Zojirushi Rice Cooker Review

I can't imagine spending that much $ on a rice cooker, but I'm sure it's amazing. I still and will always cook brown rice the way you taught me too :) Perfect every time!

Monica

I bought a $30 10-cup rice cooker from Costco a couple years ago and use it every few days to make quinoa, black rice, brown rice, and beans/lentils of all sorts. (I put the results in Mason jars, refrigerate them, and my wife and I work our way through them during the week. And if you've never tried Buffalo Tabasco sauce on navy beans, you do not know what you are missing!)

I usually throw in some frozen veggies and/or leafy greens (e.g., kale pieces or mixed greens that are too old for a salad) to bump up the nutrition value.

A complaint I have about the one we own is that the printing on the side is almost invisible (I drooled when I looked at that nice, contrasty print on your Zoji!). But I suppose that's neither here nor there because I usually just use 1.5:1 water:quinoa (or rice) and for beans, I just fill the pot with water to within an inch or two of the top and slow-cook them for 4-5 hours, draining the results if needed.

(FWIW, if you find that your rice or quinoa is scorching a little, try adding *less* water, not more. Rice cookers are a brilliant invention that stop cooking when the liquid water has all turned to steam, so the less water there is (allowing enough to actually cook it, of course), the shorter the cooking time. (Or, put another way, if you add a gallon of water to a cup of quinoa, it'll cook for a looooong time to get rid of all that water and might overcook things.)

Heck, our rice cooker is so foolproof that I just bought one for my in-college-and-doesn't-know-how-to-cook nephew since he got so excited about it when I told him how easy it was to use.

My wife was traveling a year or so ago and bought the $15 one Lisa mentioned and we still have it for hotel use when we're on the road for an extended period. In some ways, that one is better than our $30 one. The next rice cooker on my wish list will have a stainless-steel pot, not this non-stick stuff that does who-knows-what to my insides. :)

Thanks for this walk down memory lane, Lisa! :)

Andy D

I just put mine in my $40 crock pot and use chicken or vegatable stock along with the water. I'm a total gadget person and find myself wanting the 132$ model but - I must resist!

Jennifer YT

I do not- but now I want one! LOL I have a rice cooker/steamer but not as streamlines as this one!!

Nichole

Wow! That is quite the upgrade from my $80 10cup Zojirushi bought about 10 years ago. Mine is plain white with one gray flip switch for cook or keep warm. Note: nobody needs a 10 cup. I wish I would have just gotten the 4 or 6. I've read you can do oatmeal in it too, but have not tried. Thanks for the link for recipes! I may need an upgrade to a new smaller model ;)

Colleen

I just realized the exterior and controls look an awful lot like my Zojirushi bread maker....which I also LOVE!

Colleen

Check out the Instant Pot 6 in 1 cooker. Electric pressure cooker, rice cooker, etc. It's a bit cheaper and does so much more. This appliance changed my life! I can have delicious brown rice in < 30 min!

Elle

I have a Zojirushi Fuzzy Logic model and it has changed my life for the better! I especially love the timer function- I can have great brown rice ready and waiting when it is time for dinner. It is SO nice to catch the aroma of rice cooking and know that dinner is half done! I use organic brown rice and toss in a spoonful or so of coconut oil- it makes the pan easier to wash and tastes so good!

Love this appliance- well worth the money!

Russell

@Andy - Tell me more about using a rice cooker with beans, Lentils, quinoa, and veggies! I would love to prep most of the food on Sunday for the week. I think that would help with the bad choices. The issue is dry beans take a while and by the time they are done and ready to be added to other dishes, I am tired and resting in my recliner :) Don't think I would pay that much for a rice cooker.

Leandra

Lisa, this was a very helpful posting. I did not ever think of putting vegetables, etc. with the rice in the cooker. Our cooker is not so fancy, but very reliable. I always find something interesting and delicious in your posts! Keep on cooking and writing please!

Margot

I have the NP-HBC10 5 1/2 cup Zojirushi . I never thought that a machine could make cooking this easy. I have used it to make steel cut oats , wild rice soup , pasta soup , and all kinds of rice dishes with fresh or dried ingredients and brown rice to perfection . I use it 3 to 4 times a week and I love it. It fits my life style to a T. It makes real food cooking a breeze.

Isomax

I have a Tiger brand rice cooker. Same price range Snack Girl....the rice is not comparable to rice cook in a pot at all. The rice out of Japanese rice cooker is fantastic! Even all my Chinese friends use the Tiger brand ( I am sure the one above is just as good)!

beverley

@Leandra- I make this stuff when I have time, stash it, and then work my way through it.

I think people who [heart] the smaller rice cookers are engaging in just-in-time cooking and I would rather always have a bunch of stuff from which to choose in the fridge than to have to prepare one meal at a time and wait 30-60 minutes for it.

