Plainly put, Rice is one of the most consumed kinds of food in the world. The Japanese, Chinese and some parts of Africa come to mind but the craze for different varieties of rice has hit the western world as well.
The problem is that rice is a lot harder to get right than it seems as first. This is because elements like temperature, pressure and water level can make or mar the cooking.
This is the problem rice cookers are here to solve. The process is entirely automated and calculated so you end up with perfectly cooked rice all of the time!
But of course there are indeed too many types and models of rice cookers with different abilities. They vary from the top-notch big brand products to the entry-level ones. Well, that is the purpose of this review. We will be providing necessary information on the best cookers so you can make an informed decision when you choose to buy.
We will be judging on two main criteria:
List of Contents
Cooking:
What is the capacity of the best rice cooker? How many cups? How many varieties of rice can be cooked? How perfect is the cooked rice? How does the cooker handle heating? Is the cooking even and healthy?
Convenience:
How easy is it to clean? Does it a have a keep-warm feature? Delay-timing? Is the inner pot non-stick? How much does the cooker do on its own?
Based on the above, these are the top 10 rice cookers in the market:
5 Best Rice Cooker 2020 – Complete Reviews
1. Aroma 20-Cup (Cooked) Digital Rice Cooker and Food Steamer
Specs
- Brand: Aroma Housewares
- Model: ARC-730G
- Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 11.2 x 10.8 inches
- Item Weight: 5 pounds
- Color: Black
- Capacity: 20 cups
- Exterior: Stainless Steel and Black Plastic
- Accessories: Measuring cup, steam tray, serving spatula
Cooking
This Aroma rice cooker makes the perfect rice, stew and even steams meat and vegetables. It is able to prepare 4 to 20 cups of any type of rice, affording users a lot of room. Also, it rids condensation through a built-in water reservoir. It cooks both brown and white rice to perfection with just the press of a button.
This rice cooker can also be used as a food steamer, and steaming can be set from 5 to 30 minutes and automatically shuts off when the time has passed. The steam tray allows for healthy steaming of meat and vegetables right above the cooking rice.
Convenience
Once the rice is ready, it will automatically switch to keep-warm mode so there is no need for monitoring. The slow cook function lets you leave the cooking and attend to other business without fear of drying or overcooking. You can set up everything the night before and press the button when you are ready to cook.
The 15 hour delay is simply incredible! You can set the timer to whatever time in the day you would like. It means that you can cook rice in the morning, leave for work and return in the evening to meet you rice hot and ready.
This 20-cup rice cooker has a tempered glass lid that lets you monitor the process without having to disturb the cooking. Aroma reduces the time required to watch over your cooking. You can go on watching tv, reading a novel or doing anything you call fun why the cooker prepares a healthy and delicious meal.
The inner cooking pot is nonstick and this pot and other accessories – measuring cup, steam tray and serving spatula – clean easily in the dishwasher.
The digital controls are easy to use and programmable including automatic keep-warm, white rice, brown rice, steam and slow cook functions.
Pros
- 20 cups is a considerable lot! You can cook for a whole gathering!
- The slow cooker allows you delay the start time
- Automatic keep-warm function
- Steams vegetables and meat
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2. Aroma 60-Cup (Cooked) Commercial Rice Cooker
Specs
- Brand: Aroma Housewares
- Model: ARC-1033E
- Product Dimensions: 17.7 x 17.7 x 12.6 inches
- Item Weight: 17.5 pounds
- Color: White
- Capacity: 60 cups
- Exterior: Heavy-duty Stainless Steel and Black Plastic
- Accessories: Measuring cup, Serving spatula
- Warranty: 1 year
Cooking
60 cups of rice! The aroma 60-cup is undoubtedly a commercial cooker; ideal for anytime large quantities of rice needs to be cooked like restaurants and big events. In less than 45 minutes, this cooker finishes 60 cups of cooked rice! Monstrous!
Keep it in mind that it can, of course, cook smaller amounts or rice as well so its large capacity is no disadvantage in any way. Speaking in terms of storage, this cooker takes an incredibly small amount of space considering how much it can cook!
You only need to put in the needed amount of rice and water and set the button on. The cooker automatically senses when the rice is cooked and switches to warm mode to keep the rice warm and fluffy. This also prevents drying or overcooking. The hinged, locking lid retains the moisture, keeping rice fresh for hours.
