Rice cookers have been hugely popular in many parts of Asia for quite a while, however it hasn’t been until more recently that they’ve gained such a large fan base here in the west. Many people have grown to love their rice cookers and those that have ever tried one never want to go back to cooking their rice in a pot on the stove.

Due to many varying reasons, rice is becoming ever more popular in the west, but cooking rice can be time consuming and if you mess up you can easily ruin an entire meal. Using a rice cooker is incredibly simple and makes cooking rice all but foolproof.

In addition to their simplicity, rice cookers make near-perfect rice, every single time, all you have to do is put in the correct amount of water. For those individuals and families that make rice a regular part of their meals, buying a rice cooker will save you an incredible amount of time and hassle.

If you want to learn to cook, even how to make sauce, start with a rice cooker, it will help you out a lot. Plus, there are numerous sites out there that will start you off right by teaching you numerous rice cooking tips.

There are a number of important things to consider when searching around for that perfect rice cooker:

1) Cost of rice cookers

Rice cookers vary in price from as little as $15 to as much as $200 or more. And generally speaking, the more you pay, they more you get. For many people, a simple rice cooker that turns on, cooks the rice and turns off is sufficient. And for them the most basic of rice cookers is all they need. The basic cookers tend to have a glass lid and an inner pot, usually non-stick. You have to properly measure out the amount of water depending on the type of rice you’ll be cooking, however, since most rice cookers are made for standard white rice, if you use other types such as brown you may not get the quality you’re looking for.

If you are willing to spend a little more you can usually get a rice cooker that can keep your rice warm after it’s finished cooking and has a couple different settings. Some of the settings for the middle-range rice cookers provide the ability to properly cook a few different types of rice, this allows those brown rice lovers to get a higher quality product. Some of these also come with timers. Timers work wonders for busy people or those that need their rice ready when they get up in the morning or get home in the evening. Some of the better ones will allow you to set the time that you want the rice to be finished!

2) Size of the desired rice cooker

Some people never cook more than a couple cups of rice at a time, however others need to be able to make enough for a large family and will need 10 cups or more. There are rice cookers to fit any size family or occasion.

Normally, if you’re single then I would recommend a 5 cup rice cooker, I personally don’t like the 3 cup sizes as you never know when more rice my be necessary. The 10 cup sizes are perfect for that larger family or the small family that cooks for two meals at a time.

3) More options

There are other options that should be paid attention to when you’re looking around for a new rice cooker, some include:
A non-stick bowl (I would never buy a rice cooker without one)
A removable inner lid for sanitation reasons (this only applies to rice cookers with flip-top lids)
Ability to cook multiple types of rice properly
Measuring lines on the bowl itself (this allows for the proper amount of water even if the rice is wet or has been soaking)

Rice cookers make a wonderful addition to any kitchen that rice is cooked in. Definitely pick one up if you don’t already own one, it’ll be one of the best kitchen item purchases you’ll ever make.