cookers are amazing) have tons of settings with fuzzy logic and time delays, so you can load it up in the morning and have it start cooking later in the day. My relatives in Korea can send a text message to their rice cookers on their way home to turn it on, but I think we've got a few years before that technology comes to the US!

Personally, I think the main advantage of having a rice cooker over cooking on the stove is that it will never, ever burn the rice, and clean up (the interior is usually nonstick) is very easy. The few times I've cooked rice on a stovetop, I've always burned the rice, or had it come out too soggy, and then it was a pain to clean up. Then again, maybe I suck at cooking rice on a stovetop because I'm so used to having a RC. Also, the fancy rice cookers can cook all sorts of other things, like veggies, steel cut oats (porridge setting), etc.

Important features really depend on what you plan to do with your rice cooker. I am still using the plain old rice cooker my parents bought me 10 years ago when I went to grad school, but get to use my parents' fancy one when I go home. The porridge setting is really nice (I eat a lot of oatmeal), as is fuzzy logic, especially if you are planning to cook different types of rice (brown rice usually takes longer than white rice, and some cookers have a specific setting for brown rice).

We have been using an inexpensive rice cooker for the past ten years or so. Rice is the one thing I used to habitually mess up when cooking it on the stove. In fact, a friend bought me the rice cooker as a kind of joke/sad comment after eating one too many meals at my house with burnt or soggy rice. With the electric cooker it is always perfect. It is one of those bulky special products that really is worth having if you make rice more than a few times a month. I don't think you have to get an expensive one,

I've always cooked my rice the traditional way on the stove, but decided to "splurge" on a rice cooker I saw at Wal-Mart for 13.00 just to see how they work. I love it! It's small for easy storage, the parts are dishwasher safe and it keeps the rice warm for up to 30 minutes after it's done cooking.

Before you spend the big bucks on a nice one you may want to give it a small inexpensive one a try first.

Good quality rice cookers are really nice appliances, as the above replies have said. On the other hand, making rice is really easy!

As someone who does not currently have one, I see it as something like a dishwasher. Really convenient and does a good job, but not cheap and takes space, plus doing it by hand is really easy. Not something that one certainly can't live without but a nice thing nevertheless.

I bought one when I was cooking a macrobiotic diet (lots of brown rice) for my ill friend. I quickly decided I didn't like it because it has the non stick surface. I just don't trust the non stick coating. I feel like it's just a matter of time before it leaches into the food. Anyway, I found another solution . . . a pressure cooker. This is the preferred method of cooking rice according to macrobiotic cookbooks. It cooks brown rice in approx 40 min. and it comes out perfect with no loss of vitamin content and no scary non stick coating.

Eks, I have the rice cooker still. It's in perfect condition. Let me know if you want to buy it from me : 0

I picked up the rice cooker habit from my roommate in college. She was always able to make such great rice! We registered for a very inexpensive Sanyo rice cooker for our wedding (15 years ago) and have been using it ever since. It still works great and makes great rice. My alternative is usually to cook rice in the microwave but it always makes a big mess in there and the rice never turns out as good. Bottom line, if my rice cooker were to break I'd definitely get another one, but probably stick with a small inexpensive one since it's served our needs well for so many years.

If you eat rice every day it's a must-have. Small, cheap ones make good rice.

Absolutely worth it! I grew up with an Japanese stepmother, and our rice was always cooked in a rice cooker. I just have a Japanese one, Zojirushi, doesn't have a non-stick surface, but doesn't need one - they clean so easily. Rice is perfect every time. The way I was taught to make rice was just to stick your finger in the rice to see how high it came up, and add the same amount of water to it, I never measure. It may be different for brown rice, though. Since a rice cooker makes more rice, I usually make extra and have fried rice later in the week, since fried rice is best with cold leftover rice. Good luck!

We bought a rice cooker because my husband likes his rice drier than it turns out on the stove top. I only cook white rice so I don't know how brown would turn out in it. It will "overcook" if you leave it in there too long after it switches to the warm cycle (as opposed to "cook"). Mine is very simple and inexpensive but I'm happy with it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rival Rice Cooker

Rice is not difficult to do on the stove but you have to watch it. If you donÂt get the heat just right, it can be over/under done. With a Rice Cooker, you just throw the ingredients in and walk away. Mine can stay warm for hours and I think it tastes just as good. I do fluff the rice about 10 minutes (or so) after it is done cooking and is in the warming stage where it will sit until IÂm ready for it. How easy is that?

