If you love rice like our family does, you probably already know that Zojirushi is the best out there. It's a Japanese brand that makes quality products - the prices speak for themselves, but you get what you paid for. The problem is, that a lot of Zojirushi products look old-school, with flowers and weird designs. For a modern family, we wanted a rice cooker that has the quality of Zojirushi and is not ugly! This is the one we found! It's the perfect size for our small family of three and it matches our other appliances. It's very easy to use. Just push the buttons for based on your preferences. A tip: You can also use this to steam already cooked foods. Just put your food in an oven-safe bowl and add a small amount of water so it steams! Durability These last for a long time. My mom has her Zojirushi rice cooker for over ten years and it still works perfectly! Design Finally a Zojirushi that is not ugly!

heatherwong

Irvine, CA

When we got married we received this rice cooker as a gift. We tossed our cheap old school rice cookers and have used this one for the past 3 years with no issues. The bowl has a non-stick surface which makes cleaning a dream. The only problem is that as the rice steams, there is a removable aluminum plate in the lid which tends to trap water. I don't think you really need to remove and clean after every time you cook rice but we do. Some more of the positives are: Bowl is a heavier metal so I think it helps add to the even cooking. Stainless steel outside resists finger prints (if you really care), multiple rice settings help ensure perfect rice (brown, white, mochi, etc), small footprint on the counter (we leave ours out), cord retracts into machine. Great little rice cooker and its still going strong. Ease of Cleaning Water gets trapped in the lid and you need to remove to wipe down. Ease of Use read the instruction manual

uscjeffer

Livermore, CA

We finally decided to purchase a real (electronic) rice cooker and have not regretted our purchase. We have cooked different sorts of rice with this cooker from medium grain, long grain, brown rice and sushi rice. We have also tried using it to cook rice congee and it came out well. This Zojirushi NS-LAC05 make great rice. It can handle even small amounts of rice and different variety of rices. There is a timer feature. What we like about this cooker include it's attractive appearance, small footprint, stick proof bowl. This particular rice cooker has a feature called Micom Neuro Fuzzy in that it monitors and adjusts the temperature of the cooker so cooked rice always comes out perfect. Another standard feature include retractable cord. The cooker is a little expensive but if you cook a lot of rice, I highly recommend this cooker.

sputnikwood

San Francisco, CA

I didn't even know what a rice cooker was until I started babysitting for a family form Japan. They had a Zojirushi rice cooker. I thought it was pretty handy but was't sure if it was worth the money. I looked around and found a really cheap one but I got what I paid for. It had all sorts of little issues. I decided to bite the bullet and get a Zojirushi and I am so happy. It makes perfect rice, keeps it warm for a long time, is easy to use and easy to clean. It takes a while to cook the rice but because it has a timer you can set it to start at whatever time you want so you don't have to be their to get it going. I eat rice almost everyday and because it keeps rice warm for so long I don't usually waste any. If you want a rice cooker just spend the money and get a Zojirushi.

Ramic

Nampa, ID

I like how there are so many options to cook different kinds of rice and even cake. Although I've never baked the cake before but I've seen successful recipes on youtube and have contemplated on trying it out. I eat brown rice a lot more than white and mix it with other grains so it takes longer to cook. But it takes WAY too long on the brown rice setting. I think like an hour? It's faster to cook the rice on the stove top than the cooker. I will say that my rice always turns out nice and fluffy and it sings when it's done. It's very portable and easy to clean. It's also small and you can store it in any little cubby in your kitchen. It is quite expensive because zojirushi is such a trusted brand.

yupitsmabel

Houston, TX

Makes rice perfectly every time. Even when I slightly tweak the ingrediants, it still comes out with uniform consistency. Bowl has measuring marks inside, so it's easy enough to measure. No need to stand at the counter & make sure it doesn't burn or boil over. Just set it & walk away. The domestic rice cookers are getting better. But I picked up my Zojirushi several years ago & it still beats the other brands. Best part is using it for leftovers. I hate leftover rice unless I'm using it in fried rice. The non-stick bowl is anodized, so it won't flake. And since you're only cleaning off rice & water, it just wipes clean. Manual says it can make porridge, but I've never tried that fucntion. The warmer is perfect. You can set it up first thing in the morning & come home from work to have a bowl of perfet rice waiting for you. I once tried letting it warm rice for 24 hours. Still tasted great. A warning about cup sizes: Zojirushi is a Japanese brand & therefore does not build their cookers with the American cup size as a unit of measurement.

