Rice Cooker Guide Category:
by john on January 5, 2010
Choose rice with non-stick if you want an easy clean. A lot of rice cooker definitely come with indicator light, but do make sure it’s has one in the first place:) Rice cooker has fuse protector to prevent fires especially if you want to keep in on for a long periods of time. Look for auto cord reel, which retract the the cord when not in use to prevent tripping.
Material: Choose a rice cooker with a non-stick or Teflon-coated pan for easier cleaning and maintenance. Make sure the coating is not easily scratched or scrubbed off. Note that aluminum, copper, and stainless steel pots are not suitable for induction cookers. For the lid, look for a clear glass one to help you monitor cooking.
Indicator lights: Choose a rice cooker with indicator lights that tell when the cooker is on, what mode it is in, and when there are errors in operation. Make sure the lights are clearly labeled.
Safety features: Make sure the rice cooker has a fuse protector to prevent fires, especially if you want to keep it on for long periods. Also look for an auto cord reel, which retracts the cord when not in use to prevent tripping.
Other articles of interest:
by john on January 3, 2010
I think when come to eating rice, many people might don’t quite know what is the main different between brown rice or white rice, and of course the most frequent questions I get is should I eat brown rice or white rice?
Well, brown rice is simply white rice that has not had the brown bran covering removed. In short, brown rice is considered a whole grain bread rather then bread.
Anyway, in Asia, people prefer white rice due to it’s white look and taste better.
Compare to white rice, brown rice still has the bran cover intact, so it’s has more fiber and will need longer time to cook.
Besides fiber, brown rice also contains more nutrients like magnesium, manganese, and zinc. Well, if you read my previous post about rice, you will know that white rice have very high nutritional value. But when come to compare with brown rice, white rice has lower levels of these nutrients, and more fortified with iron, and some B vitamins.
So if you ask me whether to eat brown rice or white my answer is :
if you want the taste, go for white rice;
if you want to be more healthy, go for brown rice.
Both have very high nutritional value and definitely good for your health. Simple huh:)
More related articles for you:
by john on January 2, 2010
I’m sure a lot of people know what is white rice or brown rice, how about black rice?
In short, black rice is a heirloom variety of rice cultivated in Asia. It is typically sold as an unmilled rice, meaning the the fiber-rich black husks of the rice are not removed. Black rice have higher nutritional value then normal white rice.
Well, to be more detail, base on wikipedia :
Black rice is one of several black-colored heirloom plants producing rice variants such as Indonesian Black Rice, forbidden rice, or wild rice. High in nutritional value, forbidden rice is rich in iron. Unlike other black rice from Asia, it is not glutinous or rough. This grain is high in fiber and has a deep, nutty taste. Black forbidden rice is a deep black color and turns deep purple when cooked. Its dark purple color is primarily due to its high anthocyanin content. It has a relatively high mineral content (including iron) and, like most rice, supplies several important amino acids.
What The Use Of This Black Rice?
The black color make black rice popular for some exotic desserts or foods. If you are in Thailand or Indonesia, you can get to taste some black rice that go with fresh fruit dessert such as mangoes and lychees.
In United States, many Asian stores sell black rice, sometimes under the label of “Indonesian Black Rice” or “Forbidden Rice.”
I have many guide posts and tips here, do check them out:
Great, if you eat rice more then couple of times a week, a great rice cooker is definitely a good investment for you to consider.
There are basically 2 type of rice cooker – one button (on/off) rice cooker and fuzzy logic in my rice cooker reviews.
One Button Cooker
One button rice cooker will allow you to shut off your rice cooker automatically. This is the most affordable rice cooker type. It’s have basic feature such as keeping your rice warm too.
Fuzzy Logic Rice Cooker
If you are looking for more advance rice cooker to have setting for porridge, soup, brown rice, rice texture and induction heating, then you might want to get one of the fuzzy logic rice cookers. Of course, it’s cost more with the fuzzy logic feature.
Well, rice cooker might extremely appeal to some busy cook for number of reason, it’s easy to cook, easy to clean, save a lot of space and easy to maintain with this one button technology. For those who eat rice 3 times a day, the rice cooker is always on. So, the one button technology, easy to clean, space and warming feature have become the basic features for the best rice cookers.
More Best Rice Cooker tips:
Before we get ahead of ourselves and I start tossing product recommendations, we first have to address a very important issue:” What sort of rice cooker do you need?”. Well, fret not. I’ve prepared a handy list which I believe everyone who has not bought a rice cooker before, should go through before actually marching off to buy one.
Best Rice Cooker Buying Guide – Hints and Tips
Size & Style
With more and more brands in competition, we consumers are flooded with choices of rice cookers in the market. As such, know what size of a cooker you want. (note: size of cooker and capacity of cooker are different) Some people might want a huge square purple rice cooker, while some might opt for a petite white cooker. Make sure you know what you like.
Capacity
Capacity is definitely important. Knowing what capacity you need is even more important. Make sure you ask yourself questions such as: Is your family growing or growing up and moving out? Are you interested in increasing your culinary ‘experiments’? Do you JUST want cook rice? You might just want to cook for 2 people, 2 meals a day or you might want to cook for your extended family of 12 for dinner. I, have a cook for a restaurant, thus, I have a really HUGE rice cooker. Make sure you know how much you need.
Settings
What sort of settings you are looking for when you want to buy a rice cooker? Do you want a cooker that just.. cooks? Or might you intend to make congee one day, soups the next, and cook all sorts of different rice types? Do you want a rice cooker with multiple settings or just one? Make sure you know what you need. You wouldn’t want to spend lavish money on settings you don’t need.
