I am pretty sure I have a rice cooker under the counter here. I have never even used it. I don't see why it is necessary. I think that I should try it to get the options that I know I will need. I just am not sure how this rice cooker came to be here and I really don't use it.
I was in the same position years ago - every time I tried to cook rice over the stove using the traditional "absorption method" I was often winding up with unevenly cooked rice, gummy rice, rice stuck to the bottom of the pot, foam boiling over and making a mess of my stove top, etc... There are other methods to cook rice though, without the need for dedicated equipment. The boiling method is perhaps the most goof proof since it eliminates uneven cooking, scorching, and gummy rice. All you do is boil the rice in a large quantity of liquid for a certain amount of time, then drain it and toss the rice back into the pot and put a lid on it and let it rest for like 10-15 minutes, as it finishes cooking in it's own residual heat and sucks up the excess moisture. This method also rinses away excess starch, so your rice isn't gluey and gummy, and is instead fluffy. It's not ideal though if you are looking to use a flavored liquid other than water though, since you need to use so much more of it. Unless perhaps you flavor the water with something inexpensive such as powdered bouillon. But I would never waste a bunch of home made stock to do this method. Another method is to bake the rice in the oven in a tightly covered baking dish with the proper amount of liquid. This is essentially the absorption method, but with more even, indirect heat, so you don't wind up with the scorching you would get from the stove top absorption method. It also helps a little bit with the "gummy" rice problem. When you try to cook rice on the stove, the bubbling of the liquid is essentially agitating the rice, causing the rice grains to rub against each other and release their starch. That starch plus a limited amount of liquid results in gluey rice. The down side of this method is it takes some trial and error to find the right liquid to rice ratios and cooking times that work with your oven and cookware. I've gotten very different results going from one oven to another. As for a dedicated rice cooker, I tried several of the cheaper ones (<$40) and was not impressed with any of them personally. They were all just basically hot pots, and they still scorched the rice at the bottom just like putting them on the stove. If you are looking for a cheap appliance that makes great rice, I would check out an electric food steamer as well. Kohl's sells one by Bella which is BPA free, which I recently purchased, and it works fantastically. And I believe it was only like $35, and it does a lot more than just cook rice too. There are some more expensive models from companies such as Zojirushi which supposedly use multiple forms of heat, such as infra red, and supposedly modify the rice grains in a way traditional cooking methods do not. But I have yet to try the rice from any of these machines to vouch for how good it is or not.
I am considering getting one at some point, I can cook my white rice correctly but it has to be watched really closely to get it just right, so this would make it alot easier by the sounds of things
I personally don’t eat rice enough to make use of one. I think they are a waste of money and space. I have a friend who has one and I can’t tell a difference between her rice (she cooks in the rice cooker) or the rice I cook on the stove. I also have a crockpot so I often cook rice in there. To me a rice cooker is just a space taker on the counter and I don’t have enough space as it is. I would say the only beneficial thing about them is you can preset a lot of them to start and stop cooking so it is ready when you come home.
You can add vegetables, seasoning like shoyu and even clams. Just add them after you measure the water. Water measurement is the key to good rice. If your rice cooker doesn't have the lines then you're on your own. The thumb of rule is 1/8" above the rice that you have in the rice cooker pot for perfect rice. We add instant barley, black rice, brown rice and lentils to our rice to make it much more healthier. They have special rice blends at the stores already packaged with even green rice.
Hehe I had to laugh at your comment about not knowing how the rice cooker ended up under your counter LOL At least you already have it there, you make as well have fun with it and just try out a few things. I'm not sure why so many people seem to struggle with making rice! I just put it on and let it cook. I stir it a few times and my rice never comes out mushy or under cooked. It's a mystery to me.
We used to have a rice cooker at home. I can cook rice but if I'm not watching it it turns out bad. Either the rice is too mushy or too hard. I would say a rice cooker is definitely worth it. Why buy food you can't cook? That is a waste of money unless you have something that makes cooking easier like a rice cooker. You can buy the rice you like and not worry about wasted cash because you can't eat it.
I never thought about getting a rice cooker. My mom buys an instant rice box, and then I just do the simple steps to make it. Pouring the rice in something, covering it with water, then into the microwave it goes to get it not too hard or soft. It tastes really good to me; I don't see how a rice cooker would make it taste any better. But that is just my opinion.
I have never used a rice cooker. I cook rice in my slow cooker or on the stove. Most packages of rice come with the instructions on how to cook it on the bag. When cooking it one the stove, after the rice and water come to a boil, cover it and turn the burner off. Don't peak under the lid to check on it! The rice needs the steam to finish cooking, so keep it covered.
