In the discussion on rice cookers I noticed some people recommend this one, gets a decent write up on Product Review as well. This is part of the Myers 20% off sale for small electronics. Not sure on availability in stores. The only quibble seems to be the robustness of the coating on the inside.
While it's not hard, rice cookers still provide added value by being able to turn it on and forget about it.
and you can make pancakes in it!
PLEASE EXPLAIN. :)
pancakes? Do tell
And steam dimsims
@bdl:
https://snapguide.com/guides/cook-a-pancake-in-your-rice-coo…
It's more like a cake imo than a pancake
Add a timer switch, throw in oats and water and have fresh porridge when you wake up each morning in winter. I sometimes add sultanas or cinnamon and it works great in my cheap $10 Aldi rice cooker.
Rice cookers are great for preparing oats, doesn't have to be an expensive fancy one like this either.
In other words soak the rice first, as suggested by every google rice cooking search. :).
How many people does that method serve? I might have a look at trying it. My current rice cooker is a microwave one, which will horrify the purists but works OK for us. I am thinking of getting one of the Breville ones as it isn't that expensive and is meant to give good results. I think the concept of soaking it in the tepid water first might be worth investigating even if your are using the cooker, just to experiment.
it's not that the rice is soaked to absorb water …it's too dry and dense and not porous.. it's about washing away any powdery starch….. the starch on the on the outside swells with the water and makes the rice stick together unlike the start on the inside that expands and remains inside the rice.
i add to every 1 cup of washed rice 2 cups if water if basmati in my rice cooker …. varies a bit between rice cookers depending how much. water is lost by the steam leaving the cooker.
rice cooker has the advantage that you don't need to remember to turn the stove done when the water has been absorbed…
most of the rice cookers have non stick linings so what will kill then is when you use metal utensils.
one of the differences between brands is how much you can take apart for cleaning especially in the lid area…. some you can't remove the lid parts and they can get mould growing underneath …. with my old tiger rice cooker the parts attached to the lid came apart of cleaning.
i will need to,look at this cooker at myers or good guys as it's a nice price for a sealed rice cooker.
The rice cookers are also good if you'll eat rice over a few meals in that it'll keep the rice good for a number of days. It means you only have to go through the rinse process once which I find the most time consuming aspect and annoying aspect of preparing rice.
Having used the above process more or less and having got a rice cooker over xmas (Tiger), I much prefer the results the rice cooker gives. Can't imagine I'd go back to doing it manually.
Great rice cooker. I have one. Highly recommended.
Cannot believe how many still want to use appliances that contain non stick coatings. Teflon non-stick is polytetrafluoroethylene, or PTFE for short. When PTFE heats up, it releases toxic gasses that have been linked to cancer, organ failure, reproductive damage, and many other harmful health effects. Stainless or cast iron all the way for me.
Thought people might want to read the below article, it is a pretty good discussion of the issues. Even Stainless Steel can be an issue if it is not well manufactured and the issue with non stick coatings seems to be about temperatures above 260 Celcius and damaged cookwear. Also Dupont is meant to have removed PTFE from Teflon, by now. (We also don't know if the internal coating here is Teflon).
http://www.goodfood.com.au/good-living/whats-deal-with-nonst…
For people who are interested, I've got a link to the Manual.
https://www.appliancesonline.com.au/public/manuals/Breville-…
When PTFE heats up …
at what heat (temperature) and is it applicable to a rice cooker?
When it heats up to what temperature, what dose does it release. How does that dosage compare with the dosages that have been linked to the harmful effects you mention?
Every substance is linked to negative health effects, even water.. Tomatoes containe solanine - the active poison in belladonna. Bananas contain radioactive potassium. Almonds contain cyanide. As they say, it's the dose that makes the poison.
So the fact that "some unknown amount of a toxin may occur in some unknown circumstances, which that at some other amounts can prove harmful" is fairly banal, and would be true of many things we consume regularly.
I'm a pretty attentive cook. I take very careful care of most of my tools, appliances and cookware. I'm unlikely to ever overheat my nonstick pans or leave a pan on the heat unattended.
If you can tell me that a teflon coated pan used correctly produces a substance at a dose that is proven to be statistically likely to have detrimental health effects, then you'd have my attention.
http://www.productreview.com.au/p/breville-rice-box.html User review 'Quote' This is a fantastic rice cooker at the start. However, after 2 years of usage, the non-stick layer starts to come out and stick to the rice which I believe is not good for health although I carefully take care of the non-stick layer. Only use hand to wash after soaking in warm water for a few hours. I'm looking to buy an inner pot to change the existing one but could not find it from Breville.
