Why Should I

buy a Zojirushi

Rice Cooker?

If you’ve ever owned a quality rice cooker then you’ll already know the answer to this. If you haven’t then you’re probably wondering what’s the big deal over something as simple as boiling a pot of rice.

The answer is also simple – you get perfect rice every single time. Fluffy and delicious with all the full taste bursting out of every grain. No more watching and stirring, no more boiling over. Under-cooked, mushy, burnt rice will become a distant memory.

After years of cooking rice the old-fashioned way, on the stove, I became a convert to the Zojirushi way after visiting a friend who uses one. Until you taste the difference for yourself it’s hard to believe.

There are many brands of rice cookers on the market, varying greatly in price and features. The quality of rice they produce varies widely as well and this is why, if you’re going to buy one, I strongly recommend a Zojirushi one from the start.  Their basic models will outperform much more expensive ones of other brands. With Zojirushi you know you’ll get properly cooked rice each and every time and will never regret your purchase.

All of their rice cookers produce fantastic rice every time, simply and easily. All you have to do is figure out which one will work the best for your needs and budget. This is what I’ll try and do on this web site by discussing the pros and cons of various models, as well as the more common features and help you decide whether they’re important to you.

Sizing

Before I explain the three main types of rice cooker, a key factor common to all three is to consider what size you’ll need as some of them don’t come in all the sizes.  When you see a model such as the NS-ZCC10/18, the “10/18″ means it comes in 2 sizes, the 5.5 cup or the 10 cup. While it doesn’t seem to make sense, it does when you realise the  “10″ stands for 1.0 litre and the “18″ refers to 1.8 litre capacities. There is also the ’5′ which produce just 3 Japanese cups – really only good for just two people at the most.

The other critical thing to realise is that the cup size is based on the Japanese cup which is about 3/4 of an American cup. So a 5.5c will produce about 3 of our standard cups. As one is supposed to eat only 3/4c of rice per serving this means it would serve 5 people. But realistically, based on our common serving sizes, these smaller cookers I’d suggest for 4 people at the very most. For a family of four I’d go to the larger size as your kids are growing and if your teenage sons are anything like mine 3/4c rice is a snack to them! Plus, it’s always nice to have a bit extra for later or to take for lunch the next day. Or, for when you have company. Price-wise there’s not that much difference between sizes of the same model, so if in doubt, go larger.

 

1. Conventional

 

 

This is where it just doesn’t make sense not to buy Zojirushi. Their basic models do the same as everyone else’s: heats up, cooks, turns off and keeps warm.  Prices start as low as $ 43 for their NHS-06  3-cup model, up to around $100 for larger 10-cup versions. A lot of  comparable basic models will not perform well in this price range, producing mushy or crusty rice, as well as having hard-to-clean pans. But even the cheapest Zojirushi will give you consistently good rice.

What this line doesn’t give you are the next level of nice-to-have/must-have features:

• retractable cord
• timer
• multi-menu settings (eg. brown rice, sushi,porridge, quick cook),
• LCD display
• stay cool side handles
• detachable inner lid(makes cleaning easier)
• extended keep warm

 

While you’re trying to decide whether a basic model would do you, I should give you a warning here, speaking from experience, once you’ve tried rice cooked properly in these cookers you’ll start eating a whole lot more rice and will want to start trying more varieties than just plain old white.

Also, if you’re like me and were brought up hating the chewy brown rice that our mother’s made for us, you won’t believe how soft it can be and how good it tastes when made in one of the fuzzy logic cookers below. To me, this was the clincher that moved me up from the basic line – I can feed my family healthy brown rice and we all love it.

Another drawback to the basic models is their tendency to spit sticky moisture out of the top blow hole. I’ve never had one of these basic ones but I’ve heard from other people that it’s more of a minor inconvenience as you can drape a tea-towel or paper towel over the hole – loose enough to allow the moisture to escape yet preventing a mess on your counter.

There’s one other drawback to the basic models – Zojirushi reccomends that once you’ve loaded the rice and water you let the rice soak for 30 mins before you turn it on. This would just not happen in my house – too easily distracted, plus, isn’t the whole point of a rice cooker to load it up,flick a switch and forget it? This is probably what most people do with this anyway and turns out good enough, just not as good as it can be, which is what you get from the next level up.

So, in summary, these rice cookers would be a great starter for say, a college student, or if you’re pretty sure that all you want is something to cook your basic white rice. But if you have the slightest inclination that you’ll be using it often, would really like to come home to ready-cooked rice for a quick meal, or know you’ll want to cook other types of rice, then I strongly suggest considering upgrading to a fuzzy logic.

 

2. Fuzzy Logic

These are the most popular as the “fuzzy logic” refers to them having a micro-computer chip which allows the machines to “think” and adjust their cooking times and temperatures based on sensor readings. These are also known as Zojirushi’s MiCom or Neuro-Fuzzy models. They have a range of advanced features such as a timer, ability to cook porridge and grains, slow cooking, retractable cord, and a whole range of menu settings.