Convenience
Add water, push a button and walk away! The controls automatically switch to warm mode once the rice has cooked to perfection. So you are free to work in the kitchen or anywhere else. The heavy duty stainless lid and aluminium inner cooking pot ensure durability so you can count on enjoying loads of perfectly cooked rice for years to come.
This aroma cooker comes with a measuring tumbler and serving spatula that make cooking and serving a breeze. The removable inner pot makes clean-up a lot easier.
This simple and functional electric cooker saves time and energy, allowing to you to focus on other chores while it does the cooking.
The non-stick base of this commercial rice cooker ensures that rice does not stick to the bottom. It also removes easily for quick cleanup.
Pros
- Prepares up to 60 cups of cooked rice!
- Heavy duty stainless steel lid and durable body
- Easy-to-clean, Nonstick, removable cooking pot
- Designed for continuous commercial use
- Switches automatically to warm mode once rice is cooked
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3. Hirbo 13-in-1 Asian-style Multifunctional Rice Cooker
Specs
- Brand: Hirbo
- Model: EB-FC57
- Product Dimensions: 14 x 9 x 8 inches
- Item Weight: 11 pounds
- Color: Black, Silver
- Capacity: 5 liters for up to 8 persons
- Exterior: Stainless Steel and Black Plastic
- Warranty: 2 years
Cooking
This cooker has 13 preset automatic cooking programs: Rice/Cook, Fish, Meat, Soup, Pasta, Steam, Fry, Cake, Yogurt, Steam, Rice Crust, Reheat and Preset function. This allows for a wide variety of delicious possibilities. This unit is incredibly versatile. These cooking programs are optimized and all produce tasteful and nutritious food.
High-tech fuzzy logic offers ultimate heating abilities. The advanced heating technology thoroughly cooks foods every time. Unlike traditional rice cookers which heat from bottom, this 13-in-1 cooker uses 3D heating technology. It heats from bottom and from side. This way, there is no chance of partial cooking. The food is cooked evenly and efficiently.
The heating technology is also variable. Unlike traditional cookers which heat similarly throughout, this cooker heats differently at different times of the process.
This cooker uses micro-pressures cooking technology. The cooking is done at 1.3 atmospheric pressures under which the boiling point is slightly higher than the boiling point of 100C. Under the higher boiling temperature, protein and starches are better converted into amino acids and simple sugars, making the food tastier and more nutritious.
Convenience
Set the cooker before the cooker before you go to bed at night to begin cooking your breakfast in the morning or use the convenient reheat function to warm up leftovers.
The large LCD screen and 45-degree tilted display let you read the status of your dish while it’s cooking. This unit is easy to read, eliminating any cooking errors. The display is tilted so that it can be viewed easily without bending, for pregnant women and old people.
The inner nonstick pot of this cooker is super thick for higher heating efficiency, durability and easy cleaning. With a simplistic yet elegant design, the exterior uses high grade high brightness material which is also heat resistant and easy to clean.
Both the inner pot and top lids are removable for easy cleaning.
Pros
- 13 cooking programs!
- 3D heating: dynamic and variable heating; micro pressured cooking and automatic warming.
- Super thick inner pot.
- Removable inner lids
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4. Zojirushi Micom Rice Cooker and Warmer NS-TSC18
Specs
- Brand: Zojirushi
- Model: ARC-1033E
- Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 9.9 x 15 inches
- Item Weight: 11.9 pounds
- Color: Stainless brown
- Capacity: 5.5 cups (11 cups of white rice, 9 cups of brown rice)
- Exterior: Heavy-duty Stainless Steel and Black Plastic
- Accessories: Measuring cup, Serving spatula, spatula holder
- Warranty: 1 year
Cooking
The Micom rice cooker and warmer makes 20 cups of cooked rice. It not only cooks flawless rice but also comes with steaming basket to double as a steamer and a cake menu setting to bake cakes.
This cooker includes a number of cooking options including white rice/sushi, mixed rice, porridge, sweet, brown, cake, steam, and quick cooking. The black thick inner cooking pan provides even heating.
This micom cooker doubles as a steamer. Included is a steaming basket accessory that lets you steam food while your rice cooks!
Convenience
This rice cooker possesses an interchangeable melody and beep signal to indicate when the cooking is done. The inner lid is easily detachable allowing for easy washing.
MICOM (Microcomputer) technology makes this category of rice cooker a lot more advanced. Essentially, the micro chip does all the thinking for you, as far as adjusting cooking times and temperatures according to the type of rice you are cooking, and timing the soaking of the raw grains as well as the steaming part.
