Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I used this while staying at a friend's house and found the following things: 1) It steams vegetable okay; 2) Does not do traditional rice well at all; The rice that this steamer could do was stuff like Uncle Ben's or Minute Rice (parboiled rice). If you eat rice a great deal then I would recommend buying a rice cooker like Tiger or Zojiruishi (sp?). Which are designed to handle the boiling and steaming of rice as its main function. Most of these lines also handle steaming vegetables as well. Further there is a warming function in a specialized rice cooker that this black and decker does not have. The machine itself has the usual black and decker aesthetic of clean design and easy dial but it is not satisfactory in cooking rice. The results were inconsistant with regular rice (both long grain and Japanese short grain - did not have a chance to try Basmati). If you are getting this just to steam vegetables it is fine. But if you are buying this as a rice cooker then spend the extra and get a specialized rice cooker. If you are getting a rice cooker please note the following: 1) Never buy a cooker that uses an unlined Aluminium pan - it will make your rice taste off and the pan has a shorter life span because every time you scrub aluminium shears off (that's not dirt that's metal in the dish water. Teflon coated is fine and so is stainless steel. 2) The cooker should have a warming function - this is pretty standard; 3) Compact and tucks away easily - nicer models can be brought straight to the table since the power cord is retractable. 4) Evaluate the amount of usage you are going to get out of it before buying a model. There is no reason to get a Neuro-fuzzy logic $250+ rice cooker if it is only an occasional thing for you. Skip this cooker for rice.