Discussion Board

I have an Aroma rice cooker that I have had for at least 10 years - I love it and it is still going strong. It was fairly inexpensive - probably an early version of the ones posted by others. My has just a "cook" button to press and it works marvelously for every kind of rice or grains I have cooked in it.

Before I got a rice cooker, I "poo-poo-ed" the notion that I needed one - it was simple to cook rice, why would I spend the money on an appliance that basically did just one thing. Then, I got one and Oh my! I love it! I don't even measure anything anymore - dump some rice in, eyeball water to cover the rice, cover it and push the button - the rice is perfect every time.

I vote "YES!" for the rice cooker!!

Sharon

not sure why you'd want to put the cooked rice back into the original pot ?
Once it's done, we eat some and I leave any uneaten rice sit in the collander/sieve for up to an hour or so then empty the cooked rice into a bowl, cover and refrigerate.

Shell-belle,

Okay, maybe I'm confused... with your method, you cook the rice in one pot for 20 minutes, drain it, then stick it in another pot, with teh colander on top to steam it, but its still not ready to eat for another 10 minutes right?

So can it steam for that 10 minutes in the pot it cooked in, or would the fact that the pot it cooked in is hot, mess up the steaming process by being too hot?

I'll also have to check out the rice cookers, they sound like they are great and I am thinking I imght want to go that way, as now that I have tried these Success boil in a bag, I am enjoying properly cooked rice a lot better then what I was making

yes you could steam the rice in the pot you cooked it in but to me it is easier to just use 2 pots. with the way you are describing, you will have to pour the rice & the water you boil it in through a metal sieve & into a bowl or some sort of container and then pour the cooking water back into the pot you boiled the rice in so it just means more pouring and another extra step.
more work - right? i'm trying to keep it simple.

here is jaime oliver showing how he cooks rice.
the way i do it is similar except because i cook brown rice
and sometimes i add mixed grains-i bring the water to a more vigorous boil and i boil for 20-22 minutes. when i pour
the rice and water into the metal sieve over a second pot I add more water & then i cover the
sieve and the pot over the water and steam the rice an additional 10-12 minutes over a lower flame. jamie is doing white rice so he doesn't do the steaming over water second step that i do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0oz1RhcN9I

Okay, I get it! Sorry, I did get that the steaming process took place over the water it was being cooked in for some reason, though now that I get it that would seam obvious since it is "steaming".

Thanks for taking the time to help me understand it... what does adding more water at the second stage for steaming do for you, doesn't that just cool the water down?

Thanks so much! Sorry I seem to be having a hard time with this... perhaps its related to the fact that before trying to eat healthy I basically just cooked soups and ramen and hot dogs in the micro wave and made PB&J and meat type sandwhiches so didn't have to really cook.

Thanks all for all the great responses I really appreciate it!

Would a "20 cup" Aroma rice cooker work reasonably well for making quantities of brown rice suitable for a single person? I'm looking to cook several meals worth at a time. Say, 4-6 cups of cooked rice. It would appear from the manual that it would -- http://www.aroma-housewares.com/manuals/ARC-1010SB_InstructionManual.pdf

I have a really cheap cooker that I'd love to replace. Something like -- http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-RC3406-Cooked-Cooker/dp/B000UWD9OW It cooks the rice at a high boil, rather than a simmer, causing excess starch to be released. The grains break down a bit and the rice is sticky. If I simmer on a stove top, I get a good result. Still, the convenience of a rice cooker is wonderful.

Zojirushi is out of my price range.

you are welcome. glad to help. no need to apologize - you are learning and that is fine - everyone has to learn and we all go through learning stages. when the rice is finished boiling [simmering ] for 20 minutes, it has absorbed most of the water [ or veg broth ]. so you will need to add a little HOT water for the 2nd step--the 10 minute steaming part of the process.

I bought the cheapest rice cooker at Target to see if it was something worth investing in. It was an Aroma for 15.00. One flip switch for "cook" and warm" and an indicator light. Best purchase ever, and it works so well for us, that I have no intention of upgrading! I've cooked all kinds of rice and grains in it, and just use equal parts rice and water. Flip the switch to "cook", walk away and do other things, and it adjusts to "warm" automatically when finished. It's small and does not take up any counter space while in use. I store it in the cabinet when I'm done!

I always cook my rice in the oven. I put 1 part rice to 2 parts water in a pyrex glass pan, (just make sure the pan is no more than 2/3 full). Cover with aluminum foil, seal the edges and poke a few holes in the top to let the steam out. Then just pop it in the oven at 350 for an hour. Done.