The “fuzzy logic” of MICOM fine tunes this adjustment to adjust to various types of rice which all have different cooking requirements. The thermal sensor is focal to the process; it is a small round button at the bottom of the inner body of the cooker. As the inner pan rests on it and activates the sensor, the cooking process starts, and this sensor monitors the time and temperature.
The multiple functions on the menu let you do a lot of things with your cooking. The LCD control panel is easy to read. A clock and two delay timer memory settings allow you to delay cooking up to 13 hours, so you can set it and forget it.
Pros
- Detachable inner lid for cleaning
- Black thick inner cooking pan provides even heating
- Microcomputer technology automatically adjusts temperature and time
- Special menu setting for cooking proper brown rice
- Extra large LCD display
- Delay time setting lets you delay cooking.
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5. Aroma 8-Cup (Cooked) Digital Rice Cooker and Food Steamer
Specs
- Brand: Aroma Housewares
- Model: ARC-914SBD
- Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 9.3 x 8.7 inches
- Item Weight: 4.2 pounds
- Color: Stainless brown
- Capacity: 8 cups (cooked) and 4 cups (uncooked)
- Exterior: Heavy-duty Stainless Steel and Black Plastic
- Accessories: Measuring cup, Serving spatula, soup ladle, steam tray, recipe booklet
- Warranty: 1 year
Cooking
This cooker perfectly cooks 2 to 8 cups of any variety of cooked rice. This convenient cooker includes specialized functions for both white and brown rice. With the press of a button, you can enjoy, delicious one-pot dishes, healthy steamed meals, restaurant-quality rice.
Unique Sensor Logic Technology uses an on-board micro-computer that ‘thinks’ for itself to automatically optimize cooking temperature to enhance flavor and texture.
This rice cooker can also be used as a food steamer, and steaming can be set from 5 to 30 minutes and automatically shuts off when the time has passed. The steam tray allows for healthy steaming of meat and vegetables right above the cooking rice.
Convenience
The 15 hour delay is simply incredible! You can set the timer to whatever time in the day you would like. It means that you can cook rice in the morning, leave for work and return in the evening to meet you rice hot and ready.
The digital controls are easy to use and programmable including automatic keep-warm, white rice, brown rice, steam and slow cook functions.
Once the rice is ready, it will automatically switch to keep-warm mode so there is no need for monitoring. The slow cook function lets you leave the cooking and attend to other business without fear of drying or overcooking. You can set up everything the night before and press the button when you are ready to cook.
Aroma reduces the time required to watch over your cooking. You can go on watching TV, reading a novel or doing anything you call fun why the cooker prepares a healthy and delicious meal.
The inner cooking pot is nonstick and this pot and other accessories – measuring cup, steam tray and serving spatula – clean easily in the dishwasher.
Pros
- User-friendly design
- Streams meat and vegetables as rice cooks
- Unique Sensor Logic Technology
- The slow cooker allows you delay the start time
- Automatic keep-warm function
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6. Zojirushi NHS-10 6-Cup (Uncooked) Rice Cooker/Steamer & Warmer
Specs
- Brand: Zojirushi
- Model: NHS-10
- Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 9.1 x 7.8 inches
- Item Weight: 4.7 pounds
- Color: White
- Capacity: 6 cups
- Exterior: Heavy-duty Stainless Steel and Black Plastic
- Accessories: Measuring cup, Steaming tray
- Warranty: 1 year
Cooking
This cooker cooks up to 3 cups of dry rice – white or brown and can keep it warm for up to five hours.
The power cord supplies electricity to the external vessel which produces heat via the heating elements. The inner cooking vessel fits inside this part above the heating plate at the bottom. The electric sensor regulates the temperature of the plate. Once the right is cooked, it even cuts off power.
The rice cooker is efficient and time-saving, resulting in perfectly cooked rice all the time. Many people have a problem with cooking rice on a stove because the burner cannot be turned down enough to steam the rice resulting in partly scorched or burnt rice. Zojirushi rice cooker guarantees fluffy and delicious rice.
With this cooker, you can also steam vegetables, fish, chicken. You can use the rice cooker to make your entire meal!
Convenience
A glass lid allows users monitor the cooking process
When cooking is finished, the switch and light go off and the unit automatically goes into its keep-warm mode. The stay-cool handles on the side of the cooker allow it to be moved easily.
