When it comes to making a new purchase for the home we all question whether its really necessary. After all, there are so many other great things in life to spend our money on apart from kitchen appliances, for example. But, we have to say, naturally, if that purchase involves a rice cooker, then answer is definitely yes!
If you and your family enjoy eating rice on a regular basis, then you probably struggle with the cooking process because it usually takes a lot of time and effort for the rice to be cooked right – and time is a valuable commodity for most of us these days.
So, if you suffer from this problem then it is probably time to get yourself an appliance that will do the work for you, Thanks to advances in technology you can pretty much get a rice cooker to handle the entire job with only the minimal amount of time required on your part.
A rice cooker has many interesting features that help the cooking process go smoothly. As we have mentioned before, these appliances are simple consisting of a cooking bowl, a thermostat, and a power source.
But, there are also rice cookers that have additional features, such as sensors or smart menus that offer a smoother process and different cooking options for other ingredients, not only rice. So, to recap, rice cookers are worth buying, and now you will see exactly why.
Table of Contents
Time
Most of the time it takes between 30 minutes to an hour for a rice cooker to complete the cooking process. Now, that might sound a lot of time, but actually it’s not. You see, you can start your day by preparing your breakfast and just take a minute to fire up the rice cooker at the same time.
Some appliances will even switch off after the cooking process is complete, while others will not – instead, they will keep your rice at a nice, warm temperature so that you will not come back to a cold meal at dinner time. The time that it takes for the appliance to get ready varies depending on how much rice you want to cook.
Use
Rice cookers normally work in a very simple manner and are very easy to use. You just fill the cooking bowl with the desired amount of rice and then add water. You should be aware that while cooking is in progress, the mixture will heat at the full power of the appliance but this will never be hotter than boiling temperature.
After the process is complete, you will notice a lack of water in the mixing bowl! This is because the rice will have soaked some up and some will have evaporated as part of the cooking process. At this point, you might notice that the temperature will increase the boiling temperature.
At the end of the process some rice cookers will switch off while others will continue to keep a warm temperature so that the rice will remain warm.
Cleaning
Of course, this is the part that most of us hate doing. Most kitchen appliances can be hard to clean and to put back together but, luckily, this is not the case when it comes to rice cookers! Most models have an easy process of cleaning which can be done in just a few minutes and with no real effort.
In most cases, you simply soak the bowl in clean, soapy water and then brush the inside of the bowl to remove the remaining rice. Due to the specialist coatings its really a simple affair and, in the case of some of the more expensive machines, there may be self cleaning modes that mean you never even have to get your hands dirty.
Portion Size
The standard unit of measurement used for all the rice cookers on the market is cups. Most rice cookers can take from 1 to 10 cups and everything beyond that is usually used for commercial purposes.
Depending on the size of your family, feel free to choose what fits you the best. The best rice cookers are the ones that can take 3-cup, 5-cup or 10-cup (this is best for more than 6 family members).
The great thing about larger cookers is that, because of the extended capacity, you don’t have to use multiple pans (which means more washing up) and you can simply fill up the bowl, switch it on and leave it to cook with almost no effort required on your part.
Conclusion
So, taking into consideration the points above, we are quite happy to say that it is worth buying a rice cooker because it will reduce your workload in the kitchen and leave you with more time so you can spend doing other things. If you want a good-quality rice cooker, then it pays to invest in a one with additional features that will save more time and give better results.
Keep in mind that the cookers that are on the more expensive side might not be the best for you and that some of the cheaper ones might do the job just as well. In short, rice cookers are worth buying if you and your family eat meals that include rice on a daily basis.