Purchased at: Myer.
@simulacrum. What are your views on the coating peeling off? How much of the coating are you consuming before you realize the coating is deteriorating. Whilst l do agree if used correctly, coatings should not be a problem. It is more the longer term use of the product when the coating starts to break down. Usually after 12 months. It is also a known fact that Teflon-coated and other non-stick cookware can produce fumes that are highly toxic to birds. I have done my research over the years to make a firm decision not to use any appliance that has a coating. Yes, there are many other things that are toxic to our health. But if we can reduce those toxins we stand a better chance to lead a more healthy life.
http://www.ewg.org/research/canaries-kitchen/teflon-kills-bi…
http://greenlivingideas.com/2012/06/13/how-toxic-is-teflon/
If the non-stick coating peels after two years, I have concerns about the quality of the product.. though I also suspect the insert has been mistreated. I've seen non-stick coatings peel off rice cooker inserts in the past but mainly when a housemate used metal utensils on it and washed it with hard scourers and in the dishwasher. As far as consuming the PTFE coating.. I don't have too many concerns.. the reason it is non-stick is that the molecule is very non-reactive.
The PFOA, on the other hand, is proven to be toxic in animal models - namely birds. Birds have incredibly sensitive respiratory systems (as a result of their high efficiency - needed to sustain flight muscles) and really should not be kept in kitchens (a lot of other fumes in a typical kitchen can harm them). But again PFOA is only released at higher temperatures, and has apparently been removed from the production process for many PTFE coated pans. The anecdotal "teflon-flu" cases in humans seem to be quite rare and linked to misuse of cookware. Studies of populations living near PFOA-producing facilities (with exposure much higher than a typical person using a non-stick pan) have shown some increase in (from memory) testicular and kidney cancer, but the increase was not statistically significant so isn't large enough to "stand out from the noise".
My point wasn't that "many other things are toxic to our health". It is that literally EVERYTHING is toxic. The dose makes the poison. Water is toxic at the right dosage. Without stating dosage or context, to me at least, the phrase "x substance is toxic" seems fairly meaningless.
Having said that, avoiding non stick cookware, wouldn't be a huge inconvenience. I prefer cast iron pans for searing, carbon steel for woks and stainless for most other uses.. I basically only use non-stick for eggs (and in my rice cooker!)
rather get breville slow and fast cooker
pressure cooker so you can quick rice as well
Tempting.
I've always thought these were lazy as it's not hard to cook good rice, but seeing one in action recently less hassle, less mess and the rice was quite good.
does it have a removable/detachable powercord?
I bought one of these 5 Cup Rice Cooker for $11.20 Delivered @ Target eBay nearly 2 years ago.
having the detachable cord means I can transfer the whole cooker to the dining table to serve from AND NOT HAVE AN ANNOYING CABLE.
We have one and yes, cord is detachable. Bring it over to the dining table all the time!
Went to look at this today and then spotted the Tefal 45-in-1 Rice & Multi Cooker - RK812. Has anyone had any experience with these? It is $159 at Myers but it also does more functions?
I had this rice cooker. Whilst it produced one of the best white rice ie. Soft, fluffy and not sticky, it lasted for 2 years (right after the warranty period). I found similar experiences on productreview website. Brown rice wasn't too bad.
The other disadvantage with this model is that it's designed to cook at least 2 cups of rice. I'm not a big fan of cooking bulk rice and conusming that over a couple of days. But 2 cups of rice is too much rice for 2 people.
I own a Breveville rice cooker. Whilst the cooker is very durable and last a long time, the insert coating does not. 2 years using it and the non-stick coating comes out.
I got taught how to cool rice properly on a Indian cooking course once and it's so easy.
Soak one cup of rice in tepid water for 10 mins then rinse it a few times. Then drain it in a sieve. Put it back in the pan and cover it in 1.75 cups of water, cover and simmer for 8-10 mins. Because all the water is soaked up by the rice it can cook a bit longer if necessary. Plus once you turn the heat off it can sit there for up to am hour (although loosening the rice with a fork first is recommended)
The beauty of this recipe is that the rice is perfectly fluffly and you can add spices to it at the start (I.e. turmeric, cumin, garam masala) for additional flavour.