Rice is a wonderful staple food all over the world. It goes with so many other dishes, and it can be made into a delicious dish all by itself, with the addition of a few vegetables, meat, fish – or a combination. Rice is a relatively simple food – but we all known how much of a faff it can sometimes be to cook! Do you wash it first or rinse it after? Do you measure the rice and the water or just throw it all in? Do different rices cook differently? How do you stop it from going sticky and clumpy?
The best thing to do, to produce perfect rice every time, is to invest in a good rice cooker. A rice cooker is a godsend for your kitchen, particularly if you cook rice often and are not very good at it!
Key Considerations When Buying a Rice Cooker
A. Ease of use
Most rice cookers come with simple, easy to understand instructions, and most will have simple controls for you to cook things to your specifications.
A rice cooker is a wonderfully convenient gadget; all you need to do is to add the rice and the water, put the lid on, press the button that cooks the way you want it to, and there you go.
For cookers that cook other food too, there should be well marked buttons that guide you to the type of food you are cooking.
B. Versatility
You don’t just want to cook rice, do you? Many rice cookers out there can cook a surprising amount of different types of food – rice, of course, and some are dedicated rice cookers that don’t claim to be anything else.
Others will offer the capability to make soups, chillies, conjee, and some rice cookers can even cook the sweet course.
C. Size
Although rice cookers can be a little bulky, you can find smaller versions that fit into smaller kitchens, so don’t worry if you don’t have a lot of space.
Generally, a rice cooker that has a capacity of over 5 litres is considered large, and suitable for making meals for a family. Those with smaller capacity can still produce plenty of rice, but the smaller ones are more suited to one or two people.
Top Rated Rice Cooker: Reviews
We have done our best to find the best rice cookers in the UK market, that will cook you amazing food, save you time, and look nifty in your kitchen too. There’s lots to choose from, so you should be able to find the one that suits you perfectly!
1. Tefal RK302E15 Multicook 8-in-1 Multicooker 600W, 5L, Silver
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This is a stylish, medium sized rice cooker which will be at home in just about any kitchen. It can cook a wide variety of different dishes, and you should find that it improves your life and makes cooking much simpler, quicker and easier.
What we like about it:
- 8 cooking functions. You can cook standard rice dishes in this cooker, along with porridge and cereals, soup, and even cake and desserts, making it a very versatile cooker.
- It has a large capacity, so is suitable for the whole family. At a 5 litre capacity, this rice cooker can feed a family of four very easily – and still have leftovers!
- Automatic keep warm setting, for when you need to delay cooking without it going cold and unappetising.
- Delayed start program means you can set your meals to be ready whenever you are. Whether you want to eat your porridge as soon as you get up, or set the cooker to slow cook something while you are at work, this is the height of convenience.
- It comes with extras. A steam basket, measuring cup and rice spoon are included with this rice cooker, and you will also receive a free recipe booklet to help you make the most of your new gadget.
2. Sage the Fast Slow Cooker Pro
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This is a rice cooker that looks like it’s designed for the space age! Sleek and sophisticated, with a wide range of cooking abilities, you can’t really go wrong with this fancy looking rice cooker.
What we like about it:
- It’s large enough to cook big meals for friends and family. At 6 litres, this is one of the larger rice cookers out there, meaning that it is very easy to cater for a dinner party without using every pan in your house.
- Auto steam release and safety valve. These two key features mean that steam can be released from your food without you having to touch the cooker, so you are unlikely to get accidentally burnt.
- It’s easy to clean, with a non stick coated inner cooking bowl that is quick and simple to remove and wash. The wide lip around the cooker also catches spills and drips.
- Simple LCD screen to customise your cooking. You can choose from the Slow Cooker, Pressure Cooker, Saute, Vegetable settings; plus you can even tell this cooker what sort of meat you are cooking so it will adjust itself accordingly. There’s even a dessert setting!
- This cooker prepares food very precisely, thanks to the sensors at the top and bottom, which monitors the temperature and steam to ensure perfectly cooked food, whatever you put in it.
