I grew up with one button rice cookers. The kind I liked the best was one where you would put water on the outside of the rice pot as well as in the inside of the pot with the rice and then press the button. I don't think they make those anymore. Nowadays you have to keep the outside of the pot dry. Kinda a pain after you got it wet washing the rice.
Back when I was growing up we made delicious rice, rice porridge, steamed sausage over rice, steamed chicken and vegetables in broth, bean soup, etc. using the simple one button rice cooker. The trick for some of the dishes is to run the cook cyle twice to cook longer.
I mention all this to explain why just having a rice cooker cooking different things doesn't totally impress me. I'm used to having one that is simple to use and versatile.
With this background, I was a little bit disappointed in the ZAC10 rice cooker although I still think it is an excellent product.
This neuro fuzzy is CUTE. And it makes DELICIOUS oatmeal. It also makes cheaper rice taste better. The keep warm feature works perfectly -- no making a crust. I use the timer feature for oatmeal in the morning - very nice to have.
But it is also awfully SLOW. I'm used to the rice cooker cooking faster than the stovetop method but this one is just as slow if not slower. For 1 small cup of rice it takes 40+ minutes. The machine I grew up with took 20 minutes. Even the quick cook feature on this machine takes 30 minutes.
Theoretically you can't use this as a steamer according to the Ultimate Rice Cooker cookbook I also bought. That's too bad since I am used to steaming things in a rice cooker. I will play around with it though and see if that's really the case.
I am still torn about whether to get this for my motherinlaw this Xmas. She loves oatmeal but cooked in milk so the timer feature won't help her. But still, it makes delicious oatmeal without her having to stand and stir. And it keeps it warm for a long time. What's making me hesitate is that she doesn't eat rice that often and the buttons in the front are rather daunting. (It really isn't as complicated as it looks though) Also the manual has no good recipes. It doesn't even tell you if you can make oatmeal with milk or not in it. (You can.) On the web they have some and if I were to get this for her I would definitely print out some recipes to go with it. This would be an expensive gift not to be used.
If you eat rice alot or like rice, oatmeal, porridge, that kind of thing... a rice cooker is a must and this one is a great one. Just realize that if you're use to a one button rice cooker you'll be giving up simplicity.
FOLLOW-UP:
I have demoted this from a FIVE star to a FOUR star product. It still makes wonderful rice but disappointingly it doesn't handle oatmeal cooked in milk (1% fat). I've tried it three times now, two times on porridge cycle and this thing made a COLOSSAL MESS. Hubby said it's like a baby puked all over it, inside and out. The thing spewed oatmeal which stuck and dried everywhere (I got to it two hours after it went on keep-warm). Even though the inner part of the lid pops out, it still took nearly an hour to clean up the nooks and crannies of the thing. I definitely suggest watching it if you cook oatmeal with milk and maybe even opening it up several times to release the steam. Better yet, do it on the stovetop. Too bad because the oatmeal still left in the pot that it didn't spew out tasted fantastic.
To be fair to the recipe, I should say I used quick cook oats (1 minute type) instead of the steel cut slow cook type oatmeal. Maybe that made a difference. BUt if so, too bad because I still have a lot of the other kind of oatmeal to use up.Get more detail about Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 5-1/2-Cup Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker and Warmer, Premium White.
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