I just have an old one from CostCo  nothing fancy. In fact, there is only one button for "Cook"  the machine is always on (warm mode) if it is plugged in. My brown rice always comes out perfect.

Eks6426  I *always* cook brown rice in Chicken Stock  makes a world of difference in taste!

According to my mom, if you scorch your rice cooking it on the stove, place a stale slice of bread on top and it will absorb the burnt smell. I've never had to do this, so I can't vouch for its effectiveness. . .

I have a Sanyo fuzzy logic model with brown rice mode, as well as a timer. For the capacity, it was a lot less expensive than the Zojirushi, and does a great job. I got mine from Amazon. It's great to not have to wait for the rice to cook when you are trying to get dinner on the table fast.

I love my rice cooker!

Like several of the PPs, I'm Asian American and a rice cooker is a kitchen essential. I found it super useful for the kitchen reno, too, because like alabamanicole said they can cook other things as well. I cooked lentils and beans, etc. in the rice cooker for a change of pace during the reno.

I use a pressure cooker to cook brown rice (about 40 min, as someone mentioned) and the stovetop for white rice. I grew up with minute rice, and only learned how to cook regular rice as an adult. I have never burned rice on the stovetop, in spite of some serious forgetfulness, but then we have a burner with a pretty low simmer.

That said, I know a bunch of people (not just here on the board) who swear by their rice cookers.

I loved it when I first bought it and used it quite a bit. However, somehow, just like the breadmaker, distance has grown between us.

One thing to note is that it takes much longer to make rice in the machine than it does on the stove - but I think it is better from the machine. I don't think you can use it like a crockpot starting it in the morning for your evening meal.

I bought a "cheap" Aroma rice cooker from Costco a couple years ago at least. We use it often. Makes cooking rice a breeze, and doesn't interfere with whatever is going on on the stovetop. The only time I use the stovetop method now is when I'm cooking a lot of rice. My cooker will hold it all, but it takes longer, because it normally cooks from a cold start. Last night I was in a hurry to get the usual amount done, so I used hot water to start it. Worked fine; it senses when it's done.

In cajun country, we all grew up with rice cookers - even decade ago. I don't even know "how" to cook rice on a stove!

Considering a cheap rice cooker only costs $20, how can it not be worth it?

Seriously, yes, they make rice even easier than it is on the range. And they free up a burner. I've never had the all-singing all-dancing fuzzy-wuzzy type, just the cheapie with a lever you push down to signify ''Commence Cooking''! Throw in 1 part white rice to 1.5 parts water (or chicken stock plus some butter if you're decadent), push, and go away. Brown rice, I don't know about.

We've had a Zojirushi fuzzy logic rice cooker for about thirteen years. DH wanted one after being introduced to rice cookers and regular diet of rice while living in Japan. I thought it was a waste of a lot of money because we never ate rice. We now eat it quite frequently - he's not into potatoes at all other than sweet potatoes. I love it because you can just set it and forget and it keeps the rice perfect until you are ready to serve.

I also bought one of the Costco ones for my weekend lake place. I don't like it as well mainly because it's really too big but I couldn't resist for the price. It works well though I didn't think it did brown rice as well as the Zojirushi.

I'll be the odd ball here. I always hated rice cooked on the stove. Seems like it was always sticky or stuck and I considered buying a rice cooker, but then I decided it would be one more appliance that I may not use or would need to find a place to store and then I discovered baking it in the oven and it turns out perfect every time! You probably can find a lot of recipes just searching for baked rice.

So if you were only eating white rice and didn't need a timer or a keep warm function, a cheap push button rice cooker would work just fine.

If you were only eating a little bit of rice now and then, I'd say make it in a pot, or the oven, or pressure cooker.

However, if you actually want to make *brown* rice on a regular basis and/or want a timer and/or a really good keep warm function, then you might want to swing for a nice fuzzy logic model.

My sister and I have both had the cheap push button models and they were really just set up for white rice - brown rice required multiple cooking cycles and constant tinkering with the water level. And it still usually burned on the bottom.

I've had a Zojirushi with fuzzy logic for a few years now and love it - it makes perfect brown rice, sushi rice, basmati, etc.; it keeps it warm for hours without burning the bottom or drying it out; the timer's easy to use and allows me to set it in the morning and have hot rice when I get home (even if I'm a couple hours late). I also really like to put steel cut oats in it at night so I can have hot oatmeal ready when I get up the next morning.

