Rice Cookers - A Sticky Situation

By Benni Jenyfari

Do you ever get frustrated by incorrectly cooked rice, rice that has burned on the bottom of the pan, rice that isn't sticky or fluffy enough, rice that has fallen flat? All these predicaments can be easily solved with one important tool: the rice cooker. Rice cookers ensure that rice is heated to perfection. In addition, they serve as automatic timers and have a self shut-off feature, so that rice is never under or over cooked.

Rice cookers are electrical appliances that simplify the cooking process of rice and keep it warm once finished. While rice cookers do not speed up the cooking process, they eliminate the hassle of cooking rice on a stove. Most come with a measuring cup and plastic paddle, and can be purchase for as little as ten dollars.

Rice cookers are composed of three parts – the outer, insulated bowl, the inner bowl which hold the rice, and the lid. The inner bowl, usually coated with a nonstick material such as Teflon, is removable. This allows for easy transferring and cleaning.

Once the lid has been tightly secured, and the correct measurements of water and rice have been added, you are ready to start cooking. With a mere flip of a switch, the cooking begins. You may then leave the rice cooker and continue preparing other parts of you meal, never having to check on the rice again. When it is done cooking, the rice cooker will automatically turn itself off, usually with some type of alarm letting you know it is finished.

Restaurants use large capacity, industrial rice cookers; however, most at-home rice cookers cook enough rice to feed at least six people to eight people. Amazingly enough, rice cookers do more than cook rice, and you'll be pleased to find cookbooks specifically devoted to preparing meals with rice cookers - from pudding to pilaf!

Article provided courtesy of Only Cookware. - a premier resource for everything relating to cookware, dutch ovens and rice cookers.