3. Yum Asia Panda Mini Rice Cooker 0.63L
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This is a mini rice cooker, perfect for those with small living spaces, or people who don’t need to cook large meals. It will serve one to three people easily, and offers the easiest way to produce the best rice you’ve ever had!
What we like about it:
- This cooker has different settings for different rice. Each type of grain needs to be cooked slightly differently, and this cooker has taken that into account with its variable cooking settings.
- 24 hour keep warm function means that you can come home to perfectly cooked, warm food whenever you fancy it – regardless of when you started the cooker.
- The inner cooking bowl uses innovative technology, not only to ensure that it is easy to clean, but also that it contains no harmful toxins that may leach into your food.
- It comes with accessories – you will receive a cup to measure out the exact amount of rice you need; a dimpled spoon to help with rice serving, and a steaming tray so that you can cook vegetables over the rice.
- It is a stylish little gadget. Although this is not the most pressing concern on your mind when looking for a rice cooker, it is nice to know that you can get one that does the job and also looks really good in your kitchen!
4. Amazon Basics 23 in 1 Multipurpose Electric Steamer 5.5L, 1000W
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This cooker really is a multi purpose option – just about anything you can make on your cooker, you can also make in this multi cooker. Everything from rice to chilli to meat, vegetables and soup – if you want to cook it, you can.
What we like about it:
- Easy to use. This cooker is pretty much foolproof, with clear buttons and an easy to read display so you can easily decide what you want to cook and how you want to cook it.
- Large enough for family meals and dinner parties. At a 5.5 litre capacity, you can easily feed the hordes with this cooker, and it’s great for dinner parties too as you can just leave it to do its thing.
- You can choose from steaming, slow cooking and pressure cooking, for a truly versatile cooking experience.
- CE, UL and ULC certified with 10 proven safety mechanisms, this cooker is guaranteed to make you delicious food in the safest way possible.
- Reduces your time slaving over a hot stove. All you need to do is add the food, press the right button, put the lid on and leave it. This clever cooker will do all the rest of the hard work for you – and it will even keep your food warm for you when it’s done!
5. Reishunger Digital Rice Cooker 1.5L 860W Multicooker
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Don’t be fooled by the small size of this rice cooker – it packs a lot of punch, and can easily prepare up to 8 portions of perfectly cooked rice. It also has other functions, meaning that you can steam vegetables at the same time for added convenience, as well as make soups and other dishes.
What we like about it:
- High quality inner cooking pot ensures rice is perfectly cooked with no sticking. The double coating of ceramic on the pot is easy to clean, as well as distributing the heat evenly so nothing is ever going to burn.
- Cooks the food without removing the nutrients. This cooker has a clever feature whereby it reduces the heat to 90 degrees once the rice is cooked, thus sealing in the nutrients as well as perfectly cooking the rice.
- Easy to read LED screen. You will always be able to see the simple instructions and decide which button to press, using this intuitive LED display. It also comes with a user guide to help you get the hang of it initially.
- You can cook food up to 24 hours in advance. Thanks to the timer switch, you can set food to be cooked when you get back from work, or have it warm and ready for you first thing in the morning.
- Great workmanship for a long life. This cooker is made to the highest standards, meaning that you can keep it – and its perfectly cooked food – in your life for a long time to come.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What else can I cook in a rice cooker other than rice?
If you have a rice-only rice cooker, the only thing you can cook in it is brown or white rice. But many modern rice cookers are multifunctional, meaning you can cook different foods in them including stews, porridge, meat, vegetables and soup.
Some rice cookers can even make a cake.
2. How long does a rice cooker take to cook rice?
It depends on the type and amount of rice, as well as the cooker wattage. But generally, most rice cookers take about 30 minutes to have your rice ready to serve.
If you want, you can leave the rice in the cooker for longer and it’ll stay warm.
3. Is a rice cooker worth it?
If you are a natural at making perfect rice over a stovetop, you probably think a rice cooker is a waste of money. But, believe it or not, there are many people who end up with a pot of undercooked or burnt rice more often than they’d like.
If you can never make perfect rice or you simply want an effortless way to make rice, a rice cooker is worth it. As long as you get your rice and water ratios right, you get perfect rice every single time.
