Rice Cookers

[BakerAunt]

I have a small Black and Decker rice cooker (says 4 cups but really makes 3). I found it on sale maybe 7 years ago, and it has gotten good use. It has often has traveled with us, and I hoped to use it on a trip we will take later this month. The last time I used it, I made a rice blend. I'm not sure what happened, but the nonstick coating now has a very bad scratch. I went to the e-replacement website that S. Wirth has told us about. However, it would cost almost $25 (not counting shipping) to replace the nonstick bowl. New B&D 3-cup rice cookers cost about $14 online at Target (not counting shipping and tax). so it makes better sense to replace it.

My questions: If you have a small rice cooker, what brand is it? Are you satisfied with the nonstick coating? Have you had issues with scratching when all you did was cook the rice (did not rinse it) in the bowl?

I already have a larger rice cooker that I use for company. However, for the two of us, the small size is perfect, and I want to be able to use it for travel as well.

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[Mike Nolan]

The only rice cooker I have experience with is my Zojirushi, which is a full-size rice maker that can make a LOT of rice, though I seldom make much more than a small batch, because my wife doesn't eat much rice because of the carbs.

This is one of those set-it-and-forget-it cookers, no dials, just a switch to start the cooking cycle. The way it determines cooking time is by measuring the temperature, until the water boils off or is absorbed into the rice there's a limit on how hot it can get.

[BakerAunt]

My rice cookers (both Black and Decker) are very basic. I find that I need to be on the spot when they are finishing, or the "keep warm" feature ends up drying out the rice at the bottom, which may be how the small cooker came to be scratched. If I were to replace it, I would try to find one where that would not be an issue. I know that rice cookers come with many settings, and those tend to be the expensive ones. I thought that I was on the safe side with my minimalist rice cooker; I never expected the bowl to be what broke.

I have thought of finding a new small rice cooker that would also let me cook steel-cut oats in the morning. I currently make the steel-cut oats by boiling a cup of water, adding 1/4 cup of steel-cut oats, then covering it and letting it sit off the heat overnight. The next morning, I add 1/4 cup milk and a couple of tsps. of chopped dates, then I stand and cook it down to the right consistency. I remove from heat and let stand while I make coffee. It would be nice, she said wistfully, if an appliance cooked the steel-cut oats while the coffee was being made. However, I would need it not to stick.

If I can find my 5-cup rice cooker, then I'll take that one on our trip. That gives me more time to look at what is out there in the rice cooker world.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 3 months ago by BakerAunt.

[luvpyrpom]

I have used both the Rival and Elite small rice cookers - both I got from Target. The Rival was badly scratched before I switched over to the Elite. I do like to use the Rival to steam small stuff as it's a nice little thing.

As for the steel cut oats - what I've done is cook 4 portions of it. I bring 4 cups of water to boil, add the 1 cup of steel cut oats, bring back to boil, cover and let it sit overnight. What I do in the morning, is divide the oatmeal into 1 cup servings and refrigerate. I also make my own little mix of chopped dried fruits/nuts (pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, raisins, praline nuts, dried pineapple, dried banana chips, dried blueberries, dried apples, whatever I seem to have in the pantry). I add a couple of tablespoons of the mix into the oatmeal and microwave for 1 to 1.5 minutes. I like to sweeten it a little with honey. I grew up eating oatmeal with no dairy in it so I don't miss it. If you want, you can cook the oatmeal with less water, (I personally like to cook it with 3.5 cups of water) and then add the milk in the morning during the reheat.

I guess there's an electric pressure cooker but they all look pretty big.

Hope this helps.

[BakerAunt]

Thanks, Luvpyrpom. Your comments reinforce what I'm beginning to suspect: with rice cookers, less expensive is probably fine. I am amazed at all the bells and whistles on some of them--and at how much they can cost. In looking at rice cookers at various store sites, I note that a lot of multi-cookers now are used for rice and oatmeal--in addition to being pressure cookers or crock pots. As a result, when you search rice cooker, these come up. It makes me wonder if one appliance can indeed do the work of three.

I eat oatmeal maybe once or twice a week, so usually I do not want to make a large batch. My husband has his own system for doing his quick oats, every morning that involves an initial heating, a resting period, and another heating, so he monopolizes the ancient microwave as he wanders around doing other tasks. I have to move swiftly to get in ahead of him. I am sorely tempted to let him keep this little microwave when we get a new one after remodeling the kitchen. However, for now, I may try your system--and see if I can push ahead of him in line!

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