Rice Cookers ... Worth it?

[sunshine]

I am a not so very good cook. When I make rice (at no cost thanks to coupons and I mean real rice not instant), it is sticky and starchy. I follow the directions on the package exactly but it is still awful.

I was thinking of purchasing a rice cooker. Do you have one? Do you think it is worth the money? Can you recommend one? Or maybe you have a way with rice to make it right and would share some tips for stove top rice cooking?

Thanks in advance!

[starladarcy]

I am a not so very good cook. When I make rice (at no cost thanks to coupons and I mean real rice not instant), it is sticky and starchy. I follow the directions on the package exactly but it is still awful.

I was thinking of purchasing a rice cooker. Do you have one? Do you think it is worth the money? Can you recommend one? Or maybe you have a way with rice to make it right and would share some tips for stove top rice cooking?

Thanks in advance!

Yes rice cookers are waaaaayyy worth it! When i was younger and we lived in japan we had a huge rice cooker.the rice always turned out great . We learned to wash our rice before cooking it in the cooker.i have 2 myself and i love them!

[niffir]

If you like to eat rice, it is absolutely worth it to get one. My hubby is Asian-American and goes through rice like crazy. The rice cooker fixes it perfectly and pretty quickly as well. He did his research and got a fairly pricey Japanese model (it even plays music for us when it starts and stops like all good Japanese appliances do), but we've been using it for quite a few years and it is still going strong. I know some have attachments and stuff to do things like steam veggies, but we only use ours to make rice. It probably gets used at least 4 days a week.

[kellee]

I got ours free off of freecycle and it is the most used appliance in our house. We use it at least 4 times a week and it's so great to start it and forget it! Check Craigslist if you're not sure and don't want to spend a bunch of money. Or subscribe to your cities' freecycle and ask for one!

[Bear]

We eat a lot of rice in our household. I switched to a microwave rice cooker I bought at Walmart several years ago for $5-$10. It did take fooling with the microwave settings a little to get it to come out right. I cook the rice at 60% power for 20 minutes. What I love best about the microwave rice cooker is the clean up is a breeze.

If you want an electric rice cooker check at thrift stores. That is the best place to find specialty cooking appliances. I see them there all the time along with bread makers, ice cream makers, hot chocolate makers (love mine!), etc.

[Target-Fan]

My husband is Japanese and we are eating a lot of rice. We purchased a Japanese model, pretty expensive but definitely worth it! I am a terrible cook (I am lucky, my husband is a great cook...) but with the rice cooker the results are always great.

[bargain high]

YES!!! It's definitely worth it, even the cheapest model. You can set it and forget it. There's no special tricks you need to know when using a rice cooker. Most just say the ratio of rice and water should be the same.

[Coupon_Queen]

Mmm now I want a a rice cooker! LOL

[Jenng]

I bought my rice cooker when I went to Japan and that was in 1996. It's still going strong and I use it quite frequently. If you use the specialty Japanese sticky rice it is amazing. You do have to plan ahead for your meals though because it takes about 45 minutes to make it. Sometimes I just use Uncle Bens on the stovetop because I need it quickly.

Has anyone ever tried using brown rice in their rice cooker? I have been trying to eat only brown rice lately and I'm afraid to try it in my rice cooker. I'm sure it would be fine though.

[Target-Fan]

Brown rice works just fine, no worries.