How to Choose the Best Electric Rice Cookers

Back in my college days, whenever my friends came over to my dormroomthey would always ask me "What's that short white round bucket looking thing plugged intothe socket?" My usual response is "That's my rice cooker".I know it sounds crazy. But ifrice is not a staple diet for you then youmay not know there were such things as a rice cooker.But rice cookers havebeen around for quite awhile, even beforemicrowaves.But somehow rice cookers were shoved into obscurity as fewer people back then ate rice.

Today with the help ofthe Food Channeland celebrity chefs such as Rachel Ray, Bobby Flay, etc.ricehas gained popularity in regular everyday midphase web hosting so many brands ofelectric rice cookers choosing onecan be quite tricky.

Tostart off on which type of electric rice cooker you should choose, figure out how many people you will be cooking for. For instance if you are cooking just for yourself andyour room mate then a 3Cup rice cookeriswill suffice. Electric rice cookershave acapacity that can go up to 10Cup, so there areunits for every family household size.Keep in mind the larger thethe capacity the larger the rice cooker, so choose a size that will fityourkitchen accordingly.

Youshould also look for aelectric rice cooker that is easy toclean. Ifyou have a habit of cleaning your pots the next day you will be surprised athow dayold rice can stick to the rice pot.Rice cookers these days have a removable rice pot for ease of cleaning.Typically the rice pot is made of steel oraluminum. Non stick surfacesfor rice pots areavailable as well but keep in mind it will cost more.Soif you want to save a bit of cash just make sure you clean outthe rice pot every night, or fill it with water andso it'll be easier to clean the next day.

Finally I believe in purchasing items that are multi taskers. This is especially true for kitchen utilities since the majority of people have small kitchens such as students living in college dorms.Today electric rice cookers have become very sophisticated. They have built in sensors thatadjust temperature as well as settings for cooking different types of rice grains.For a decent price you can pick up rice cooker units that can steam food and double as a slow cooker. Certain models can even make old fashioned oat meal ready for consumption when you wake up in the morning. You can set it the night before at the same time you're setting up your coffee machine.

Electric rice cookers are priced for all types of budgets. But don't buy one that is too cheap. If you're tight on budget aim for a model that cost around $25 bucks. Units in that price range usually have a capacity of 3 to 5 cups, which is suitable for more households.

Whichever model you finally decide to choose, be at ease knowing that when you use an electric rice cooker you will never have to worry about burned rice. You will never have to worry about shutting off the stove because all electric rice cookers have built in timers that will shut off the cooking process yet keep your rice warm.

For more great information on different types of electric rice cookers check out hubpages.com/hub/Best-Electric-Rice-Cookers">How to Choose Electric Rice Cookers.

Copyright 2008 Edwin M. Clark