I never knew I wanted a rice cooker till my husband got me one for Christmas a few years back. I never really had a problem cooking rice on the stone top but some people do. With a rice cooker it is just so simple. You just add the rice and and water, all you have to remember though is that you need 1/2 cup more water than you do rice, so if you are cooking 1 cup of rice you will need 1 1/2 cups of water, 2 cups of rice 2 1/2 cups of water and so on. The rice cooker has an outer unit that is white and attractive. Inside the outer unit is the heating coil. The unit also comes with a removable pot, this is where the rice goes. It is kind of like an aluminum bowl. You can put it in the dishwasher if you like but I recommend washing it by hand. The set also comes with a one cup measuring cup and a rice spoon. It also has a booklet that tells you how to use the unit and how to measure things out. You can make from 2 to 8 cups of rice, which of course increases in size when cooked. The directions are in Spanish, English, and French. Unfortunately there are not any ric recipes included, that would have been nice. There are tips however on how to do certain things for different rices, like some you might want to rinse or soak so that the rice comes out less starchy. For regular white rice you can give the rice a quick rinse, then pour it into the pan, then add the water. For 2 cups of rice you would add 2 1/2 cups of water. Then you push it closed, and lock the sealer. It has like a little lock latch on it. To open it back up you just push the latch. Once you close it up though do not open it again until the rice is done cooking. Once you close it you push down the button in the front. There are two indicator lights, one that says cook and one that says warm. When you push the button down the cook indicator light will light up. You leave the rice cooker to do its thing. When the indicator goes to warm you then leave it sitting for at least an additional 10 minutes. It is so simple to use and the rice comes out perfect every time. Just don't forget to let it set for that extra 10 minutes. It will keep your rice warm and soft for an hour or two after you are done with it, after that the rice starts to dry out, so you can't leave it in there all day and expect nice fresh soft rice. If you hate cooking rice but love eating it, try this simple rice cooker, it is not that expensive and your rice will always be perfect with very little effort on your part. The inside pan is also very easy to clean, so clean up isn't even a problem. Performance Love it. Makes perfect rice every time. Ease of Cleaning Once in a while you have to take it all apart and clean it, but usually only after several uses. Usually you just have to clean the pan that comes out and it has a non stick finish and cleans up really easily. Then just wipe down the outside and that is it. Ease of Use Add rice and water, and push a button. Could not be easier. Durability I have had mine for a few years and it is still looking and working great. Design It's small and it is white so it goes anywhere just fine.

ladym33

Crystal Lake, IL

I purchased this rice cooker a few years ago and haven't had any problems with it. I cook for only myself with it, so I didn't need one of the larger ones. I have made both white and brown rice in it with great results. I eat rice at least a couple times a week so I have gotten good use out of it. It is really easy to clean and small enough to store away between uses.

egreenup

USA

I love our Aroma ARC9145 rice cooker.  My husband and I asked for this for christmas a couple years ago and we are SOO glad that we did!  We eat a lot of rice and this makes it so easy to make and eat!  I was getting sick of the minute rice because I dont think that it tastes the same as real rice.  So this was the perfect solution and it is soooo easy to use.  All you do is add the rice(make sure that you wash the rice off a few time,until the water is clear) and water and close the lid and push the cook button.  It will cook until it is done and once it's done it will automatically go switch to the warming feature.  Your rice will be perfect everytime!  I would say that we use our Aroma ARC9145 rice cooker at least once a week.  It is very easy to clean as well.  You just remove the inner "bowl" and wash it out.  I like that the cord is removable as well.  This is nice for storage, you can put everything including the cord back inside the cooker itself and then you dont have to worry about clutter or losing the cord!

