Do You Need a Fancy Rice Cooker? 🤔

Today, I put my 10 year old trusted rice cooker to the test by comparing it against my new fancy pants Zojirushi rice cooker from Japan. Does it stand a chance?

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Hosted by Andong

Camera by Eypee Kaamiño

Edited by Gerrit-Duke Reinert

Production Support by Grace Phan-Nguyen

Spanish subtitles by Daniel González.

[Default]

Don't try to outsmart the Zojirushi. People coming from old-style rice cookers and saucepans always try to use their old techniques and ratios (eg: add water to the depth of one knuckle) and you don't need to do that with the fancy models. Just follow the instructions: use the included cup to measure your rice (I measure dry and wash in the rice cooker pot), fill to the line, and let it take care of the rest. I've used an induction heating Zojirushi for the last 9-10 years and every time I use it, it amazes me how good rice can taste.

[NLGwenster]

I've lived in Tokyo for 2 years, and what I liked the most about the Zojirushi rice cooker i had at the apartment i rented was that i had the ability to just set in an x amount of rice in the cooker in the morning. Get a shower etc. Have rice for breakfast, lunch AND dinner from that same batch. It would STAY good for like the whole day. (officially they recommend 12hrs for best taste, or 24hrs with the extended warm feature) - that's something you can't do with those simpler rice cookers. Their "keep warm" mode eventually burns the rice on the bottom and super dries out the rest after a mere hour or two. When i moved back to the Netherlands, I just couldn't go without a Zojirushi for that feature and bought one. Was worth it to me.

[NitronNeutron]

Journey across Japan theme music with a rice cooker from Japan. Perfect

[jakeconnelly]

So two things: You really have to follow the directions on a zojirushi and use their measurements. It really does make a difference in the final result. Also, most of the value is in the multiple functions. Brown, Sushi, Long grain, mixed, oats, etc. It will perfectly cook all of them without you having to do anything special.

[ragereaver]

Dude spent 300 plus euros on a state of the art rice cooker and he still managed to screw up cooking rice in the state of the art rice cooker. Now that is an achievement.

That zojirushi fuzzy logic processor worked overtime to compensate.

[CHEFPKR]

Can confirm, my zojirushi rice maker is an absolute game changer. Sometimes I leave rice in it for a full day on its low heat mode and it's still pretty damn perfect.

If you have the money, get one.

[KAMLOTTON]

I love how the zojirushi has the clock on, so you can see how long it takes him to record the lines as the minute mark changes every 2nd line, lol

[moejobe]

The biggest difference between cheap vs expensive rice cooker is it's ability to maintain rice fresh and delicious for a long time. You can get at least 4-5 days of "fresh cooked" quality rice in the expensive rice cooker whereas, in the cheap one, the rice will no longer feel fresh after 1-2 days. I find that in the cheap one, it will develop an unpleasant smell (moldy yeast odor?) after 1.5 days when it's left at warm, but in the expensive one the rice will be kept fresh for sometimes 5+ days in the warm state. The ability to keep rice fresh is very important in a typical East Asian household where rice is consumed "on the go" as almost every single or other meal includes rice. So, people generally cook large portions of rice that can be consumed at any moment without worrying about having to cook new batches of rice every other day. This is the main reason why in East Asia (at least in Japan and Korea), households spend a lot of money on a good rice cooker. If you had to consume rice every meal, you will find that the ability to maintain high quality rice for a long time a crucial factor in selecting the rice cooker and this is why almost every household chooses to buy expensive rice cooker instead of the cheap one. Of course, this wouldn't make sense in cultures where rice is not consumed with every meal. Anyway, I hope this can be clarified in a future episodes. Love the content!

[ragingsilver]

I think you should redo this test and follow the instructions to the fancy one. I'm pretty sure I've seen other videos do that it the rice turns out so much better.

[Cylongod]

The expensive rice cooker takes longer because it includes time to soak the rice. If it took an hour, then it probably soaked the rice for 40 minutes, then actually started cooking for the last 20 minutes.

[GigiStar]

I bought my Zojirushi at a yard sale 10 years ago for $25! Best deal ever.

[earlystrings]

When Technology Connections, Hot Thai Kitchen, and Andong dedicate entire episodes to rice cookers, you know they’re a big deal.

[mahoganywood]

Doing the exact same thing on both rice cookers isn't really an "even playing field". There is no way it will be an even playing field because the Zojirushi one will always draw more electricity. It's better to do the test like how people who buy these rice cookers would use them. Use the instruction for the Zojirushi one vs the optimal way to use the other rice cooker.

[PaulLemars]

Ahh, and here's a third option. Three years ago at Christmas in the USA there was a fad for Insta-Pots. Best Buy had a bunch of Hael knockoffs for $30. I bought one and made a beef stew in it and I was so impressed I went back the next day and bought another two. I bought three Insta-Pot knockoffs for my own kitchen. I discovered subsequently that they make great rice. The reason I have three is that My family loves Indian cuisine and I can make a meat dish in one, a vegetable dish in the other and rice in the third. I've been using them now for the past three years and they work really well and like I say they make great rice. My Zoji (yes, I have one) has stayed in the appliance cupboard since and I'm probably going to sell it.

[NieroRa]

I bought my rice cooker when I was in South korea. Its a pressurised induction heating rice cooker by cuckoo. It cost me about what you paid for the Japanese one, but bought locally. It cooks rice in 17 minutes under pressure and comes perfectly. It speak to you (in english) which is handy because I don't know what any of the korean buttons mean. Big plus! It also has loads of features for other kinds of rice, grains, and can make crunchy rice that has become a favourite of mine.

[Dparrey]

I'm not sure if it's the case for that exact model but for most good rice cookers using the measuring cup that comes with their rice cooker is essential to getting the perfect result and it's also the cup that is referred to on the inner pot markings. Not generic cups. Anyway kind of a pet peeve on this one soon as I saw you not use the rice cooker as is normally instructed.

[marcelpursche]

I wouldn't say that slightly burnt crunchy rice is a bad thing. You have to try the Persian rice dish Tahdig. You cook the rice until it is half done, strain it and then put the wet rice back in the pot with some oil or butter and a bit of saffron, and put a paper towel and a lid on the pot. Then let the rice steam until it's done. This creates a nice layer of crispy rice on the bottom of the pot. There is also a variation with potato slices at the bottom of the pot which is also very good. This has become my favourite rice dish.

[jeandupond]

I mean it sure can make good rice, but can it seal away Namekians?

[Encysted]

7:10 If your rice cooker has a small springy bit in it, it's using a magnet with a Curie point of 100 C to make contact, so once the pot rises above 100 C, the magnet stops being a magnet, and breaks the contact.

[Driven-tur]

This is such a cultural difference. Americans spend hundreds on BBQs/air fryers/toaster ovens but Asian spend money on better rice cookers. Rice is a staple and I guarantee most Asians that eat rice every single day will invest in a quality rice cooker.