Stupid Question - Rice Cookers

Okay, time for the stupid question of the day.

What exactly are rice cookers FOR?

It's a serious question, I'm not trying to be a smart aleck or anything.  The first time I saw one, several years back, I actually laughed out loud, wondering why anyone would ever want an appliance just for cooking rice.  Who has room in their kitchen for that?!!

So now I see people here and elsewhere saying how much they love theirs, how they couldn't live without it, etc., and I'm sort of intrigued by them and trying to understand why people love them so much.

I might make rice once a month, maybe once every two months.  I figure even brown rice has less nutritional value and more calories than a lot of other grains, so I'll usually make something else like whole grain pasta, quinoa, etc. instead. 

So is there some other reason to own a rice cooker?  I mean, do they do something other than make rice, or do most other people just make a lot more rice than I do to make it worthwhile?  Isn't it just as easy to toss it in a pot on the stove?  About half the time when I make rice it's for breakfast, so I cook it in skim milk instead of water, can that be done in a rice cooker?

I know very little about these things but am interested, so any info people can give me would be appreciated!

i like mine because it takes the guess work out of rice making.  Im a terrible cook, I burn oatmeal, ramen, water, etc! so its just easier to toss stuff in and press a button!

Plus it comes with a steamer basket...same concept..toss stuff in, press a button

Well I'm Asian, so naturally our household has to have a rice cooker. My parents have rice every day as do most Asian families. I think rice cookers are staples of any Asian kitchen.

I've heard of people making cakes and bread in their rice cookers too.

I don't eat rice that much either but I love mine.  I just put it on and it cooks the rice for me.  When I am making a multi-dish meal that involves a lot of prep, it is just one less thing that I need to keep on eye on or time correctly.

I also use mine to steam vegetables.  In fact, I can cook rice and steam vegetables at the same time as it has multi-level steam baskets.

My rice cooker keeps rice warm for I think 12 hours altho. I have never put it to the test for that long.  I have had it warm the rice for an hour or two.

You can easily use the rice cooker to make rice with milk instead of water. I use mine to make steel cut oats all the time and I bet it would work with other grains.

Decent cookers make decent rice, never gummy or undercooked but if you don't eat a lot of rice, you may not get a lot of use out of one. Most also have a steam basket and the amount of cooking time is determined by the amount of water you put in but that probably varies from model to model too.

I used to think I made excellent stove top rice, but compared to what I get from the rice cooker, it was garbage. Even cooking, excellent texture, not worrying about if it's done or not, has it burned on the bottom, did I set the timer? It's still a convenience appliance but for my kitchen, a necessity.

I personally love mine! I make rice about 3-4 times a week. It saves space on the stove and is impossible to burn unless you dont add enough water. When I cook it on the stove top I always have to check it and stir it and sometimes add more water. I dont know what my problem is! The cookers turn off automatically so you can start it and forget about it. I make alot of Indian food and stir-frys so the rice cooker has been my savior! If you only make rice occasionally I would not recommend buying one though. It would probably just collect dust.Im pretty sure rice is the only thing you can cook in them, although Ive never experimented much.

Original Post by augenblick:

I also use mine to steam vegetables.  In fact, I can cook rice and steam vegetables at the same time as it has multi-level steam baskets.

 That does make the whole idea more attractive.  I do steam veggies and other things, usually using one of those goofy little baskets that have like fan blades that open up, and there have been times when I've wanted to steam something and didn't have exactly the kind of setup I needed. 

Original Post by bunnybane:

You can easily use the rice cooker to make rice with milk instead of water. I use mine to make steel cut oats all the time and I bet it would work with other grains.

Now THAT would be truly useful.  I do make lots of oatmeal, and I love some of the other hot cereals like Bob's Red Mill 10 Grain, steel cut oats, Kashi Pilaf, etc.  Most of the time I make these with skim milk rather than water (unless it's for dinner with a stew or something over it, then I use water).   It definitely is a real pain to make hot cereals with milk on the stove, much more hassle than with water.

Now I really am intrigued.  Can liquids other than water be used with ANY rice cooker or is there some specific model or models that I can look for that would allow this without wrecking the unit?

Thanks to everyone for all the info so far!

I think you could use other liquids in any rice cooker, but cheaper ones with non-stick pots may be more hassle to clean up.

After a lot of careful consideration and research, I just ordered a rice cooker for myself (a fancy but small one, so I couldn't find any locally quite like it) and  during my research I was amazed how many things people said they use their rice cooker for. Steel cut oats, beans, wheat berries, rice dishes with meats and veggies mixed in, cakes, breads...it goes on and on. There's a whole cookbook filled with dishes you can make in a rice cooker. The one I ordered has different settings for white/mixed rice, brown rice, sushi rice, porridge and quick-cooking. Also, it has a timer setting so I can put the rice (or whatever) and water in the cooker and set when I'd like it to be ready, so I can come home from the gym to fresh rice waiting for me! I always screw up cooking rice on the stove, so I'm really looking forward to my rice cooker arriving so I can have it cooked right every time! Besides, I never have the patience to cook steel cut oats on the stove.

I could never bring myself to buy a one-task appliance (even if it does only take up as much room as a toaster), but after I found out how much I could do with a rice cooker, I caved. :)

As an Asian ... I eat rice almost everyday ... and I am sure everyone in India has one ... ((well almost  )) apart from rice ... I tend to boil vegetables ...lentils etc ... I cant imagine life without it 

sorry to interrupt here but I do have a question. what is the difference between rice cooker and regular pan? I mean I want to buy one to cook steel cut oats and steam vegetables but I don't get the point why people cook oats or rice in rice cookers?

Rice cooker is completely closed with a whistle on top ... it works through steam (you have to pour water in its base ) and depending on whats cooking the number of whistles indicate whether or not the food is ready ... this is the normal cooker.. but a lot of fancy cookers are available which have different features. 

I cook rice and steam vegetables in it cause its much faster than a pan ... plus I have a cooker which has 3 layers ... I can cook rice, vegetables and lentil at the same time... and it takes about 10-15 minutes max ... 

I'm islander, we eat rice nearly daily.  It's like....rice cooking for dummies.  THrow the stuff in, hit the button, when it's done it tells you.  No timers, no trying to see thru a steamed up lid.  No nasty crust on the bottom.  I love it!

i love it because i like sticky rice...and the rice cooker will achieve that for me.

it also doubles as a steamer and a crock pot so it has quite a few uses.