Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

We tried the cheaper model from the same brand and returned it. This one works perfectly, especially for cooking very small quantities of rice. Couldn't be happier, and yes,it does employ fuzzy logic when cooking the rice. Don't buy a cooker without that feature. And everything from this brand is usually very high quality. This one is no exception. If you are a serious cook, this is the entry level. Don't go any cheaper. Note that it only cooks 3 cups. Perfect for those who like rice but may not want so much of it. For two people, we've found that 1 cup is enough to satisfy our craving for rice dishes for two, without pumping up our waistlines. It's very easy to use. They give you a measuring cup and you measure the rice with the lines on the cup (we use 1/4 cup per person, but most will probably want 1/2 cup per person), then dump it into the bowl that is included in the thing. Next, add water (some people will stir the rice with their fingers) and pour the water back out to rinse the rice. Some of the hulls from the rice will float off when you pour the water out. Rinse twice, then fill the water back up to the mark corresponding to the amount of rice you have in there. Yes, you add water to the mark with the rice inside. Put the bowl in the unit and close the lid. Next you push menu to select the type of rice you have (white, brown, sushi, etc., use porridge for steel cut oatmeal) and push start. If you want to use the timer, instead of pushing start, push timer, use the arrows to set the time (it starts with the last time you used) and then push start. The only knock I have is that it takes a *long* time to cook 1 cup of rice. 40 minutes just seems like it's twice as long as it should take. However, because I don't know whether that is longer than other fuzzy logic rice cookers, I didn't take a star away from the product. Just be forewarned, it takes a LOT longer than cooking rice on a stove. Is it underpowered? I don't know. The flip side is that it only takes 450 watts to run the thing, and so it is less likely to pop the circuit breaker if you have something else going. A little off topic, but if you are looking at a rice cooker, you may want to learn about rice. Here is what we have learned so far. There are three basic grain sizes of rice: long grain, medium grain and short grain, also known as sweet rice or sushi rice. Each kind has its place. Long grain rice is best for fried rice and pilafs - where the rice shouldn't stick together because you want every grain to be coated with a flavoring. By itself, long grain rice is not that great tasting. We Americans are used to long grain rice, but wait until you branch out into other types. Medium grain rice is for serving just plain rice, like as a side dish with Chinese dishes. It is easily the best tasting rice by itself. It clumps together to a degree, making it easier to eat with chopsticks. If you want the most delicious rice you can find, and you won't be flavoring it, buy medium grain. It's so much better than that long grain minute rice we grew up with. Finally, sushi rice is very short grain and clumps like mad. It is generally limited to sushi, where you would be willing to sacrifice flavor to get better clumping, and sweet dishes, because of its high starch content. This rice cooker has a special setting for short grain rice. But I find short grain rice to be too artificial tasting, and so even for sweet dishes, I use medium grain rice. Next, there are two basic types of rice: brown rice, which is how all rice starts, or white rice, which is brown rice with essentially all of the nutrients removed. With no nutrients, white rice doesn't spoil like brown rice can. We've found very little difference in taste between brown rice and white rice. If you don't like brown rice, you were probably thinking of an exotic variety that had a deeper taste. Regular brown rice you buy in the store is very nearly the same taste as white, so we've stopped buying white. Find Botan Calrose brown rice in an asian market, look at the health advantages of brown rice on the internet and you'll never go back. Note, there is a special setting on the cooker for brown rice, and different water marks for brown, and brown rice takes about 100 (not a typo) minutes to make one cup. I'm sure you can find more detail on line, but that should give you the basics. Ditch your long grain rice: you'll be amazed at how much better medium grain rice can be. And try brown rice: you'll be shocked at how close it is to the nutrient-less white rice. This cooker makes all kinds of rice really well. I've had it for about three years and we use it nearly every day. It's still working like the day we got it. The nonstick bowl looks and acts like new. The battery keeps all of the settings and the current time, though my understanding is that the battery is not easily replaceable without sending it back.