How to Choose the Right Rice Cooker

Eating rice, whether as a diet staple or just as a delicious side dish, has made its way to the hearts of millions. Gone are the days where you have to learn how to master cooking rice through a traditional kitchen pot. Mastering it comes with trial and error and with a lot of overcooked or undercooked rice meals.

Since the birth of rice cookers, any novice cook, or even anyone that doesn’t have the slightest idea of cooking rice, can be a master of cooking rice at a touch of a button. Because of this advantage, more and more rice cookers are coming out in the market, and anyone who has experienced shopping for them will definitely tell you that there is a mountaintop of options for you to choose from. Rice cookers have different size, features, function and price range. The following is a simple how-to guide for choosing the right rice cooker for your household.

1.Think about what you need your rice cooker to do and what type of rice you are most likely to cook. Rice cookers will provide you with unsurpassed convenience when cooking white rice. They make the rice softer and fluffier, which means that they are easier to digest. If you want a healthier rice variety, then you should go with brown rice. Brown rice is rich in GABA which is an amino acid that provides several health benefits; however, you will need to soak the rice in 104 degrees for two hours before you can cook it in order to activate the GABA. You will need a stainless steel rice cooker for this and make sure that it has the brown rice function.

2.Think about how often you are going to use your rice cooker. If you are going to cook rice only once in a while and you want to get your money’s worth, I suggest that you get a stainless steel rice cooker that comes with a steam basket or a pasta colander. That way, your rice cooker becomes extremely versatile and you can prepare various dishes with it. If you plan to mainly use your rice cooker for cooking rice, then the traditional ones will fit your needs just as well. You don’t have to get the ones that can be used as a steamer or pasta cooker as they can cost a little bit more.

3.Think about your lifestyle and ask yourself what possible features your rice cooker should have to make your life easier. For example if you have to leave very early in the morning, but everyone has to leave at midday, then you can choose a rice cooker that has a keep warm function that can last for several hours. You can cook rice before you leave and you won’t have to worry about what your kids are going to eat for breakfast or even lunch.

Another marvelous feature is one that allows you to set when the rice cooker will start cooking. You can place the amount of rice and water needed in the morning and set it to cook late afternoon. That way, when you arrive home from a long day of work, all that's left to do is to serve the warm and perfectly cooked rice on the table. Other optional features are cool to touch handles, nonstick interiors, and many more.

There are other factors to consider as well, such as the size of your household and your countertop. This will help determine the ideal size of the rice cooker you should get. You might be overwhelmed by the amount of options you have, but just remember to get a rice cooker that will fit your needs. It doesn’t have to be the most expensive ones that have all the extra features that you don’t really need. Just get a durable and reliable one that’s complete with the features you really need. That’s the right rice cooker for you.