Steamer Reviews

I went out and compared this rice cooker with many "newer" models of Zojirushi. This rice cooker is easier to clean than any Zojirushi I have seen. I also own a zojirushi rice cooker from Japan and comparing the two.. this National model blows the socks off of it.
I use my National everyday and it makes rice very well. The fact that it algorithmically figures out how long to cook the rice based on rice and water differential is excellent. You end up with tasty rice everytime. I have also left mine running with rice in it for 13 hours and the rice still tasted great and did not harden. If you eat a lot of rice this is an excellent machine and well worth the money.

At different times I've steamed fresh spinach, broccoli, and four corn cobs. They have all turned out perfect. I like how it keeps the food warm easily for 15 minutes while safely turned off.

This appliance appears to be the functional twin of the Sanyo ECJ B35M, which I have and use frequently.

OVERALL, in balancing its features and price, this small capacity rice cooker is an excellent value. It has a number of excellent features, few of which are mentioned in the brief editorial review. They really should have been, to do this appliance justice:
* fuzzy logic microprocessor control produces EXCELLENT rice: Without reservation I can say that this rice cooker makes the best rice I've ever cooked. Grains are fluffy and don't stick to one another. There's no goo on the bottom, no browning of the rice, and absolutely no burning.
* THICK cookpot (5 mm) makes for even cooking
* titanium non-stick finish makes for easy clean up
* retractable cord of reasonable length
* multiple settings (white rice/mixed, brown, porridge)
* clock with timer for autocook at later time. The default cook time (the one last entered) remains the same until changed, making it easy to set up the next time.
* easy to set digital clock and timer
* no need to unplug/plug to start
* 'countdown' feature tells you when the rice is almost done, beginning at 13 minutes.

Thus far I've successfully cooked white, brown, basmati, and wild rice in this appliance. FYI, the porridge setting can also be used to make risotto.

The only 'down' sides to this appliance are minor:
1. The front to back measurement is longer than side to side, making it most easily placed towards the back of the counter. However, the steam vent is placed at the rear. Unfortunately, if you have cabinets above, this combination of features will result in steam condensing on the bottom of the cabinet--which will NOT result in a good outcome for your cabinets in the long run! This can be dealt with entering the settings you want, then bringing the cooker forward, letting out the cord a bit, and turning the appliance 90 degrees.

2. The manual notes that placement should not be where the appliance will be in the sun, since the appearance of the plastic may change over time. (I think the sun could also heat the rice cooker--something that mainly affects you if you set the timer to start later, or keep rice warm for an extended period.) I mention this because it doesn't appear on the box, and did require that I find another place to put this, where it would always be out of the sun, rather than where I had originally planned.

3. The manual is not the greatest. The cooker is shipped with the inner lid in place. However, there is no mention of how to remove the inner lid; FYI, it's a press-fit, meaning that it should be pulled off gently, using both hands and gentle pressure. After use, the lid needs to be washed, of course. The lid is then replaced in the same way. The instructions for using the pot to prewash the rice are a bit confusing, and there are LOTS of marks in the pot's interior.

4. Its capacity is small. If you are cooking for yourself, for a couple or for a small family/group, for one meal a day, it will meet your needs nicely. If you eat rice twice a day, and don't mind resetting to cook it for the second meal, this will still meet your needs. Otherwise, consider a fuzzy logic rice cooker with larger capacity.

5. When cooking anything other than white rice, mild overflowing can occur. I have found it makes sense to start with no more than 1.5 cups (using their cup, which is about 6 oz.) of raw rice the first time around. Likewise for the porridge feature. FYI, a little olive oil (> 1 tsp) reduces foaming and overflow, if you aren't a purist. It works when you're cooking pasta, too, which is why I tried it.

6. An old toothbrush is handy to clean the underside of the press-fit lid near the vent, and also along the top of the lid near the hinge. Don't put clean-up off, either. It doesn't get easier when it dries.

