1. Perfect rice every time. Rice cookers are amazing magical mechanisms. OK, maybe they aren’t magical and it is all mechanics but I never, ever made a decent pot of rice until a friend gave me a rice cooker. I haven’t burned rice or had crunchy rice ever since! In fact, it comes out perfectly cooked every time.
2. No stovetop splatter. Starchy rice water in a pot on the stove gets hot! I used to have to dodge the liquid, hot magma as I tried to stir the rice so that it didn?t stick to the bottom of the pot. By the time I was done attempting to cook my rice, my stovetop would be pasted with a starchy mess. There is no splatter with a rice cooker.
3. A rice cooker needs no supervision and shuts off automatically when the rice is done. No stirring, no dodging magma splatters, and no burned rice. In fact, there is no need to even think about it. Just put in the rice and the water and forget about it while working on the rest of your meal. In fact, even if you don?t time your meal properly, most rice cookers have an auto warm feature that will keep your rice warm after it is done cooking.
4. Rice is inexpensive. OK, Uncle Ben?s and other parboiled rice brands can be fairly expensive and at a buck a bag for microwave rice bags, that can add up for a large family. Did you know that you can buy a five-pound bag of rice for a couple dollars? Five pounds of dry rice can make a whole lot of rice for you and your family. It is amazingly inexpensive and keeps a lot longer and easier than potatoes.
5. Rice is healthy. Rice is gluten free, non-allergenic, contains no fat or cholesterol and, if you use long grain, wild or brown rice, you?ll get plenty of fiber too!
Before you start thinking that rice cookers are just for rice, stop!
I bought a wonderful little Rival Rice Cooker for less than $20 and it included a great steaming dish. Just put your rice and water in the main bowl and then toss some vegetables in the steaming dish and all you need to worry about cooking for dinner is some meat.
Rice cookers are also great for making oatmeal. Not instant flavored oatmeal but real, rugged, fiber-packed, oatmeal that?ll stick to your ribs on a cold winter day. Oatmeal is another whole grain that is very inexpensive. Just combine your oats and water in the rice cooker and push the button. A hot, healthy breakfast will be ready in no time at all. Try adding some raisins and walnuts for some sweetness and texture and you?ve got a great meal.