[0898]

This is an interesting mechanism, but is it really that difficult to boil rice for 20 minutes? I'm not exactly Gordon Ramsay, but I don't think I've ever failed to make decent rice.

[akira2501]

It depends on how much rice you are making, how often you make it, and if you'd like it to be setup overnight and started on a schedule for you for certain types of rice and other grains.

Rice cookers can generally make a pretty large volume and they're still rather efficient at doing so. If you get the water and rice ratio to your liking it will make nearly perfect rice every time at the press of a button. The best ones have multiple markings for white and brown rice on the bowl so you don't even need a measuring cup to do this.

It has a little countdown timer so you can get your sides ready on time. It plays a little song when it's done. It covers and seals up well and can keep rice warm and good to eat for a few hours.

There are only two parts that you have to wash, the bowl itself and the detachable lid seal, and one you have to wipe down, the steam vent cap.

I generally don't like special purpose tools in my kitchen. The rice cooker has been a part of it for 20 years anyways. It's simply too useful without any additional hassle that it has easily earned it's place.

[kalleboo]

In many Asian households, rice is a part of breakfast, lunch and dinner. Boiling rice and washing the pot for every meal is a lot of work. Instead with a rice cooker, you set it the evening before with a timer. Rice is automatically ready in the morning for breakfast, you take out the breakfast portion and close the cooker again. It now goes into warm mode and keeps the remaining rice fresh and warm for the remaining meals of the day where you can just take out a portion here or there.

If you're eating a more western diet with rice only a handful of times a week, it's probably overkill as a single-tasker.

[miltonlost]

It's very difficult when you only have a wood or charcoal stove that needs to be fanned for 20 minutes at a constant rate or else the rice will burn. Which is why the electric rice cooker was such an amazing creation. It's in the article about the inventor of it.

As for today? Well, too hot on the stove or a phone call comes in, and poof, there goes all the water and the rice burns. If you're making rice 3 times a day, it's easier and safer to cook in a machine that guarantees perfection every time.

[masfuerte]

You don't simmer for twenty minutes. You simmer for ten and remove it from the heat for the remaining ten. The rice never burns because it is still quite wet when you remove it from the heat. Start with twice as much water as rice (by volume) and it comes out perfectly. I've been cooking rice like this for thirty years and it's always great.

[CiaranMcNulty]

The best analogy is a toaster

Is it really that hard to grill bread? Nope, but you have to pay attention somewhat to stop it burning.

Once you hit a certain volume of usage, an automatic device makes a lot of sense.

[croes]

Toast needs more attention than rice

[walthamstow]

Think of it as asynchronous cooking. You turn it on, walk away, come back whenever you're ready and you've got rice waiting for you.

[fkyoureadthedoc]

Considering the proliferation and popularity of the rice cooker, the answer is a resounding and obvious "yes"

[tdeck]

The article is very thin on details. For example, why not use a mechanical timer like many other appliances did and still do? That's the kind of detail an IEEE reader might appreciate.

[walthamstow]

A timer doesn't work because it takes longer to boil three cups of water compared to one. The bimetallic mechanism is agnostic of the amount of rice being cooked.

[rawgabbit]

The 20 minutes is for ideal conditions. The article explained the goal was to boil away the water and then reduce the heat. The time needed may change with different ambient temperature or humidity.