Job Discussion Forums

[sidjameson]

I went to buy a new rice cooker today. Well as is often the case these days, I left totally confused. I don't know if it's the age or the Japanese but I looked at all the choices, got a bit flustered and ran out of Big Camera screaming.
So anyone care to give me a quick run down on what the difference is between a 7000 yen, 15000 yen 25000 yen and a 40000 yen machine is?
Do they make the rice taste any better?
Are there any functions that make the expensive machines worth the extra?
Hope there are some rice officienados out there.

[Sweetsee]

Not an aficionado but just got one at Costco for six thou'.
More to do with the person than the machine, far as taste goes; grade, storage, washing, water, etc.
Probably pay more for timing features.
Get the cheapest one you can and use it for as long as you can would be my advice. Better yet, get a gomi one or go to a recycle shop.
Tell you something else, check the discarded appliance bin around back before making your purchase, depending on location you may be surprised.
Remember the 3 R's!

[6810]

Sweetsee's right.

A rice cooker is pretty much a rice cooker.

Japanese brands will generally be more expensive.

Thai, Korean and Chinese will be cheaper.

What's the diff? As sweetsee said, it's mostly to do with timing options, as in setting rice to soak overnight, cooking before 6:27 am etc. There will often be options such as okayu (porridge) and genmai (brown rice) which require you to get the water to rice ratio right in the first place...

Some rice cookers are actually gas "powered."

You will also pay for size.

So, if it's only for one or two people - I concur with Sweetsee, get the smallest, cheapest one and use it 'til it gives out. The average rice cooker usually outlasts the average kettle...

Except, be careful with what you clean it with, the drum is usually teflon or some other non-stick product coated so scratching and removing this will eventually cause your rice to stick and/or burn.

[Sweetsee]

Thanks 6810. Never saw a rice cooker before coming to Japan.

[sidjameson]

Actually one difference that I could see was that the cheaper ones heat only came from the bottom, while the 15k ones cooked from the bottom up and from the sides, but how important this is who knows?

[JimDunlop2]

Personally, I think that the companies who make rice-cookers capitalize on the "rice snobbery" exhibited by many Asian cultures. Each claims to have the best rice, and methods of preparation are often just as elaborate, and rarely involve just throwing it into a pot with some water and boiling the crap out of it (also known as the North American College Student method).

I had a grade 2 elementary school girl, when asked if she liked rice, put on a nasty face and declared (in Japanese) "Absolutely not! I'm Chinese and Chinese rice tastes nothing like Japanese rice. Japanese rice is awful!" Umm... Okay then. I suppose I've been cooking with the NACS method for much too long.

I once heard a story about a young Japanese man who wanted to become a chef so it was arranged for him (by his family) that he apprentice with a famous chef at a well-known Japanese restaurant. In order to keep him out of trouble, the head chef assigned the young man to wash rice. He was given a very specific procedure to follow. First, he was told to fill a basin with cold water, and wash the rice by stirring it counter-clockwise three times in the water. As he was doing so, he was told to recite a silent prayer to the rice, thanking it for being used in such an honourable way, and asking it to be delicious and nourishing to those who eat it. The water was then to be drained, and the whole procedure repeated twice more before cooking the rice. It was explained to him that because rice grows in a "clockwise direction," the purpose of stirring it three times counter-clockwise was to remind the rice of the way it grew and to allow the rice to understand the way it could have been, had it not been harvested for consumption.

SO, the way I see it, if you have THIS degree of fanaticism in rice preparation, the 40,000 yen rice cookers are only for those who think that tasting a bowl of rice is akin to enjoying a glass of wine... Unless you're an afficionado, the cheapest cooker at D2 is probably more than sufficient! It'll still make great rice -- better than the NACS method, anyway.

[J.]

I agree with what the others are saying about cheap rice cookers, but to a degree. There are a few brands of appliances that are so cheap that they seem to rarely last longer than a year before something breaks, or they suddenly just don't turn on. I've had that experience a few too many times, so now if I want something that I'll use every day and be reliable, I look around for good brand names (National being the top) on sale. It sort of depends on how long you plan to stay; if you'll be here a few years I would go with a reliable brand. I've got a small National rice cooker that's been going well for about 5 years and probably will last that much longer. It has a few settings but I always use the same one.

More advice; if you aren't familiar with the settings, look for one that has a booklet with easy and simple picture instructions, or has a simple method of use. You really don't need all those bells and whistles, and unless you have a big family you will probably only make 1 or 2 cups of rice (raw measure) at a time. To do that: Use the provided plasic cup measure as 1 cup. Wash the rice in the cooker, drain, then add the water up to the line that says 1 to make 1 cup of rice.

Good luck!

[TK4Lakers]

I do believe that the more expensive rice cookers tend to produce better tasting rice. But this also has to do with the "okome" or rice you cook.

Usually at a Japanese family's home you'll see a decent rice cooker.

But if you don't really have a concern for taste, then yea, I agree with everyone else...go with the cheaper ones.