<p>I’m thinking of getting a rice cooker for DS for the holidays. Any suggestions? any thing I should look for? He has a studio apartment this year and so he’s cooking on his own. He loves rice and I thought maybe it would be easier for him to have a rice cooker.</p>
<p>We eat a lot of rice, and have used a variety of different rice cookers/steamers. However, my absolute favorite one these days is the one from Pampered Chef that you use in the microwave:
[Rice</a> Cooker Plus : Cookware : The Pampered Chef, Ltd.](<a href=“http://www.pamperedchef.com/our_products/catalog/product.jsp?productId=9805&categoryCode=CW]Rice”>http://www.pamperedchef.com/our_products/catalog/product.jsp?productId=9805&categoryCode=CW)</p>
<p>Oakland - there was an Oster rice cooker on special at CVS stores on Black Friday, I picked one up, don’t know if the special is still on though…I have used a microwave rice cooker for years that could be another idea if your S has a microwave and limited space otherwise…</p>
<p>I eat rice everyday and have an electric rice cooker. It can cook regular rice, brown rice, make porridge, steamer attachment. I saw it recently on sale at Walmart for about $50, 6 cup capacity.</p>
<p>I got a rice cooker as a wedding present 26 years ago. It is the only gift that we still use today. Yup, the original one. And we use it on average 2x a week. Yeah, rice cookers!</p>
<p>Before I bought a rice cooker, I loathed making rice. Brown rice, white rice, whatever I used came up out a goopy mess that often splattered on the top of the stove. I got a 6 cup Zojrushi rice cooker a few years ago, throw rice and water in, turn it on and walk away.
Every time, the rice comes out perfectly. Mine has a steamer insert. It’s small, but I have steamed vegetables, fish, etc while cooking the rice.</p>
<p>I read somewhere that you can make rice in a crock pot. Has anyone tried this?</p>
<p>Just recently got my first ever rice cooker. It’s a Black & Decker from WalMart for about $20.00. Non-stick interior, steamer basket, & measuring cup. It works really well. How did I ever survive without one all these years? And why did I ever spend all that time scrubbing a layer of rice off pot bottoms? After moving, I swore I wouldn’t keep getting “stuff,” especially kitchen “stuff” – but this was definitely worth it.</p>
<p>When we moved S up to college, we bought him a $10 electric rice cooker at Frye’s. I believe he’s had no problems with it. Personally in our house we have the deluxe 10 cup one that also keeps rice hot after its done being cooked as does the rest of my extended family–rice is a large part of most diets in HI. Costco has some good prices on rice cookers as well. They are rather bulky for transporting & easier to just purchase where the individual lives instead of having to pack.</p>
<p>We also have a rice cooker and have had it for about 26 years. If it broke, I would replace it immediately. Ours is a Hitachi “Chime O Matic” but I don’t think they make it anymore. We bought one for SIL at Target a few years ago…it’s great too.</p>
<p>We recently bought a small one made by Cuisinart. Love it!</p>
<p>Since he’s single, he may prefer to have a smaller rice cooker. I have a couple of rice cookers - one 5-cup and the smaller 3-cup capacity which can handle 1/2 cup to 3 cups. Here’s the 3-cup one that I really like:</p>
<p>[Amazon.com:</a> Customer Reviews: Panasonic SR-G06FG 3.3-Cup Rice Cooker/Steamer](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/review/product/B0009E3F68/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?_encoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/review/product/B0009E3F68/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?_encoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1)</p>
<p>I’m a freshman this year, but since I can’t live without rice, I bought a (contraband) rice cooker for my dorm room at Target. It is made by Rival and is pretty small, only 6 cups of cooked rice and only cost me $13 (on sale!). This model also has a small steamer basket for veggies. I’ve only used it to make Japanese short-grain rice so far, but it comes out well every time!</p>
<p>Is there a rice cooker small enough to make a single serving of rice or will a larger one do that anyway?</p>
<p>DS has a small rice cooker…I think it can make up to five cups of rice. To be honest, he usually makes at least 2 or 3 cups. It heats up very nicely in the microwave the next day…and the day after that. We do the same here…3-4 cups at a time, and then just keep them in the fridge. </p>
<p>I suppose you could cook one cup at a time…but that seems like it’s wasting electricity.</p>
<p>We eat rice just about every day: brown rice, medium and long grain white rice, jasmine rice, wild rice mixtures, et al. Never had a rice cooker. Use a good saucepan with a tight fitting lid.</p>
<p>This is off topic but does anyone know the way to make Paella using rice cooker ?</p>
<p>I make it in a skillet but gets burned bottom or rice near the surface is undercooked.</p>
<p>Now and then I ache for a good home-made Paella. Restaurant paella not that good because they dont really cook the rice with the ingredients but just throw everything together at the end.</p>
<p>I think most of the larger rice cookers we’ve owned are supposed to cook a minimum # of cups (> 1). I know the current one we own is a 10 cup cooker & supposed to cook at least 3 cups, so we just refrigerate & reheat in the micro any more that we make). I believe the 3 & 5 cup cookers may make only 1 or 2 cups if that’s what you want.</p>
<p>Another vote here for not bothering. I have cooked rice at least 2-3 times a week for the past 30 years, and have never even touched a rice cooker. It really isn’t a problem!</p>
<p>I heard a funny story last week. One of my son’s best friends has three ethnic Chinese roommates. Every one of them has her own rice cooker. None of the mothers could believe that her daughter didn’t need one. Needless to say, the four women only use one rice cooker at a time.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the info! DS is living in a studio apartment this year, cooking for himself and I’m just looking for ways to make cooking easier for him. When he came home for Thanksgiving his first request was new jeans - his 31/36 jeans were falling off his waist. I took one look at the size and said no - you need to put on some weight. (and wear a belt while you work on putting on weight). A rice cooker is not the solution but I thought he might cook a little more if he could put the rice on and forget it until its time to eat.</p>