7. If you've pushed this appliance and are dealing with an overflow extending to the cooking surface, unplug this appliance. Use a wet cotton (NOT microfiber or polyester!)cloth to clean the heating element area.

Bon appetit!

This is an excellent addition to the scanpan collection. Its stackable, so like bamboo steamers you can set several on top of one another and steam several items at once. Great for dim sum.

As an avid quilter, this press has made pressing my quilt squares and design pieces a snap. It cuts my pressing time in half and holds my seams for piece quilting like a dream. I would recommend this NON steam press to all quilters. There is never any worry about water spots or leakage on your fabric. And when pressing my everyday shirts and pants, I have the option of the spritz spray bottle that is included if necessary. I found that the tempature control works exceptional for any fabric or clothing attire that I pressed. I will definitely tell all the members of my sewing guild about the many wonders of the Simplicity SP100 press.

Tiger is known for great rice cookers. Usually their models are made in Japan, but this model is made in China and the price is low because of it. It cooks rice like any other rice cooker of Tiger's and I have had no problems with it. While its not fuzzy, this is a decent rice cooker, and the latest Tiger model.

I have used Zojirushi rice cookers for many years. I just recently upgraded to this one.
You really can't go wrong with any of the Zojirushi rice cookers. This one just heats the entire bowl evenly, instead of just applying heat to the bottom of the bowl.
It has menu settings for many different types of rice - white rice, harder white, softer white, brown rice, mixed rice, gaba brown rice.
It makes absolutely perfect rice. It is, of course, critical that you rinse rice first or you'll wind up with a starchy sticky bowl of glop, but thats the same with any machine. Just remember to rinse thoroughly first.
My only complaint is that until now, all the Zojirushi's have had a retracting electric cord. Very convenient. This one is their newest, highest priced rice cooker, and it does NOT have a retracting cord. Just a plain old cord that hangs there. Makes storage a little more of a pain.
Other than that a fabulous machine - you should try one.

When I moved to Japan i fell in love with japanese sticky rice... i tried a few other machines and this one just seemed to give the rice the perfect stick!!! Works great, have had it for about a year, and use it almost daily.

LOVE IT!!!

Cant find any negative things to say about this made in Japan Zojirushi rice cooker. Make sure when you buy zojirushi items that you get the made in japan version. I know for sure that ZAC10, ZAC18, KCC05, VBC-18 are all made in Japan. The others like MYC, PC models are made in China. I like these much better because they have the legendary quality of made in Japan models. It makes all sorts of rice and you can also make dishes inside the cooker. I also like to steam things like dumplings and chinese bread.

I bought this rice cooker about 3 months ago to replace an old Zojirushi that seemed to be not as effective at keeping the rice fresh and warm as well as it used to. I was quite happy with the old one otherwise, and for many years. I've used the new cooker about twice a week for white Korean rice. I have mostly complaints. First, there's no spatula holder. For this amount of money, it's ridiculous not to have a spatula holder. Second, the rice takes twice as long to cook (40 minutes instead of 20). Third, although I make only 2 cups of rice at a time, the cooker is really too small. Because 2 cups of rice, when cooked, takes up almost all of the space in the cooker, it is difficult to fluff up the rice when it's done. My mother said a 3-cup rice cooker was not a good idea. Why didn't I listen to her?

This is a nice compact size, esp if you have limited counter space. Perfect for two people, was also fine when we had 2 friends over for dinner. If you cook 2.5 cups of rice, it is perfect for 4-5 people. I always fluff in the bowl or plate I serve on to. If you are not picky about "fluffing", it is really no big deal if you can't fluff in the cooker. Not having any spoon holder is a pain. Love the timer feature. Makes perfect jook or rice porridge, as well as tapioca/taro dessert. We cook rice everyday so this was a nice change from using our 15 year old steamer style pot.

i like this rice cooker a lot. although the cooking time is long but the rice always turned out fluffy and nice.