Most of these rice cookers comes with the next level of upgrades, as mentioned above:

• retractable/detachable cord
• timer
• multi-menu settings (eg. brown rice, sushi,porridge, quick cook),
• LCD display
• stay cool side handles
• detachable inner lid(makes cleaning easier)
• extended keep warm

 

There is such a variety of features, with some models having some and not others, and a variance in price from $110 to $230, that it is hard to say one is better than another. It really comes down to what is important to you. So I’ll go through some of the main features to help your decision.

Timer - this means you can throw in the rice before you go to work and it’ll be ready when you get home. Add some quick stir-fry veggies and meat/fish and supper’s ready.  I pre-cook and freeze the meat in family serving sizes so it can be even quicker.  All these cookers have a porridge setting (with the exception of the RIZO) so another popular use is to be able to wake up to piping hot porridge ready to eat.

Brown Rice Setting – as mentioned earlier, this was a must-have for me, and we’re all converts to brown rice. Most of them have this setting: Umami YAC10/18,NeuroFuzzy NS-ZCC10/18, MiCom NS-TGC10/18,MiCom NS-WAC10/18, MiCom NS-LAC05.

Spherical Pan and Heating System – this is supposed to give more even cooking, being round as opposed to squared. Personally, I don’t think it’s a make or break feature as all of these models are going to give perfectly cooked rice.

Stay Cool Handles on Inner Pan – actually, not many of them have this, but a nice little feature as enables easy moving of the inner pan if you want to, say, tip the rice in a serving bowl.

 

Extended Keep Warm – most of these have it and works well to keep the rice warm for many hours without it drying out. Great for parties.

 

Detachable/Retractable Cord – most of them have one or the other. I prefer the retractable myself as don’t have to worry about storing it when its detached.

 

Menu Settings – if you want to bake a cake in your rice cooker then buy the MiCom NSTGC 10/18. How about using it as a slow-cooker: the Umami YAC10/18 will do it. Apart from those odd-balls, the other settings are for porridge, rinse-free, umami, sushi, mixed, sweet, semi-brown, and Gaba rices. Basically, as you move up the price range you get more menu settings. I’ll talk more about the different varieties in  separate posts. The NeuroFuzzy also has an option for harder or softer white rice for those of who who like your rice exactly so!

There are a few models that have distinct features, the RIZO (3c only), the Umami10/18, the Zutto10, and the NS-TCG10/18:

The RIZO

RIZO - this is distinct as it’s the only model with a Risotto setting.  You lose a lot of the other features/menu settings, notably the timer/clock and most of the different types of rice and porridge. However, it’s also the only one to have a steamer feature and steamer tray. Has three one-touch settings: steam cook,  rice/sushi, and risotto. Comes in just the really small 3c size, though can get it in yellow as well as the more common white or stainless steel colours, although you’re paying $60-$70 more for the stainless or yellow colours.

 

Zutto Model – this one seems distinct solely due to it’s design. It’s one of the most expensive neuro-fuzzys but doesn’t have a lot of the features. Seems to me like you’re paying for the snazzy, sleek design., which is quite different from all the others, all of which look quite similar. No extended keep warm,reheat cycle,brown rice or semi-brown rice, or rinse-free settings. Does look cool though! Comes in just the smaller 5.5c size, NS-DAC10.

The Umami - this one’s claim to fame is its Umami rice setting in which it soaks and steams the rice longer for enhanced flavour. Zojurushi realised this ability could be adapted to create a Slow Cooker setting for other foods as well, the only one of their rice cookers that has this feature.

 

In summary, while the choice of which is best for you will depend on what is important to you, I can say that the most popular model is the Neuro Fuzzy NS-ZCC10/18.  It’s the one we have and has all most common menu settings and most popular features. It’s also one of the few with the stay cool handles on the inner pan.

The Zojirushi web site,   has a great tool where you can compare up to 4 models at a time, so if you’re still not sure which is the best model then you can go in-depth and narrow it down – look for the “Compare” icon on the very bottom of the page.

3. Induction Heating Rice Cooker

This advanced technology turns the pan itself into the heating element for a much more responsive and sensitive cooking process. If you’re a true rice afficianado you’ll want to go for one of these as when you’re cooking rice you can really fine-tune it with the hard/soft white rice settings. There are three different models in this line and they all have very similar features.

The NP-GBC-05 just comes in the smaller size. Between the other two models the main differences are that the NP-KAC10/18 doesn’t have the white rice harder/setting, but has a rinse-free setting,comes in white and has a detachable power cord. The NP-HBC10/18 has the white rice harder/softer, but not the rinse-free setting, doesn’t have a detachable power cord, and comes in stainless steel. To me, the whole point of moving up is because you really care about making rice and you’d still want the white rice harder/softer setting, so I’d go for the NP-HBC 10/18.

4. Pressure Induction Rice Cooker

The ultimate in cooking rice. Uses pressure cooker technology to cook the rice at very high temperatures. So high that the structure of the starch within each grain is altered, creating beautifully soft rice that is easy to digest. There is only the one model right now although, like all of Zojirushi’s rice cookers, it comes in two sizes: NP-HTC10 or NP-HTC18. Has a full range of menu settings and most of the other features, all the important ones anyway. Definitely for the hard-core rice afficiando, coming in around the $400 range.