<p>1moremom - after a little more research, Zojirushi is apparently the Lexus of rice makers. I like the idea of setting it up the night before and then having rice all day. Considering what son is spending on fast food (he didn’t want the meal plan), we might come out ahead even if we buy something fairly high-zoot. I think I’ll quiz him a little more on what features he would really use. Do you actually get the number of cups out of it that the machine says? If a 5-cup Zohirushi really yields 5 cups of rice, that would be enough. (the 10-cup Panasonic one I have only yields 3 cups, after allowing for bubbling and stirring room at the top and burned rice at the bottom).</p>
<p>Hiking through the snow for a cup of tea does sound drastic. How about one of those little coils you drop in the cup?</p>
<p>It is good that your S is law abiding citizen. Actually, there is a reason for not having microwave in a room. Most older buildings have ‘weak’ circuits. Many are rated at 10 amps or at most 15 amps. Microwave+fridge running sumultaneously may overload the circuit and cause fire.</p>
<p>Those expensive micro-fridge are a neat idea. The combination is electronically controlled so that when microwave is in use the fridge shuts off.</p>
<p>As far as rice sticking, try buying long grain rice like Texmati or if an Indian grocery store is near by get Basmati (the best rice in the world).</p>
<p>(A little trivial info., the Texmati people wanted to use Basmati name and wanted to copyright it. The Indian government sued and won. Basmati is a generic name. apperently, can not copyright a generic name - like Georgia Peaches.</p>
<p>We have a Hitachi Rice Cooker (and have had it for more than 20 years). It makes up to 6 cups of rice. It is the ONE household appliance I would replace instantly if it broke. Before you buy it, check that your son can really have it (if he lives in a dorm). At DS’s college, this would NOT be allowed…period. You should be able to get a smaller rice cooker for under $50…maybe even less than that.</p>
<p>Mine is marked for ten cups. (I couldn’t find the instructions.) The measuring “cup” that comes with the machine (and relates to the markings) is actually closer to 3/4 cup. That would make the 10 cups closer to 7.5 US cups. The most I have cooked is probably about 6 cups, resulting in ~24 cups of cooked rice, and it handled it beautifully. I always use basmati; you can get it in most groceries stores these days.</p>
<p>Free shipping, plus 10% discount (on first puchase only).</p>
<p>In addition to rice cookers, check out the Electric Thermal Pot. Great for an instant cup of tea, hot chocolate, soup, ramen noodles, etc. In addition to rice cookers, a lot of Asian families have a thermal pot also.</p>
<p>We also have a Zojirushi which we purchased on sale from Macy’s years ago. My sister-in-law just purchased a similar one from Costco the other day for about $100 or so.</p>
<p>It’s a 10-cup rice cooker but only make the maximum when we’ve having a party with say 25 guests. Most of the time for the 4 of us, we only make 3 or 4 cups (which as you say means you have 3/4 cupfuls of uncooked rice to start with). Ours does not have “fuzzy logic,” but never boils over & never burns the rice or makes it mushy.</p>
<p>When I was dorming, the cheap rice cookers (without non-stick coatings) were very popular to cook ramen or whatever we wanted, plus rice. It still seems to be a popular staple in dorm rooms & I only wanted & used the cheapo $20-30 ones that made a maximum of 3-5 cups & it served my purposes admirably for all my years of school. (They would boil over sometimes if you were making the maximum amount in it, but not a biggie & never burned anything.) Most chinatowns would have them available at a decent price. The fancier models would be more pricey & it’s up to you & son to figure out if he needs the added features they would offer, like the stay-warm, timed cooking, etc.</p>
<p>if you double the amount of water - 3 cups of rice to 6 cups of water, for example, you’ll get less burning. of course, you won’t be able to cook as much rice, but it’ll be more fluffy/sticky =).</p>
<p>This may be a good alternative to rice cookers. Yesterday, we tried out Uncle Ben’s ready made - microwavable 90 second rice. No utensils required. I have to say that they were pretty good. The unopened packages do not have to be stored in a refrigerator.</p>
<p>(shudder)
Uncle Ben’s or Minute Rice or any of those quick rices are heresy at our house. Nothing but raw calrose or other short/medium grain rice cooked the old-fashioned way in a rice cooker is allowed to be served. One thing I learned from W was the virtue of properly cooked rice versus the instant stuff.</p>
<p>Not too many folks who eat rice daily…would be too interested in the flavor, texture or aroma of UB’s rice in a pouch. Maybe if it were life or death…but otherwise I doubt it.</p>
<p>Hey TxMom, my son (freshman at U of Florida) also wanted a rice cooker b/c he is into Chinese cooking. He received a Panasonic for graduation. It was not expensive, but is easy to clean and shuts off automatically. He is enjoying it especially for cooking for friends. He is in a dorm; I think he might take it to the kitchen on their hall for cooking purposes. I know he can’t use his toaster oven in the dorm room. Google for Panasonic rice cooker and you should locate it easily. My parents ordered it over the web and had it sent to him. Good luck! Tabby</p>