Also, you do not need to stand over the cooker while it cooks. Simply set and leave. The controls are pretty straightforward – only two buttons for “cook” or “keep warm”.
The durable nonstick inner cooking pans and the steaming tray are removable and allow for easy and quick cleaning. The outer coating is stain free, so that you can simply wipe off anything that spills. The electric cord id detachable so you can store it in a drawer when it’s not in use.
Pros
- Easy to use single switch control
- Stay cool handles for easy transport
- Durable nonstick inner cooking pan
- See-through glass lid and stay-cool lid
- Short, detachable power cord
- Automatic stay warm mode
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7. Tiger JKT-S18U-K 10-Cup (Uncooked) Induction Heating Rice Cooker
Specs
- Brand: Tiger
- Model: JKT-S18U-K
- Product Dimensions: 15.2 X 11.3 X 9.8 inches
- Item Weight: 12.6 pounds
- Color: Black
- Capacity: 10 cups
- Exterior: Stainless Steel
- Accessories: 5 layer metal + 3 layer coating inner pot with grip handle, “Tacook” cooking plate and steam pan, cookbook
- Warranty: 1 year
Cooking
This computerized cooker comes with 4 in 1 functions (rice cooking, synchro-cooking, slow cooker, bread baking) and 11 computerized cooking menu settings. Select plain, ultra, or quick button to cook white rice. Quick mode will cook rice at the shortest time. The new ultra setting will bring out maximum sweetness, flavor and stickiness. This menu will soak the rice twice as long as with the plain menu and take extra time to heat and cook delicious rice. Synchro-cooking function will cook rice and side dish together, using ‘tacook’ cooking plate. Other options include jasmine, brown, mixed, porridge, slow cook, oatmeal and bread baking function.
With the new “tacook” synchronized cooking function, this 10 cup rice cooker is able to prepare two dishes simultaneously with the power of induction heat.
This cooker guarantees a perfectly cooked meal all the time. Tiger’s cooking plate has a peculiar design that keeps the flavors from the cooking plate away from the flavor and texture of the rice.
Induction heating system is the most advanced as it cooks from an alternating electric current from the inner pot. It is able to make quick adjustments to change in temperature, cooking rice faster.
Convenience
The LCD control panel is easy to read. The lid can be removed easily and disassembled for washing. The clock and timer function let you know the status of the cooking.
MICOM (Microcomputer) technology makes this category of rice cooker a lot more advanced. Essentially, the micro chip does all the thinking for you, as far as adjusting cooking times and temperatures according to the type of rice you are cooking, and timing the soaking of the raw grains as well as the steaming part.
The “fuzzy logic” of MICOM fine tunes this adjustment to adjust to various types of rice which all have different cooking requirements. The thermal sensor is focal to the process; it is a small round button at the bottom of the inner body of the cooker. As the inner pan rests on it and activates the sensor, the cooking process starts, and this sensor monitors the time and temperature.
Pros
- 11 computerized cooking menus
- Detachable lid for easy cleaning
- Tacook cooking plate allow for two dishes
- MICOM technology
- 5 layer metal + 3 layer coating inner pot
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8. Zojirushi NP-HCC10XH Induction Heating System Rice Cooker and Warmer
Specs
- Brand: Zojirushi
- Model: NP-HCC10XH
- Product Dimensions: 14 x 10 x 8 inches
- Item Weight: 9 pounds
- Color: Grey
- Capacity: 5.5 cups
- Exterior: Stainless Steel
- Accessories: rice spatula, measuring cup, cooking pan, instruction manual
- Warranty: 1 year limited warranty on parts and labor
Cooking
Induction heating technology is superior and efficiently supplies heat, preparing flawless rice all the time. This technology is able to make precise adjustments to the cooking. With the help of magnetic fields, the cooker is able to alter temperature and air circulation.
This cooker heats rice from all sides, making sure that everything is cooked properly. It also features a keep warm function that allows you to keep the food hot for longer periods of time. This means that you can go about cooking other dishes without worrying about cold or dry rice.
This cooker is able to do some more advanced things than the regular cooker. For instance, GABA brown rice is made by increasing the amount of GABA in brown rice.
Convenience
The orange LED control panel is easy to read and features and features an alarm and a clock. The inside pot is removable for easy cleaning. The interior is nonstick so that food can be removed easily. The outside of the cooker has a cool touch to protect from hot contents.