SteveOrama

Minneapolis, MN

My Zojirushi rice cooker gets loads of use at my house.  I love rice, but I am terrible at cooking it in a pot on the stove.  The Zojirushi rice cooker makes it pretty much impossible to make bad rice.   All you do is measure the rice (measuring cup is included with the Zojirushi rice cooker), add water (the water marks for each amount of rice is marked inside the actual bowl that is included with the Zojirushi rice cooker) and turn it on! I've done some experimenting over the past couple of years with me Zojirushi rice cooker.  I have added onions and carrots to the Zojirushi rice cooker bowl before starting it, and they came out wonderfully steamed and tender. If you like, you can even add butter or olive oil along with spices.  I've tried Tony Chachere's, garlic, Lowry's, basil, mixed italian and many, many more in my Zojirushi rice cooker.  I'm telling ya, if you like rice, you should get one of these!

kidrockluvr

Senatobia, MS

The Zojirushi 3-Cup Rice Cooker (NS-LAC05) is a great little kitchen helper.  It helps to minimize time spent cooking rice and being able to do other things.  It has several settings to choose from, like regular white rice/ brown rice, porridge among a few.  It has a sleek sort of modern design to it, which is athestically appealing.  You just use the non-stick container to add your rice, pop it in, and press the setting you want to start it up and leave it to cook.  It will notify you when it's ready with a little tune.  Clean up is easy as well.  I just rinse it and clean it with soft side of a scrub and wipe it dry.  You don't want to mess up the non-stick coating.  It has been working well for me so far.  The downside of this is that it only holds 3 cups.  But it's a trade - off to having it fit on the counter and not take up much space.  The other thing is that it is quite an expensive product for what it does.  But like they say, you get what you pay for.  And it indeed, quality has been great and has not let me down as of yet.

kpham4

Shreveport, LA

This rice cooker is amazing! I've never had one before, and I was so sick of the mess from cooking rice, and the splatter it made on my stovetop. The features that I love are: -The retractable power cord and fold down handle, which make it easy to store. -The clock that stays set even when it's not plugged in. -The various settings that make it more than just a rice cooker. -The cute tunes it plays for starting and stopping, making cooking more fun. -The 'warm' setting, and how it automatically switches to it when it's finished, so I don't have to worry about my rice. -The bowl, because it's so easy to clean.   Really, this rice cooker is making my life easier. Whenever I set out to cook for more than a few minutes, I start a batch of rice, just to have on hand. When I'm done whatever I'm cooking, I transfer the rice to the fridge to use for the next few days. All I have to do is measure, rinse, and set the menu, then go about my other cooking, and before I know it, it's done! The set up and the clean up are both so easy. I can't believe how much time I wasted in the past cleaning up my rice mess. It has a porridge setting. Cooking rice porridge is tedious, but I love it. Now, it's easy! I'm so happy I invested in this rice cooker! But the best part is, the rice is perfect when it's done! Brown rice and white rice. Both come out so much better than they do on the stovetop!

kmcd23

Honolulu, HI

I purchased the Zojirushi 3 Cup Rice Cooker as a replacement for the family-sized model we've used for the past 30 years.  It's a perfect size for our new empty nesters household.  I love the compact size and programmable features.  So far I've used our Zojurushi for both brown and white rice and both cooked to perfection.  We've also taken it with us on a few of our travels and found it very handy.  I was able to reheat lentil/bulgar chili and cook several pre-packaged box dinners for those nights when we didn't feel like eating out.  We really enjoyed the Zatarain's Red Beans and Rice and Marrakesh Express couscous with parmesan cheese.  I was also able to prepare a fairly decent risotto by first browining my aromatics using the quick cook function and then combining everything for a cycle through the porridge function.  The unit can also be used to make oatmeal and has a timer setting so that you can wake to a quick, healthy breakfast.  We haven't used this setting yet but I imagine we'll give it a try when cooler weather shows up.   My main complaint-and this is a problem with most rice cookers I've researched-is that the measurements aren't standard, at least using US measures.  You have to adjust your recipes to accomodate the included measuring cup.  Other than this I've been very satisfied with our purchase. 

jsmla

Baton Rouge, LA