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The battle to invent the automatic rice cooker

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Re: The battle to invent the automatic rice cooker

#121

Post by oehtXRwMkIs »

jeffrallen wrote: post #120

Alton Brown taught me: No single taskers in the kitchen, except for the fire extinguisher. I don't see what's so hard: put in rice, wash it, fill cold water to one finger joint above the rice, boil, cook slow 7 mins, turn off leaving covered, wait at least 5 more mins while finishing sauce (but up to 15!), fluff, serve. Pots are for cooking. Machines are for other stuff.

Many believe the rice cooker to be an exception to this, especially when you're cooking rice for your family every single day. It's just easier, and when you do something constantly, even minor improvements help save time and effort.

I think you have to follow the no unitasker rule in moderation. If you eat salad every day for example, I don't think it's a bad idea to have a salad spinner, when you can "easily" rinse and drain by hand.

Re: The battle to invent the automatic rice cooker

#122

Post by Torkel »

kijin wrote: post #81
Torkel wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We have a cuckoo rice cooker in Sweden (purchased in Korea). It is great! Our cuckoo is a preassure cooker, and the rice it makes is the best I’ve had. We currently live in Tokyo, and the Panasonic we got here is not as good as the cuckoo. Maybe because the power here is weaker?

The Japanese Kamado referred to in the article is related to Korean Gamasot [1][2], with one crucial difference. The Korean version has a heavy, close-fitting, holeless iron lid that helps maintain a higher-than-atmospheric pressure inside the cooking vessel. Higher pressure = higher boiling point = higher cooking temperature = different taste. Korean rice cookers modeled after the Gamasot are basically autoclaves. T…

Good info! I didn’t know this :)

Re: The battle to invent the automatic rice cooker

#123

Post by tmd83 »

_5659 wrote: post #100

I grew up cooking rice on the stove. My mother preferred it this way because she liked crisping the bottom. It's definitely an art. Even picking what kind of rice you want is an art. Even slight variations in your technique can yield wildly different results. How much you rinse the rice changes the gluten content and stickiness, how long you let it soak changes the texture and size. Things like water quality, pot mat…

72 hours? Doesn't it get dry. My brother bought a cheap Cuckoo one (isn't available in country) that can keep it for 12 hours I guess but it starts to dry up after a few. Not sure if it will be germ free for longer but not really edible. Is that a capability of high end cooker or there's some more secret to it?

Re: The battle to invent the automatic rice cooker

#124

Post by twic »

jeffrallen wrote: post #120

Alton Brown taught me: No single taskers in the kitchen, except for the fire extinguisher. I don't see what's so hard: put in rice, wash it, fill cold water to one finger joint above the rice, boil, cook slow 7 mins, turn off leaving covered, wait at least 5 more mins while finishing sauce (but up to 15!), fluff, serve. Pots are for cooking. Machines are for other stuff.

I have a multi-cooker which is basically a rice cooker with a microchip. I regularly cook rice, lentils, and stews in it, and have cooked bread and cakes in it in the past, although mostly as a stunt.

Re: The battle to invent the automatic rice cooker

#125

Post by nikkwong »

amphibian87 wrote: post #103
smichel17 wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you have an electric kettle, you can sidestep this problem -- add boiling water and keep the stovetop flame on low the whole time. Then it's just a matter of turning off the heat at 15 minutes and uncovering at 20. I will admit, despite how trivial it may sound, that it is nice not having to worry about turning off the heat. It means you can walk away and get into some other task more deeply. However, I don't thin…

I am a pressure cooker proselytizer. Seriously, they can cook dehydrated beans in 35 minutes-no soaking required. However, rice does poorly with my model. The grains are too small and can become lodged in the safety features.

Your comment just inspired a flurry of research on my end which resulted in purchasing a $200 air-fryer pressure-cooker combo (highly unusual behavior for my scrupulous self). Expecting good things to come and ultra excited for it. Any tips on things to cook, favorites, etc? Thank you for your post. :)

Re: The battle to invent the automatic rice cooker

#126

Post by enjeyw »

Growing up I always assumed a rice cooker was one of those things I'd never be able to live without - for years my family used one almost every day.

When I moved out of home, I didn't buy a rice cooker initially, because you don't strictly need one to make rice. I was amazed at how convenient making decent quality rice on the stove was! It cooks faster, and there's less cleaning up afterwards.

Many years have past and I still don't own a rice cooker. I'm not sure I'll ever own one gain.

Re: The battle to invent the automatic rice cooker

#127

Post by summitsummit »

enjeyw wrote: post #126

Growing up I always assumed a rice cooker was one of those things I'd never be able to live without - for years my family used one almost every day. When I moved out of home, I didn't buy a rice cooker initially, because you don't strictly need one to make rice. I was amazed at how convenient making decent quality rice on the stove was! It cooks faster, and there's less cleaning up afterwards. Many years have past an…

I've had the exact same experience.

Re: The battle to invent the automatic rice cooker

#128

Post by ubercow13 »

kijin wrote: post #81
Torkel wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We have a cuckoo rice cooker in Sweden (purchased in Korea). It is great! Our cuckoo is a preassure cooker, and the rice it makes is the best I’ve had. We currently live in Tokyo, and the Panasonic we got here is not as good as the cuckoo. Maybe because the power here is weaker?

The Japanese Kamado referred to in the article is related to Korean Gamasot [1][2], with one crucial difference. The Korean version has a heavy, close-fitting, holeless iron lid that helps maintain a higher-than-atmospheric pressure inside the cooking vessel. Higher pressure = higher boiling point = higher cooking temperature = different taste. Korean rice cookers modeled after the Gamasot are basically autoclaves. T…

How would you describe the difference in taste?

Re: The battle to invent the automatic rice cooker

#129

Post by summitsummit »

cannabis_sam wrote: post #114
ThePhysicist wrote: post #10

For people that regularly eat rice, buying a decent rice cooker is really a no-brainer. Cooking rice in a pan is possible and you can obtain good results if you're careful and turn the heat down at the right moment before the rice starts to stick to the bottom of the pan and burn, it's easy to miss though. A rice cooker makes this process so much easier though: Put in the rice, the adequate amount of water, press a b…

I’m not sure I really eat rice regularly enough to justify the “expense” of a rice cooker (it was a pretty cheap one, and the only feature is the curie point thing. Works like a charm tho!) BUT, I’ve gotten a lot of ridicule and pushback from friends and family, as if it’s somehow “cheating“ not to cook your rice in a pot/pan.. These people are all northern europeans... what do they know about rice??? I try to point…

There are other forms of costs it introduces besides strictly the monetary cost of the device itself.

Re: The battle to invent the automatic rice cooker

#130

Post by arh68 »

I am amazed how well my Zojirushis make rice. One can make the same rice two different ways, consistently (white, umami). No burnt layer, no undercooked rice. I think the pressure/induction makes slightly better rice than the standard fuzzy logic; there's no restaurant near me whose rice I'd prefer over my p/i Zoji.
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