Gear Heads | The Best Equipment for Rice: Rice Cookers vs. Saucepans



Do you own a rice cooker? They may only accomplish one task, but their easy of use and reliability make them a favorite for cooking rice. If you don’t have one, the right saucepan might do the job.

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42 Comments

  1. In my opinion, you added too much water to both cooking processes as I use the measuring cup 1:1 with water. In a pan, though I can see how you want more water. I also add a couple of pinches of salt to my rice/water mixture just as you would to pasta water or to a bread or cake mixture.

  2. It seems like the Rice cooker is the way to go. and i had no idea it was a 1:1 water-to-rice ratio…All my life I did 2:1 unless the packaging on the rice i bought called for something else and always used a sauce pan on stove top. Results varied. sometimes rice was fantastic, but recently my rice, especially jasmine has been wet soggy and mushy and awful. I think its time i got a rice cooker instead of using the old stove top method.

  3. I've got an Aroma rice cooker. It also slow-cooks and sautees/fries, does soups, and you can even bake in it if you get creative. I do quinoa in it all the time, and it comes out great. Well worth the cost, and so much of a meal can be reduced down to one pot.

  4. I washed my Jasmine rice 3 times.. added 2 cups of rice to the rice cooker using their cup that comes with it. .. added the water 3 cup line equivalent to the cooker as per instructions . Turned it on and let it cook without removing the top. When it signaled the rice was done, I removed the lid and the whole bottom of the rice was dark brown and some even burnt. How can this happen when using the ratio exactly according to the instructions ?

  5. Let's face facts, most people in the U.S. aren't cooking rice more than once a week, so the Aroma brand makes more sense than an expensive zoji. I picked up the Aroma for $3 on half price day at a thrift store and used it 3 to 4 times a week for 5 years or more until Covid. (Thrift stores ALWAYS have rice cookers for under $10 unless the employees price them thinking they are crockpots.) I've been caring for my parents, so rice is 2 to 3 times a month. I've perfected stove top rice with a triple clad heavy bottom, a glass top borrowed from Correlle ware and a timer. Done in less than 20 minutes. Easy peasy- including clean up.Not about to waste 45 to 50 minutes with the Instapot. (40 to cook, 10 to program and clean- yuk – Not a fan!- gift from sibling) You couldn't pay me money to bring another appliance into my 83 year old mother's large and "packed to the gills/cluttered kitchen". – except for a working dishwasher. THAT would be a welcome addition.

  6. Wouldn’t be without our Sanyo rice cooker. Also does a phenomenal job on overnight oatmeal, steaming eggs or etc. As the directions for all rice cookers say, jut be sure to measure the rice using the measuring cup included with the machine.

  7. If you lose the little cup, don’t worry. Use your knuckle: put your desired amount of rice in the cooker. reach in with your finger and just touch the top of the rice. Now add water until your first knuckle above your fingernail is wet. That’s as much water as you need – that’s your measure. Be sure and rise the extra starch off the rice before you cook it.

  8. Like every other video by ATK I've watched, this is a shameless product placement masquerading as a review. They know damn well that no 30 dollar kitchen appliance is going to hold up to steady use.

  9. I’m not a fan of the nonstick cooking bowl. Eventually the coating flakes off, at least in my experience, and almost all rice cookers seem to have similar bowls. I got the Aroma rice cooker with a ceramic bowl and it has exceeded my expectations. The ceramic is nonstick and there will never be any flaking issues. It does however cost more.

  10. I am amazed at the amount of those with chef training who cannot make rice! Just watch top chef or any of those. I have been making great rice since I was a kid in any old pan you threw at me! My mother had this aluminum pan that was dented on one side and pointed on the other and I still made great rice. Now I have a rice cooker and I love that just as much as making it in the pan.

  11. Right now I'm experimenting with my rice cooker, cooking everything I eat in it for a week. It's just a small black and decker, and I figure it is the only cooking utensil I'll need when I embark on a cross-country road trip. So far so good! I've made meatloaf, frittatas, mac and cheese, poached fish, and boiled vegetables. I even thawed out one of those frozen prepared lasagna dinners and heated it up. I boiled sausages in it and then browned them. I forgot about them, and they sat on warm for about two hours and were still good. The way rice cookers switch to "warm" is a winner for me as I can be an airhead about my cooking.

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