miaka1128

Green Bay, WI

We were given this Aroma Arc9145 rice cooker as a gift recently and it has made dinner preparation so much faster! We really love how easy it is to use.  All you do is add the rice and water and close the lid and push the cook button.  It will cook until it is done and once it's done it will automatically go switch to the warming feature.  The only thing that I wish it had was way to know how close it is to being done. I've never timed it, and I'm sure the amount you add effects the cooking time.  It's just a bit frustrating to be waiting on it and not be sure how much longer you'll have to wait.  It makes me feel like I have to sit and watch it constantly to watch for it to switch to warm mode. But even then, it's still faster than doing it on the stove and it works really well.  Plus is nice to be able to just hurry and put get it going on the counter and then while it cooks I can hurry and finish my stir-fry on the stove and I don't have to even check on the rice until it's time to eat if I don't want to because I know it won't burn or get over cooked, and I don't have to do anything to it once I've hit the cook button on the steamer. We even used it to bring dinner to my sister's one night.  We just took the whole thing with us as soon as it was done, and didn't open it until we were there.  Even though it was kind of a long drive, by the time we opened it at her house almost half an hour later it was actually still warm, so I know the container is well insulated even if not plugged in.  Just as long as it's not opened anyway. It's not too bulky to bring along either, and as long as the lid is firmly latched it's easy to carry. Cleaning is pretty simple too, all you have to do it wash the removable non-stick inner pot after every use, and maybe wipe down the inner lid with a damp cloth if it needs it.  You just have to be careful not to get anything on the inside of the steamer, where the pot normally sits or it will burn.  If food does get down there just wipe it up with a damp cloth. The cooker normally comes with a measuring cup and it's own little rice scooper, as well as an instruction manual that has a chart to show you the water rice ratio per desired serving amount.  It also tells about different kinds of rice and the different ways to cook them. Also includes some recipes. When we were given this the measuring cup wasn't with it, and the manual says that a typical measuring cup is not the same as their cup, but we've tried it with just a regular measuring cup anyways, and it's still turned out okay, though I think their cup might be a bit bigger.  I think the rice could stand to be just slightly more moist, though my husband doesn't agree . . . he thinks it's perfect. Also, My husband is especially loving the rice cooker because rice is one of his favorite foods.  He always chooses rice over another option like pasta or potatoes. So now thanks to the steamer, we can have it a lot more often, and it's never too sticky or too crunchy. We didn't get this for our wedding, I wish we had.  My brother-in-law and sister-in-law got three of them for their wedding this last month and that's why they decided to give one of theirs to us as a gift, because they said everybody needs a rice cooker.  I totally agree! It would have been awesome to have one of these years ago. I'm so glad they asked if we had one.  It makes me very happy! The instructions don't say to add anything but rice and water, but I think you could get away with adding butter and salt if you really wanted to, only you'll need to stir it first before you set it to cook because otherwise only the rice at the top will have any when it's done.  I did that the first time I used it, it was still okay though.  Since then I've had my husband get the rice cooking for me while I'm working on the other parts of dinner (yes even a typical guy can figure out how to do this because it's soooo simple!) and he's only added water to the rice whenever he's done it and I honestly haven't noticed a difference.  The cooker works so well that butter isn't really needed to keep the rice from sticking and as long as you have a good stir-fry or other topping the lack of salt doesn't matter either.   The Aroma ARC-914B is actually the model I have. I'm not sure what the difference between the two models are or if there is a difference.  This site wouldn't let me put in my specific model at the beginning.  Mine holds up to four cups of non-cooked rice which yields up to eight cups of cooked rice. Supposedly it can also steam sea food and vegetables, though I've not tried this option yet. The one online says it also comes with steam rack.  I'm not sure what this is, but we don't have that either, doesn't seem to matter though.

TheIcePixy

Bountiful, UT

I was in a jam for a rice cooker when mine broke and didn't have time to shop around alot.  I bought one of the only two types available at walmart and didn't expect much as it was very inexpensive (around 10.00 or so). I ended up with the Aroma Rice Cooker, model number  ARC-914B, and for the money, it can't be beat.   I was pleasantly to surprised to find a nice, easy to use, no frills cooker that does the job perfectly every time.  It features a glass  see-through lid so you can see the progress of the rice without lifting the lid and releasing the steam, and a keep warm feature which is also perfect for reheating leftover cooked rice.  Also included was a rice paddle which slides into a slot on the side of the cooker.  The rice cooker is sturdy and easy to clean with the lift-out bowl.  It does the job just as well as more expensive units.

cabrummitt

Manhattan, MT