Best Selling Rice Cookers

Rice has been a staple food for thousands of years and is currently the grain with the second highest worldwide production (corn is the most produced grain in the world). Rice is usually cooked by boiling or steaming and in the earlier days, before rice cookers, it was quite often somewhat tricky to cook rice and more often than not some of the rice would come out over cooked or even burnt and stuck to the bottom of the pan. Fortunately, many rice cookers are available these days, from inexpensive basic models to feature rich, high tech models for the rice connoisseur. Below is a small collection of some of the best selling rice cooker models available today, along with a few cookbook suggestions that demonstrate some of the great meals that can be made with a good quality rice cooker.

The Aroma ARC-838TC Rice Cooker is the best selling rice cooker on Amazon. It is a versatile appliance and can make both small and large meals, perfectly cooking up to 16 cooked cups of rice and can also steam vegetables, meat and other foods.

The cooker also features a cool-touch exterior, an easy to use control panel that has a variety of programmable functions such as a delay timer and automatic warmer. For easy cleanup, the inner cooking pot has a non-stick surface and can be removed. As an added bonus, the Aroma ARC-828TC Rice Cooker includes a measuring cup, steam tray and serving spatula. If you’re looking for a reasonably priced and solidly built rice cooker, this one might be for you!

The Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 rice cooker is a 680 watt restaurant quality rice cooker that is both versatile and easy to use. Mix the correct amount of water and rice, chose how you want it cooked and them simply press the “cook” button on the control panel. It’s as easy at that! For specific types of rice, the NS-ZCC10 has a variety of multi-menu selections that use “Neuro Fuzzy” logic technology to control the temperature and cooking time to best prepare white, brown, or sweet rice as well as sushi, porridge and other types of food.

Other features include automatic keep-warm and reheat cycles, a signal when the rice is done, an LCD clock and timer, a removable lid for easy cleaning and accessories including measuring cups, a nonstick rice spoon, and some easy to follow rice cooker recipes.

This inexpensive rice cooker from Black and Decker is great for those who just want a simple rice cooker that does the job without a lot of fuss. The RC3406 can make up to six cups of cooked rice at a time. The process is simple – just add the dry rice and the correct amount of water and turn the rice cooker on. The appliance’s steam vent keeps the heat and moisture in and the automatic keep warm mode makes sure the rice stays at the perfect temperature without overcooking it. Other features include stay cool lid and side handles, lights that indicate whether the rice is cooking or done, and a removable nonstick inner cooking pot for easy cleanup. A measuring cup, rice handle and instruction manual are also included.

The Panasonic SRG06FG Rice Cooker is another great basic rice cooker without a lot of frills. It does its job, and does it well. It is fully automatic – just add the right amount of rice (it can cook over six cups of cooked rice at a time), add water and turn it on. As one customer stated (in slightly edited form): 1) Dump rice in cooker. 2) Add water to the proper line. 3) Turn it on and wait 15 minutes. 4) Turn it off and wait 15 more. 5) Perfect rice! Couldn’t get much easier than that! The appliance also includes a non-stick interior for easy clean up.

This is another Zojirushi rice cooker that features a very solid selection of advanced features. Similar to the Zojirushi NS-ZCC10, the NS-TGC10 uses advanced “Fuzzy Logic” technology to cook rice of any type (and many other food products – even cake!) to perfection time after time. Features include a heating system that provides even cooking, automatic “keep warm” function, a delay timer, detachable inner lid for easy cleaning, and a durable and easy to clean clear coated stainless steel exterior. This model also comes with a spatula, spatula holder, and rice measuring cup.

The Zojirushi NP-HBC rice cooker is the Cadillac of rice cookers. It is definitely not a budget appliance, but one of the best machines available on the market. The 1230 watt NP-HBC can cook up to 5 ½ cups of rice at a time and uses microcomputer technology and advanced induction heating to make sure that the rice is always cooked to perfection. There are a variety of different cooking functions available such as white rice (soft, regular or harder), mixed rice, sushi rice, sweet rice, porridge and quick cooking. Healthy rice options are also available.

Other features include a melody and beep when the rice is done, a detachable inner lid for easy cleanup, an easy to read LCD control panel and a delay timer. Accessories included with this model include a spatula, spatula holder and a rice measuring cup.

Rice cookers are obviously great at cooking regular white rice. But there are many different types of rice, and even standard white rice can be prepared in a wide variety of different ways. Why not pick up a rice cookbook or two to go with your new rice cooker – especially if it’s one of the models that are designed to prepare specialty rice!