How Do I Choose the Best Digital Rice Cooker?

Cooking rice is a straightforward process, but if you cook a lot of rice or cook it frequently, having a rice cooker can make it more convenient. A digital rice cooker makes it an even more precise process, as many are able to cook rice properly even if you use imprecise measurements for the rice or the water. To choose the best digital rice cooker, you need to find one that is durable, cooks the rice evenly, has plenty of settings for cooking times and warming, and is worth the price, as some models can be expensive.

The first thing to look at when choosing a digital rice cooker is what size cooker is best for you or your family. If you are cooking for one or two people, for example, it’s usually best to get a smaller cooker as larger cookers often don’t cool smaller amounts well. Rice cookers come in many sizes, so there is no need to compromise.

How the rice cooks is very important, and the best models typically will use "fuzzy logic," a computer algorithm that uses the internal sensors of the cooker to measure several variables — such as weight, humidity and temperature — to cook the rice perfectly. Cookers that use induction heating ensure that the rice is cooked evenly throughout the entire pan, although they are not always good at cooking other types of grains. Regardless of the type of heating method, a good digital rice cooker will have several programming options, including a timer to set the cooker ahead of time.

A good digital rice cooker should also be able to cook a variety of types of rice, such as sushi, brown and white rice. After the rice is cooked, it should also be able to keep the rice warm for up to several hours. Although many rice cookers have this feature, be sure to look and ensure you can set the exact time, as some cookers will not allow you to do this.

Digital rice cookers can be found in a variety of stores, particularly those that sell products from Asia, such as an Asian grocery store. Many models of digital cookers are available online as well. Checking review sites is helpful, but be wary of those sites that sell cookers or allow for anonymous posts that might be from employees of a specific company, as the review may be biased.