Cooking options include settings for white rice, jasmine white rice, mixed rice, sushi rice, porridge, sweet rice, brown rice, GABA brown rice and quick cooking. This cooker allows you to prepare different kinds of rice without wasting time, altering controls; simply pick any of the above settings and return when it is done.
This cooker insulates the inside of the pot, allowing you keep the rice warm for up to eight hours.
Pros
- Multiple rice types
- Cool touch exterior
- 3D Heating
- Healthy cooking options
- Induction heating
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9. Aroma Simply Stainless 14-Cup (Cooked) Rice Cooker
Specs
Brand: Aroma Housewares
- Model: ARC-747-1NGR
- Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 14.2 x 9.4 inches
- Item Weight: 5 pounds
- Color: Red
- Capacity: 14 cups
- Exterior: Stainless Steel
- Accessories: steam tray, measuring cup and serving spatula
- Warranty: 1 year limited warranty on parts and labor
Cooking
This cooker can be used to prepare 14 cups of top quality rice with the press of a button. The Aroma 14-cup cooker can cook soup, stew, salad, chili and more.
This product includes a steam tray so you can steam meat and vegetables while the rice cooks below. It takes advantage of efficient heat transfer using steam to lock in both flavor and nutrition.
Convenience
Once the rice is ready, it will automatically switch to keep-warm mode so there is no need for monitoring. The slow cook function lets you leave the cooking and attend to other business without fear of drying or overcooking. You can set up everything the night before and press the button when you are ready to cook.
Aroma reduces the time required to watch over your cooking. You can go on watching TV, reading a novel or doing anything you call fun why the cooker prepares a healthy and delicious meal.
The tempered glass lid allows you to monitor the cooking rice without letting steam escape.
The inner cooking pot is nonstick and this pot and other accessories – measuring cup, steam tray and serving spatula – clean easily in the dishwasher.
Pros
- Keeps cooked food warm for hours
- Steams vegetables and meat
- Nonstick inner pot and accessories are easy to clean
- Full view tempered glass
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10. Proctor Silex 10-Cups (Cooked) Rice Cooker
Specs
- Brand: Proctor Silex Commercial
- Model: 37560
- Product Dimensions: 18.9 x 19.2 x 16.4 inches
- Item Weight: 21 pounds
- Color: Silver
- Capacity: 14 cups
- Exterior: Stainless Steel
- Accessories: measuring cup and serving spatula
- Warranty: 1 year global care warranty
Cooking
Rice varieties include white, brown, jasmine and basmati rice; the rice cooker can also prepare grits, macaroni, oatmeal and cheese dishes.
60 cups of rice in one batch! The ProctorSilex is indeed a commercial cooker; ideal for anytime large quantities of rice needs to be cooked like restaurants and big events. In less than 45 minutes, this cooker finishes 60 cups of cooked rice! Monstrous!
You only need to put in the needed amount of rice and water and set the button on. The cooker automatically senses when the rice is cooked and switches to warm mode to keep the rice warm and fluffy. This also prevents drying or overcooking. The hinged, locking lid retains the moisture, keeping rice fresh for hours.
This cooker boasts double walls made of steel, so you know that the 37560 will retain the heat.
Convenience
This ProctorSilex cooker makes cooking as easy as dumping rice, selecting the mode and coming back hours later to meet perfectly cooked, warm rice.
The inner cooking pot has water markings to aid accurate water measurement. It is also easy to remove and clean. The condensation cup collects water that is release doing cooking to leave your counter neat and dry.
Keep it in mind that it can, of course, cook smaller amounts or rice as well so its large capacity is no disadvantage in any way. Speaking in terms of storage, this cooker takes an incredibly small amount of space considering how much it can cook!
The steel lid has a hinged design so it is able to open and close effectively but it remains attached to the base so as to manage counter space.
Pros
- Cooks 60 cups of rice!
- Insulated, double-wall stainless steel
- Non-stick inner pot
- Automatic switch to warm mode
- Moisture cup collects condensation
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Conclusion
Rice cookers are the best. They let you fill the cooker with grains and water, then go on preparing the rest of the meal, assured that the cooker will shut off automatically when the rice is cooked and keep the entire dish warm until you need it.
Unknown to most persons is the fact that rice cookers are one of the most useful kitchen tools. Asides making perfect, nutritious rice, they can steam all sorts of food like meat and vegetables.
Get a good rice cooker! You have nothing to lose!