So for us it's worth it - we eat a lot of rice (especially brown) and actually use both the timer and keep warm function a lot. They do work - amazingly well - and make much better rice than I could ever make on my lousy stove ;-) They're definitely an investment, but it you're really going to be using the timer and making brown rice on a regular basis, it might be worth it.

My sister has this 3 cup model and it's perfect for a couple or small family - unless you're huge rice eaters, it makes enough for 2 to 4 people and is really small, so it doesn't take up much room on the counter. Amazon sells it for $125 - not cheap, but really nice quality. As you can (hopefully) see in the picture, it has the timer, keep warm, and brown rice functions, which are essential to me.

There are lots of really good ones out there, this is just one I have personal experience with. Good luck!

are there any rice cookers available without a non stick surface?

We've had a Zojirushi fuzzy logic for about five years and it's my favorite small appliance. I use it every day -- I put in 1/4 cu of stone ground oats, a handful of raisins and a cup of water every night and set the timer and there's a healthy breakfast waiting for me in the morning. And it makes fabulous rice --brown for me, which keeps for several days, so I can keep eating it while I make boring white rice for my WonderBread-loving husband.

I'm not a bad cook but I am hopeless at rice. I don't own much from Walmart but on an impulse I picked up this Rice Cooker on sale a few years ago and have never had a bad batch of rice since. I'm not a potato fan so I brown rice is my usual side for meals. I have space issues so I looked into crockpot\ricemaker combo but it I wanted a more versatile crockpot. Should this one ever quit me I would go with one of the smaller ones next time. These machines are not complicated so not a lot to go wrong - go fancier and you may have more problems. It does have a non-stick bowl.

{{!gwi}}

Worth every penny of the $15 or so I paid for it and then some

I love my rice cooker. I don't use it that often cause I live by myself and am more of a microwave gal. However, when I have company and serve rice I use it and some friends have purchased their own, simply after seeing mine and tasting the rice.

I think they are a great investment and steamed vegetables are also excellent in them.

Portland...LOL on texting the cooker. That is a hoot.

Kateskouros: I have a Marvel rice cooker that has a stainless steel pot. The outer pot itself is not very fancy but it does cook decent rice. (Amazon.com has it).

My favorite trick with cooking rice is to soak it for upto an hour before cooking. For brown rice, I'd expect to soak for longer, though I have not much experience with brown rice.

I second all the posters here that if you eat rice regularly, it's well worth the expense. Especially since you can turn on the cooker and forget about it -- go do something else. My cooker does not do a very good job keeping the rice warm (rice begins to stick ) -- but it is forgiving if I am 15-30 minutes late in unplugging it.

Thank you everyone. It seems that a rice cooker is likely worth the investment and probably the Zojirushi brand if I am interested in the timer and brown rice. Right now, we eat more of the brown Minute Rice which I know isn't the best. I was thinking we'd eat real brown rice more often if I could set it up in the morning and have it ready when I get home.

I just got a new 36" Dacor duel fuel stove as part of the remodel and my son is hot to learn how to stir fry in a wok now that we have a stove that can do it. I figure rice would be good to have to go with it.

So, which model of the Zojirushi is best? We are a family of 3. Timer and brown rice cooking are the most important features. I'd prefer the cooker not be huge so I can keep it in my super susan corner. If it won't fit there and I have to haul it to the basement shelving, I know I won't use it as much.

Suggestions on model greatly appreciated. Thanks.

thanks, this is a very informative post. my doc has just advised i begin to eat gluten free so i'm eating a lot more rice. could be worse!

homey bird: i'm going to search out the marvel rice cooker. thanks for letting me know!

Most rice cookers are either non-stick or aluminum. If you don't want either, you can pony up the bucks for an induction rice cooker... but be prepared for sticker shock.

Mine on/off cooker does brown rice just fine. YMMV. The trick with mine is you need more water and after the rice is "done" let it sit on "keep warm" for about 15 minutes more.

I have the Zojirushi rice cooker pictured in bibliomom's post. It is great. I've cooked rice in it for years.
I never thought to use the rice cooker for all of the other things mentioned in the thread. [Duh!] Thanks to all who gave ideas. I just ordered the Ultimate Rice Cooker Recipe book mentioned. I can't wait to get started with fun new recipes.

Off-topic, but related. I also have the Zojirushi bread maker for my gluten free breads and love it, too!