One of the things I adore about rice cookers (of all types) is that you don’t need to keep an eye on the stove. (It’s not as critical now that I’m retired, but I still love the timer feature.) Instant Pot would have same advantage.
The IP makes absolutely perfect rice.
Before the IP, I made rice in a pot and, like @oldfort, never measured the water but used roughly 3x whatever the recipe called for, then cooked the rice timed per the recipe, poured off or strained the excess water, and set back on the stove (off the heat source) for ten minutes. Perfect every time and no possibility of sticking or burning.
@ChoatieMom that’s how my mom always made rice. Kind of like pasta, she just boiled a lot of water, threw the rice in and cooked for whatever the “correct” time was and then drained it in a colander like pasta. Then back in the hot pot. I don’t recall if she let it sit for any length of time afterward though.
Dh brought his rice cooker with him when we married so I’ve always used that and 25 years later, it is still going!
When I was a kid, I didn’t realize that I like rice because my mother favored using Minute Rice.
It wasn’t until I came to the US that I knew people liked non sticky long grain rice. I used to see it on TV and I would ask my mom why people liked non sticky rice.
Decades ago someone bought me a large and basic rice cooker, perhaps a Sanyo. I still use it for a crowd, but it has been supplanted on the counter by a compact little cooker that cooks several cups of rice at a time, plenty for my solo needs. I still cook brown rice in a pan, but for basic Thai or Japanese rice, the rice cookers are great. My Japanese sister in law has a mysterious machine that does all sorts of tricks, with Japanese buttons, but for me, the basic cooker is sufficient, though something that would cook brown rice sans bubbling over onto the sides might be of interest.
Just a side note about rice water, “Rice water is rich in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, flavanoids and phenolic compounds. In addition, it contains ferulic acid and allantoin, all of which are necessary for skin function.”
When I posted about my grandmother showing me how to make rice, I remembered we used to put rice water (from cooking rice) on mouth sore and it would usually go away in few days.
We don’t throw away water or drain the rice because it has a lot of good vitamins.
Post # 8- using a pot. That’s what we do. H, the noncook knows how to do it. Tried a couple of cheaper rice makers over the decades but they eventually quit working.
H is Indian and the “handful” of rice method his mom uses just doesn’t translate for me. I’m literally a foot taller than she is. My hands are also a lot bigger. I also cook for bigger appetites than her very small one (she’ll serve herself two small spoonfuls).
So- one cup rice (white or brown) plus two cups of water for 20 minutes (or less) after it comes to a boil produces consistently fluffy rice. Also, once I decided to go with basmati rice for more than special occasions it has been the only rice we buy, hence the fluffy value.
There was a National Geographic article about rice around the world several decades ago. It covered different regions and the sticky to longest grain basmati rice. Different kinds suit different cuisines. We will eat the leftover sticky rice from Chinese restaurant meals but we both realized we prefer the separate grain varieties.
I have discovered that whole grain products, whether it be rice, oatmeal or some wheat ones, do not taste good to me. Get my fiber and nutrients with other foods.
H’s sister got an Instant Pot last year but ended up still just doing near daily rice in a pot on the stove. After so many years it is easy to cook it that way. Even novice cook H has mastered the art since retirement. We don’t eat as much rice now so we freeze it in freezer bags and take out portions. Our habits likely will horrify gourmet cooks out there, but convenience works even when there is a lot of time.
I have a Panasonic mini rice cooker and love it. I eat River Rice and Sushi Rice mainly. My mini makes 2 cups maximum but I make one cup and then put veggies to steam on top toward the end. I live alone and this little rice cooker serves my needs. I discovered rice cookers only recently and wish I had earlier! Stovetop rice always involved rice water spilling over onto the stove.
Not all rice is alike. The kind we have most often, Kokuho Rose, has a 1:1.25 rice/water ratio. Another kind that I use fairly often, Carolina, uses a 1:2 ratio, although I think that’s a bit too much water. My concern about the Instapot is that it doesn’t seem to account for the variations in water.
In my rice cooker (which is really vegetable steamer with a rice bowl) I always use 1.25c water and 1c rice. It made an easy to remember rhyming recipe for the family … 1cup rice plus “a cup and a quarter of water”
@Massmomm In my ipot I do not use the rice function but the pressure cooker function. Depending on the type of rice I am cooking I choose the corresponding amount of time. The only time I use 1:2 ratio is when I make risotto with the risotto rice varieties (like Arborio). For basmati, jasmine, cal rose etc I always use 1:1.25 or 1:1 (if I wash the rice and not drain to perfection). I saw a few videos on YouTube that claim a zojirushi is best when mostly Japanese type rice is used and for perfect rice it takes about 50min. For long grain rice (basmati/jasmine etc) does not make a difference (they say).
I used my Zojirushi tonight to make brown rice. Perfect. And you can’t beat the ease. Brown rice takes longer so I started the rice cooker early and then forgot about it. Later, with dinner cooked, I checked the rice cooker and, at some point, it had finished cooking and moved to warming. It’s the pay-no-attention-to-it part that I like.