For each of these items, I usually make two cups dry so I can store a few days' worth in the fridge. I figure if I'm going to the trouble of making and cleaning, I might as well be efficient.

- lentils: Rinse, drain, no need to soak. Cover lentils (and I add frozen veggies (e.g., peas, carrots, chopped onions) and/or green pieces/leaves) with at least 3" of water, slow-cook 4-5 hours. If liquid remains, either continue slow-cooking with lid open or use slotted spoon or the like. (If you add salt, wait until later in the cooking process as salt prevents water from reaching the inside of the bean.)

- small beans: Same as lentils. Soak if you want, but I don't.

- large beans (e.g., black beans, lima beans): Same as small beans, but soak for 6+ hours, drain the soaking liquid, rinse well, and then follow small-bean directions.

- quinoa: If not pre-rinsed (e.g., red quinoa), rinse it or it will have a bitter taste. 2 cups quinoa to 3 cups of water. I almost always add frozen veggies, sometimes rosemary. Hit the white-rice button and give it a stir when done. Personally, I'm okay with the light scorching that occurs, so I just mix that layer in to the rest. If you're not, then just gently scoop the results into your storage containers and toss the scorched part.

- brown rice/black rice: Rinse, drain, and use same ratio as quinoa. Use brown-rice button (which, if I understand correctly, simply adds time for soaking).

- I've never cooked veggies by themselves, but I suspect you could saute them using the white-rice setting.

I don't know that I would make all of the above in one fell swoop (seems like that would make for a loooong Sunday!); personally, I check the fridge and if I see that we're low on Mason jars of quinoa + veggies, I'll whip some up while I'm making my lunch and store it when done. (We use pint and quart Mason jars with plastic lids and they're easy to store, heat, and take on the go (with an oven mitt!).)

One Mason jar of quinoa + veggies, black beans (or whatever beans you have prepared), healthy salsa or healthy pasta sauce, stir, heat, and eat! Fast and yummy!

> Don't think I would pay that much for a rice cooker.

Knowing what I know now about them, I would definitely pay that much for one with a stainless-steel pot, but I can see where others may hesitate.

Oh, if you do want to make beans, you *must* buy one with a slow-cooker function (or use a slow-cooker instead). The "rice" function will boil the beans and while some of them will be edible, most will be bean-shaped rocks. :)

Hope this helps!

Andy D

I have a stainless steel rice cooker. I didn't pay for mine either, but I believe it retails for around $70. It too, makes the best rice ever, and without the nasty teflon like non-stick rice cookers have. It also cooks and steams, although I don't use those functions.

Cristina @ An Organic Wife

I love my Zojirushi rice maker and have been using it for two years. Never again will we make rice on the stove with it boiling over and sometimes not cooked all the way or too soft. Mine is silver and looks nice on the counter top as well and cleaning it takes about 1 minute. I would highly recommend getting one.

Carol

my very fond recommendation is to learn to cook rice of whatever kind, in your microwave. 16 minutes and it is done and wonderful and ready to eat:

rinse thoroughly your rice. put in a rounded deep pyrex or similar such bowl, add two table spoons of your favorite oil (olive, etc) and cook uncovered for 3 minutes. take out, mix well and add boiling water for about two fingers above rice surface. add salt and such, add frozen corn or cubed carrots or both. cover in nylon and puncture fine whole with your knife. put back in your microwave and cook for 16-17 minutes for two or three cups of rice. take out, leave for 5 minutes, mix and taste. if you feel that it is not done yet for some reason, add a few table spoons of water and cook for another few minutes. i have been cooking my rice for many years that way and the results are always perfect.

Adi

@Cristina @ An Organic Wife- do you mean that yours has a stainless-steel pot? If so, what's the capacity (cups)? And can you mention the model # and/or provide a link? Definitely interested in a $70 model with a stainless-steel pot! :)

TIA!

Andy D

I treated myself to the 5.5 cup model (not stainless, that's extra $$$) mainly because I could not make brown rice no matter how I tried. This machine is the best thing EVER! All rice comes out perfect but especially brown. I'm totally in love with Lundberg short-grain brown rice.

BTW, you don't have to rinse your rice. The Japanese directions are a bit confusing so unless you're doing a specialty rice where rinsing is absolutely necessary, you can skip this step. I also do the 1:2 ratio of rice to water.

The Z is well worth the money. A friend recommended it to me and she's had her Z for many many years. The quality is top-notch.

BethJ

SG: Have you heard anything about brown rice and higher arsenic levels?

Robi Tatkin

re not rinsing. i will not touch rice that has not been rinsed at least three times until clear, it has an odor otherwise. i watch Korean movies and they thoroughly rinse their rice. so i would not recommend not rinsing.

adi