Best Rice Cookers

Best full-featured rice cookers are more precise

The most advanced rice cookers use fuzzy logic -- a fancy way of saying they use computer chips -- to cook rice according to your specifications. These cookers continuously adjust the cooking time, temperature and moisture level to produce perfect rice, but the trade-off is longer cooking time. In tests at Cook's Illustrated, advanced rice cookers took an average of 50 minutes to cook white rice, while brown rice required an average of 105 minutes. Most higher-end rice cookers have quick-cook settings that slash cooking times, but rice won't be as tender. Advanced rice cookers also have timers that can be preset for up to 24 hours; they have settings for different textures and types of rice, and a choice of chime or beep at the end of the cooking cycle. Experts say that unless you're particular about the texture of your rice or capable of remembering to set the cooker before you leave for the day, you can likely get by with a simpler rice cooker (fuzzy logic rice cookers cost $100 and up).

Reviewers say that the Sanyo Micom ECJ-F50S (*Est. $125) is a great buy because it has most of the bells and whistles found on higher-end models and performs nearly as well. Editors at Fine Cooking magazine name the 5-cup rice cooker a Best Buy for its combination of features, price and ability to make great-tasting rice. The editors do stress that brown rice must be washed and soaked for an hour or it will come out undercooked. Cooking.com names the Sanyo Micom ECJ-F50S a top-rated rice cooker. It uses fuzzy logic to control settings for quick cooking, porridge, stew and dol sot bi bim bap (a Korean rice dish in which the bottom layer is toasted). Several users say they also use the rice cooker to make oatmeal. A steamer insert is included. Owner reviews at Cooking.com are strong, with users praising the Sanyo's performance and easy cleanup. Users at Amazon.com give this Sanyo rice cooker a high rating, although several complain that there is no audible indicator when cooking is complete and that the unit only counts down for the last 13 minutes of cooking.

The 5.5-cup Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy NS-ZCC10 (*Est. $175) is also an excellent, albeit more expensive, choice. In her review for the Los Angeles Times, Judy Yao writes that the "user-friendly" Neuro delivers "firm-tender rice with a hint of sweetness." Professional reviewers give this model high marks for cooking quality and features, including a re-warming setting, the ability to make porridge, a retractable cord, an extended keep-warm feature and a choice of chime or tune at the end of the cooking cycle. Editors at Fine Cooking magazine say it's the best all-around model they tested. They praise its memory feature that recalls fine-tunings made for specific types of rice, and its removable lid, great for easy cleaning.

This rice cooker receives excellent ratings from owners posting to Amazon.com. A handful of owners note that the Zojirushi rice cooker must be sent to an authorized dealer every four to five years to have its battery replaced. A few others complain about this model's countdown clock, which only starts running during the last 10 minutes of cooking. Unlike the Sanyo ECJ-F50S, the Neuro does not come with a steamer basket. A larger version, the 10-cup Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy NS-ZCC18 (*Est. $200) is also available. Both Zojirushi rice cookers have a few more bells and whistles than the Sanyo, but we chose to list the Sanyo Micom ECJ-F50S in our Best Reviewed section because reviews indicate that it produces equally good rice at a fraction of the price.

Another strong choice is the smaller 3-cup Zojirushi Micom NS-LAC05 (*Est. $145) , which gets excellent reviews on Amazon.com. Owners say that you simply can't make a bad batch of rice in this model, which excels at cooking long-grain brown rice, jasmine rice and basmati rice. Owners praise the more petite Zojirushi Micom's small footprint, retractable cord and large handle (which makes it easy to take to potlucks and other gatherings). Users also like its warmer and timer features and report that it's easy to clean. But this rice cooker is a little more expensive than the Sanyo ECJ-F50S. That, coupled with the Zojirushi Micom's lack of a steaming basket and its smaller capacity, makes the Sanyo a better value.

The most advanced rice cookers use induction heat to cook rice, rather than a standard heating plate. Electric current moves through coils and creates a magnetic field around the inner pot of the rice cooker, which in turn generates heat within the pot. This method of cooking allows for more accurate temperatures and more evenly cooked rice. It also allows the rice cooker to make instant temperature adjustments.

The Zojirushi Induction NP-HBC18 (*Est. $315) uses this type of heat and gets rave reviews so far. It's much more expensive than other types of rice cookers, but users at Amazon.com say that it yields perfect results every time. Testers at Food & Wine magazine say that it "prepares every type of rice perfectly -- from sushi-style to porridge." The Zojirushi Induction NP-HBC18 has 12 menu options for various types of rice, including quick-cook and rinse-free settings. It also has a detachable inner lid for easy cleanup. The Zojirushi Induction NP-HBC18 rice cooker has a large LCD screen which displays a countdown timer, among other settings. It also has an interchangeable melody and beep signal to indicate when rice is done cooking. It does not come with a vegetable tray, however.