More than Rice
For some people (like me), I use my rice cooker for more than cooking rice. Apart from merely cooking rice, certain models have multiple functions in one. They can range from cooking pasta, steam vegetables, and even double up as a steam/slow cooker! So, make sure you know if you’re going to need all these extra features before you make your purchase.
Well, apart from these few hints and pointers, other aspects you might want to consider would be how easy is it to clean, and features such as is the rice cooker cordless, or the rice cooking bowl is detachable or not. All these, though seem trivial, would serve as conveniences in the long run.
Other tips that you might find useful in my Best Rice Cooker site:
by john on January 1, 2010
How to use rice cooker correctly and save energy
Here are some tips will help to to maintain your rice cooker and save energy while cooking rice:
- While cooking rice, you should not open the cooker’s cover because this is a waste of energy and increasing the energy needed to heat the rice.
- Do not put the rice cooker in the wet area or damp. By putting in the web area will easily make the rice cooker become rusted.
- To clean your rice cooker try to use only sponge, don’t use metal sheet.
- Do not use the rice cooker if your hand are wet. And also do not unplug by jerking the power cord.
- If you find any unusual or error of the rice cooker, which will make the cooker work improperly. You have it fix immediately, do not leave it.
- Make sure the power cord must be firmly attached to the rice cooker’s body. It can not be too loose.
- To be safe, always unplug the rice cooker after use.
- Often test for the power leaks by using ground wire connected with the rice cooker.
- Well, lastly, read its manual and instruction carefully. Make sure you understand completely how to use the rice cooker before start using.
All this tips will help to make sure you will use the rice cooker correctly and save the electric bill:)
I hope you like my tips. There are more in my Best Rice Cooker blog:
Things to consider before you buy a rice cooker:
First, you should consider about the size or cups of the rice cooker. Picking the right size that is suitable for the number of your family and also consider the parts and components that come with the rice cooker. Parts and components must be installed correctly and safely.
Second, then you can make up your mind that whether you need a basic rice cookers (on/off) or fuzzy logic rice cooker:
On/Off Basic Rice Cooker:
- on/off rice cooker.
- the cook-and-keep-warm rice cookers.
Fuzzy Logic Rice Cooker
- fuzzy logic rice cookers.
- induction heating rice cookers.
The basic rice cooker is cheaper compared to other types of rice cookers. It have basic feature that you need to cook a rice. But if you need more advance rice cooker that allow you to cook soup, porridge, brown rice, steamer and set the rice texture to hard or soft, then you might need a fuzzy logic rice cooker. Induction heating rice cooker is a rice cooker that use magnetic technology to cook rice move evenly compare to the original fuzzy logic rice cooker.
Have fun finding the Best Rice Cooker. I think you’ll like these guides and tips too:
I’ve come across customers, friends, skeptics and all manner of people who ask me:”What’s so great about rice?” I’ll tell you what’s great about it.
Rice is packed to the brim with all manners of nutrients and vitamins. Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Vitamins B3, B5, just to name a FEW. In addition to that, rice can actually help prevent all sorts of diseases. However, before we get too far, it is my personal recommendation (strongly, in fact) that BROWN rice instead of WHITE rice should be consumed, as white rice is polished rice, meaning most of it’s nutrients have been milled away
Let’s move on to a little history lesson. Rice has been consumed for centuries, as far back as 6,000 years ago in China. It is the staple food for many Asian countries such as Vietnam, Thailand and (of course) China till today. If it wasn’t good, they won’t still be eating it, right? 
For those who still aren’t convinced, let me list down the whole list of nutritional benefits that can be derived from regular consumption of rice.
- Rice is very low in fat, has no sodium (unless you put some in), and literally has no cholesterol. That makes rice a perfect addition to the diet of those who want to watch their weight. It’s an even better addition to those who have cholesterol problems and are on a cholesterol lowering diet.
- Rice is gluten free. I know there are people out there who cannot tolerate the protein found in oats, wheat, barley and rye because of gluten intolerance. Good news is, rice is gluten free, and thus, a perfect addition to your gluten-free diet.
- Rice contains no additives or preservatives. What you see in the bag of rice you buy, is what you get. No additives to make it look more presentable, no preservatives to make it last forever. It is the perfect addition for a healthy and balanced diet.
- Rice has resistant starch. (I strongly advice you not to read this if you’re eating). Resistant starch meaning that I will not be digested by the stomach, and would reach the bowels in an undigested form. This encourages the growth of beneficial bacteria in the bowels, keeping the bowels healthy.
And I’ve not even tackled the health benefits and health ailments that diet of rice can prevent yet!
Here are more of my rice and rice cooker related articles:
Curious about cooking rice, no? Well, being the typical American that we are, I bet that the only time we get ‘fancy’ food like rice, would be at the nearest Chinese restaurant, (or my restaurant if you like).
In Asia, apart from the wok, the rice cooker is essential for every kitchen. Why you ask? Simple! Rice is a staple food for majority of Asians for almost every region. I don’t even know where to start talking about the wonders of rice! Rice has all sorts of nutrients, vitamins, (which I would elaborate further in my Eating Rice All The Way article) AND it can be cooked into so many different forms and styles! It’s almost like an edible version of modeling clay!
I have many reviews and recommendations here in my site, so have fun reading and finding the best rice cooker for your home! 
