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(More customer reviews)I finally convinced my wife to replace the old but still functional single switch rice cooker I'd owned for about 10 years. I have longed for something with an off switch so rice doesn't burn to the bottom when I forget to unplug it. This guy was the ticket.
It seems like a fairly complex machine but its really easy to use once you understand the setup. Its well designed. The pot is easy to clean and the inner lid snaps off for easy cleaning as well.
I have to say the rice it produces is some of the best I have had. I did a side by side cookoff with the old and the new rice cookers. The same rice just seemed to have more consistant texture and better strong flavor. Definatley worth the upgrade since we do lots of rice.
The one drawback I found is with the somewhat misleading specifications. They say this is a "5 cup" rice cooker. So I'm thinking 5 cups=40oz. Plenty big enough for a family of 4. Well its not quite that much. It seems in Asia (on the metric system) their idea of a cup is a teacup. If you look at the picture and see the two little cups next to the machine, it will hold 5 of THOSE cups. Those cups are approximatley 6oz each. So really it is a 4 (American) cup rice cooker, not 5. Of course 3/4 of a cup is about how much rice you'll eat in a meal so one run of this machine should be able to produce rice for 5. If you need more that that consider the NS-ZAC18 10 cup (8 cup) model.
The trick to the machine is to use the little cups that come with it. You measure out a few "cups" of rice and dump it into the pot. Then you add water and fill it up to the graduated mark on the inside of the pot. So if you toss in 2 cups you add water until you hit the 2 cup mark. It has different markings for Brown, White and Sushi rice.
Before discovering the proper way of using the smaller "cups" I used a regular 8oz cup on some Jasmine rice (then filled it to the designated level). It still came out way better than my rice cooker. It was firm but not hard and full of flavor. So if you screw up or loose your little "cup" you can still get great rice as long as the stickness is not absolutely critical to the receipe.
The manual makes a huge deal out of its ability to handle some "no rinse" rice who's milling technology was proudly developed in Japan. They devote pages to the setting and cooking it, but actually its pretty similar to the regular rice, you just use the green cup instead of the clear cup.
All in all this is a great little machine. If you want the best and are willing to pay the bucks this is the one to get. You will not feel your money is wasted.
Update:
Its now 6 years later and countless batches of rice and this little thing is still going strong. The pot has a few scratches from years of continous daily use but its holding up.
We expanded our use of this little gem. I've learned not to think of it as just a rice producing device but as a rice cooker + modified crock pot. My wife started using it to produce porriage and then later soup. She'll pour the ingredients in the night before, set the timer and her breakfast is ready 30 minutes before she wakes up. You can use it for grain soups, porriage, oatmeal and more. We buy packs of Thai flavored rice that say were supposed to cook on the stove. We dump the stuff in and hit go. They come out plenty tastey.
There is a quick cooking cycle that we use a lot. Shaves about 20 minutes off the cook time. Flavor suffers a little (though its still great) but when your in a rush...
Perhaps the most amazing thing however is what it does to brown rice. As a kid I was never fond of brown rice. Too hard and crunch and I was never that big on bran flavor. We got some brown rice and started cooking it in this thing and it was a whole new world. I don't know how it did it but it came out soft, a little chewey and decent tasting. Brown rice was now something worth eating vs avoiding.
So if for whatever reason you are looking to switch to brown rice but not thrilled with the flavor do yourself a favor and get one of these units. It makes it a whole new experience.
We haven't tried steaming anything yet. Maybe when our steamer breaks..
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Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 5-1/2-Cup Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker and Warmer, Premium WhiteProduce restaurant-quality rice at home with the help of this 680-watt computerized rice cooker and warmer. Simply fill the inner pot with up to 5-1/2 cups of uncooked rice, add a measured amount of water, select the food type, and press "cook" from the user-friendly control panel. Multi-menu selections using advanced Neuro Fuzzy logic technology control the temperature for efficient cooking of many different types of rice including white, sushi, mixed, porridge, sweet, semi-brown, brown, rinse-free, and quick cooking. The unit's black, thick, inner pan, which promotes spherical heating, provides a Dupont Teflon nonstick coating that prevents rice from sticking, while stay-cool side handles make the inner cooking pan simple to remove for quick cleanup.
The rice cooker also provides automatic keep-warm and extended keep-warm cycles that maintain an ideal serving temperature, and its reheat cycle allows cooked rice to be reheated without overcooking. For added convenience, the rice cooker provides an LCD clock and timer, a handy "done" signal, a removable washable lid, a retractable power cord to keep countertops looking tidy, and a contemporary white exterior, which makes for an attractive addition to any kitchen countertop. Accessories include two measuring cups (one for regular rice and one for rinse-free rice), a nonstick rice spoon/scooper, a rice spoon holder that attaches to the side of the machine, and easy-to-follow recipes for getting started. The rice cooker measures approximately 14 by 8 by 9 inches and carries a one-year limited warranty.
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