Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is a review of the Oyama Rice Cooker on this page compared to the Rice Cooker from Miracle Exclusives sold on Amazon here: (http://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Steel-Cooker-Model-Formerly/dp/B000PC3G7M/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1295728497&sr=8-5) which I have also owned. Both have stainless steel bowls, not coated with any non-stick garbage, which is important to me. The Oyama has a removable stainless steel insert lid, the Miracle has a glass lid. The Oyama's stainless steel bowl and steamer are thicker and of better quality than the Miracle's. First off, I've owned the Miracle cooker for a couple of years. My biggest complaint about it is that it burns the lower couple of layers of rice. Since I live alone, I cook only small amounts for myself, and there is a lot of wastage. The Oyama interested me because the reviews say the bottom of the pot burnage is minimal. I'm also attracted to the feature of being able to leave rice in the steamer for up to 24 hours and have it stay ready to serve. However, there were problems with the Oyama and I'm sending it back. Here's why: Cooking ability Both the Miracle and the Oyama do a good job of cooking rice. There is less burned rice at the bottom of the pot with the Oyama, just a small amount. I always have ½" - 1" of burned matter at the bottom of the pot with the Miracle. However, despite washing the Oyama's bowl, steamer, and stainless steel lid insert thoroughly before first use, there was a noticable strange odor when the unit was on and the food smelled and tasted of it. I do not know what that was. I wonder if it has to do with a rubber knob that attaches the lid to the unit, and which is exposed interior of the cooking area. You can see this in one of the photos I posted, a closeup of the lid. There's also a thick rubber seal which may have some contact with the steam. None of the other reviewers mentions the odor, so perhaps I had a defective unit. Design / Ease of Use The Miracle wins, hands down. The Miracle design is fantastically simple - the cooking bowl fits into the base, the steamer fits into the cooking bowl, and the lid sits on top. The bowl, steamer and lid all lift off the base in one unit to be placed on the table. The cooking bowl has a wide rim, making it easy to grasp it with silicone pot holders and lift all the cooked food - rice and vegetables and lid - out of the base onto a trivet to serve. The lid stays on so the food stays warm. The steamer basket has stay-cool handles so you can remove it easily without a potholder. The glass lid just lifts off. No muss, no fuss. In contrast, the Oyama design is a little more complicated. The rice bowl, steamer and stainless steel lid insert are locked into the unit during cooking. This may be necessary to create a cooker that will keep the rice ready to serve for up to 24 hours. However, there are consequences to this design: 1) When done, you open the unit and the lid insert is attached to the unit's lid, so your hot food is immediately exposed to the air and cools and you are presented with a lot of steam. 2) The main bowl does not have that wide rim. It extends just enough above the base to be graspable with really thin potholders, not silicone potholders. So to remove the food you have to grasp that bowl while it is piping hot. Your experience may vary, but my towel and potholders got wet. Messy. 3) Once you open the unit, there's a lot of drippage from the steam that has condensed onto the lid insert. Most of this runs into a condensation collector on the back of the machine (see photo). But when I used the Oyama, some of it also dripped down the front of the lid and into the cooking element inside the base, which the user guide says not to get wet. I `solved' this by wiping the lid with a kitchen towel immediately upon opening the unit; and once the food was removed, placing a second towel over the base, protecting it. This means soiling two towels every time you use the Oyama. 4) Once the lid is handled and the base unit protected from the dripping condensation, you can turn your attention back to the food. You have your rice bowl and steamer insert, uncovered and cooling, because there's no lid. Remember, the stainless steel lid is attached to the lid of the base unit. 5) The vegetable steamer is completely recessed within the rice cooking bowl, which looks nice and neat until you have to pry the basket out with a fork and grasp it with a towel while it's steaming hot and wet. Cleaning Both the Oyama and Miracle are easy to clean. Whatever rice adheres to the bottom of the pot is easily removed after brief soaking. The Oyama also has a removeable plastic condensation collector that snaps on back of the hinge, which must be removed and cleaned after each use. That's not a biggie, but it's the kind of part that is easy to lose. I've posted photos of the Oyama to help illustrate all of the issues.