AKICWLJ/DW

[snarp]

Assuming I'm in the US, does anyone know what I want to get if I want a non-fuzzy-logic rice cooker with a warmer that will keep a very small amount of rice - as in, less than two cups dry - warm for six hours without either drying it out or getting it soggy?

(When I was in Japan, I had a Neove NM-R06 that would do this moderately well. I bought the best-reviewed similar-looking-thing on Amazon - an Aroma ARC-838TC - but the rice is both burned and soggy after about two hours on warm.)

Alternately, I'd be really interested if anyone had any recommendations or righteous indignation regarding sub-$100 fuzzy logic cookers. I was looking at this one and this one.

Comments

[rilina]

Unfortunately, I don't have any firsthand knowledge of the categories you mention, but I do love the one I do own. I plan to keep it for the next, oh, twenty years, so I figured spending a little more money would be worth it. I usually only cook 2 Zojirushi cups (as in the small cup that comes with the cooker, not an actual measuring cup) dry in it, and it has no issue fine with the small quantity.

[snarp]

I would like a Zojirushi - a dorm I stayed in once had a communal one, and it was awesome - but I have so far been unable to convince myself to spend that much on a kitchen appliance. Possibly I should go ahead and do it, given that over the past five years I've spent at least $100 on cheap crappy rice cookers that broke quickly.

[smillaraaq.livejournal.com]

That was pretty much the rationale behind my getting the Sanyo -- I'd already destroyed a couple of cheapies that didn't last more than a few years each, and didn't see the point continuing to throw good money after bad, especially not when I knew perfectly well from growing up in Hawai'i that a decent rice cooker should be able to live through decades of daily use. If you're going to invest in a seriously expensive kitchen appliance that you expect to use regularly for years and years, Zojirushi is definitely worth the money, and their lower-end models are only slightly more expensive than stuff from other decent brands like Sanyo.

[smillaraaq.livejournal.com]

It is fuzzy logic, but I have an older 3.5 cup Sanyo very similar to this model, purchased for under $100 at one of the local Korean supermarkets. I've left rice in it on the warm setting for well over six hours and it was still perfect -- you pretty much have to keep it going all day before you'll get even a hint of a toasty layer on the bottom. It's seen more than five years of very heavy use at this point and still works flawlessly.

You're probably not going to find one new for less than $100, but if you spot a used Zojirushi in good condition in the size and price range you're looking for, that would also be a good option. They make excellent appliances and provide wonderful customer service, too -- several years ago I found a used Zojirushi breadmaker at a thrift shop for a price I couldn't refuse, but it didn't have any of the original packaging, manuals, etc. When I wrote to them asking if there was any way I could buy the manual and cookbook that would have come with it, they mailed me copies for free...even though I later found out that they also had PDF versions of everything on their website. I'm still using that breadmaker, too -- it's a real workhorse.

[snarp]

Yeah, I'm getting resigned to going ahead and getting a fuzzy logic one. I've been watching Craigslist.

Is your Sanyo one of the models that can do bread and cake, and have you ever tried that? I ask because a lot of the Sanyo ones seem to do that.

[smillaraaq.livejournal.com]

Nope -- it's a fairly basic FL model, the only settings for white/mixed rice, brown rice, or porridge (works a treat for oatmeal and other hot cereals as well as congee, natch.) It does have a timer, though, which I heartily recommend -- it's so nice being able to just set it up in advance with the rice soaking and have it piping hot and freshly cooked when you come home. I'm not so intrigued by the bread and cake cycle ones, since I do have that nice old Zojirushi breadmaker, but if anything catastrophic happened to this one I'd seriously look into one of the models that has a bibimbap setting -- I like koge and this model is so good about not scorching the rice that it's almost impossible to produce it.