I am from Hawaii and rice is part of our diet. This Aroma Digital Rice Cooker and Steamer is a kitchen tool that I can't live without. Performance I have primarily used this for cooking white rice. I love the fact that I don't even need to get out a measuring cup to get rice started. I have done brown rice a few times and it is great too. I am about to try a half-n-half mixture of white and brown rice which has become really popular in Hawaii. May have to guess a bit on water amount for the first try or two. Ease of Cleaning I love the fact that rice just comes right out and the inside barrel cleans out quickly with soap and water. Ease of Use It is as simple as a scoop of rice, poor water to the line in the container that has the same number as the amount of rice scoops, push the white or brown rice button, and let it do its thing. Walk away and wait for the buzzer to go off. Love this simplicity. Durability I have had mine for many years. I broke my first one in a move. The only struggle it has is that after years of use, the raised numbers for water level are a bit hard to see. Design Its shape is great. I love how it can hold a really large batch of rice. The water catcher for the condensation is a great feature.

wendyreed

USA

I overall love this product. I find that we eat way more rice know that it turns out perfect each time. Before I use to make it on the stovetop and of course I burnt it a lot of left to much water, and always half of the rice stuck to the bottom of the pot. Now my rice turns out perfect. What I love the most is that you just put it in and can walk away and start working on your other parts of dinner and the rice will come out perfect. I also love the vegtable steamer. With having a garden we have found that it is a must have in the summer time! The vegtables come out perfectly steamed, and even each and every time which is really nice. Performance Rice turns out perfect!!!! Ease of Cleaning Clean it right away because some does get stuck to the lid that is hard to get off if it sits! Ease of Use Put it in, set the timer and you will have perfectly cooked rice! Durability Looks brand new still! Design Rice is perfect each time, can not think of anyway to improve it!

amy205

USA

The Aroma Rice Cooker and Steamer makes rice cooking a breeze! After many years of stovetop battles to cook rice, we researched and purchased this Aroma rice cooker (and steamer, although we have not used it in that regard as of yet). So far, we have only cooked brown rice. The best part is not having rice water boiling over a pan on the stove, getting the burner all messy, and constantly having to monitor the cooking of the rice. In the Aroma cooker, it's as easy as measuring the rice into the cooker, adding the water, and selecting a few buttons. The buttons are intuitive to use. The brown rice water ratio was a bit off in our opinion, so we are experimenting with using a little less water than it calls for. Cleanup isn't too bad, but there's a steam valve on the lid that requires a bit of diligence to get clean. Overall, good product. Also seems set up for right-handed people (lid opening, mainly).

kapolo

Gulfport, MS

We love our rice cooker/steamer. We got a good deal on it and love that it is big enough to cook for a crowd. We used to have a small 2 cup rice cooker and it was barely enough to feed my crew. Now we can feed our family plus more. Thanks for making an affordable product that can feed many and cooks great rice and veggies!

tawarren

Albany, OR

I love this machine for steaming vegetables. It is also a good rice cooker but I tend to use it more for vegetables. Ease of Cleaning The nice slick inside pan is a breeze to clean. Durability It gets a lot of use at our house and has never missed a beat!

Patcook09

Idaho Falls, ID

The Aroma ARC-978 8 -Cup Digital Rice Cooker & Steamer is absolutely wonderful, easy to use and set up, it can make rice instantaneously and it has not failed yet. it neither under cooks not overcooks and the settings are easy to understand and use. I have made all sorts of rice from white to SUshi rice without having any problems. You will only burn rice if you try to otherwise it will come out fine every time. So why did i give it only 4 stars, partially because the steamer is rather flimsy so cooking vegetables and fish are not ideal. Also the rice sometimes comes out a little liquidy, however i do not necessarily think its the rice cookers fault, maybe i put too much water or set it wrong. FOr the price this is more than a reasonble rice cooker for feeding four to eiight people easily.

nspathfinder

Brooklyn, NY

I wish I could have given this Aroma ARC-978 8-cup Digital Rice Cooker and Steamer 4 and a HALF stars. I just recently learned that rice is glueten-free...so I've decided to start eating more rice and less pasta products. And I LOVE rice anyway. This Aroma Rice Cooker/Steamer is pretty easy to use once you have read the directions. It comes with a measuring scoop that is not a standard U.S. measuring cup...so it is important that you follow the ratio directions from the instruction manual to get the perfect rice. I love making a full 8 cups of rice at one time and then I keep the rice in the refrigerator and pull out what I need for the week and reheat. The rice cooks perfectly every time. This machine is easy to use and easy to clean. A great addition to any kitchen.

beebs2010

Austin, TX

I just recently upgraded to this new Aroma rice cooker and man am I glad I did. It is so easy to use and so elegant to look at. I've had several guests come and compliment me on how nicely it fits into the home. So as far as looks goes, this Aroma cooker takes the prize. In terms of functionality, the cooker does superbly well. I've cooked up to the brim in this cooker and it doesn't have an issues evenly cooking the rice. I love the taste of the rice as it first finishes out of this cooker. And the interface is so easy to use. I just have to click cook to let it cook and it'll stay warm for as long as I leave it on. To turn it off, I just have to click the off button and leave it at that. The only downside from this cooker that I can see of is that it takes a really long time to cook. My older cooker took about a third of time less than this cooker. I've noticed that even if the cooker indicates that it is still cooking after about half an hour, the rice is actually already fully cooked. I've tested this on a few occasions where I've opened the cooker about 10 minutes before the cook signal turns off and it is completely cooked. Other than the time to cook, this cooker is great!

hunterson

Los Angeles, CA

Considering the fact that I absolutely love rice and my children do as well, this was a no brainer for me: I needed a rice cooker. We got this one for our wedding and I have loved it all 6 years of my marriage. Not only does it cook your rice but steams vegtables and well...at the same time! It's a two for one deal and the only thing you have to worry about is when to take out whatever it is you're steaming. I love that this makes cooking different types of rice easy. Whether it's white, wild or brown this makes it very simple to cook despite the difference in time it may take. I also love that it will automatically shut off once the rice is done and keep it warm. Similar to a crock pot, this keeps your cooked food warm while you're away. What a great feature I wish more appliances had!

wrichards

Winston Salem, NC

Being an Indian rice is our staple food and we eat rice almost everyday. I purchased this rice-cooker before 2 years when I got married. Aroma rice cooker is easy to use and cooks rice to the right consistency all the time. The best part is it keeps the rice warm until we serve it. Of late I have also started making mexican brown rice with the cooker and it comes out pretty good. One more advantage with this cooker is that it can cook upto 8 cups of rice. This is especially helpful when I have get-together parties at my house. I can cook Indian food easily for 15-20 people in one go. Just one minor concern about the rice cooker is that it does take around 40 minutes to 1 hour to cook rice which sometimes maybe too long. However, when I asked my friends who use other brands, even they have the same issue. Hence I dont mind much about it as I make rice first before starting to cook other entrees.

shakthi

Middletown, CT