Zojirushi rice cookers

[2girlsandalab]

Does anyone own any of the pictured Zojirushi rice cookers?

http://www.zojirushi.com/ourproducts/ricecookers/ricecookers.html

If so, can you tell me if the non-stick lining of the bowl portion on yours is pretty good, or does it start to flake off after a year or so? We have a r.c. made by Krups (they only made one) and the coating is pitted and obviously coming off. Yuck. I would not buy another replacement bowl from Krups. Thanks for any info!

[egoldber]

I have had this one for two years and I have been very pleased with it. NO flaking. :)

http://www.zojirushi.com/ourproducts/ricecookers/ns_pc.html

[zuzu]

I have an older model (so not pictured) of one of the fuzzy logic ones. The insert looks exactly like this one: http://www.zojirushi.com/ourproducts/ricecookers/ns_myc.html

We've had it for at least seven years and use it as a rice cooker, mini slow cooker and steamer, and it shows no sign of wear. I was reluctant to spend the money at the time, but it has been well worth it, especially the timer setting.

[nupe]

I have the simplest model shown, in indigo, that I bought from Amazon years ago. It is so worth it for the NS coating. The NS coating has a few defects in it now, but I think those happened when we had guests and I don't know how they cleaned it. For the most part it has been a dream to use for me and now I've had it in regular use (meaning at least 2x a week, if not 4 times a week) for at least 4 years now. Wow, I didn't realize it was that old. Before this cooker we had gone through 2 of the inexp cookers that cost about $12 at Target (or the VA hospital store). Ugh I hated cleaning those cookers.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005YXBY/sr=8-3/qid=1190734439/ref=noref/102-8234994-3841742?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1190734439&sr=8-3

On another note, I don't pre rinse my rice. I like my rice soft. Right now I love jasmine rice. I use a ratio of about 1 cup rice to 3 cups water, and then I prop the lid open w/the plastic spatula that comes with the cooker. I know a lot of the water evaporates this way. I also know it never boils over this way too. We have hard water where I am and I wonder if that is why I had to develop this method.

I would so buy a zojirushi again. However I did buy a larger rice cooker from costco for when we have guests, that I haven't tried yet. Don't remember the brand.

[Tondi G]

My Japanese Neighbor has one that looks just like this one. Her rice is always SOOO yummy. My 2 year old walks through her door and in minutes is saying "I want rice! Ena you have rice?" LOL

I am considering getting one of these and having her buy me some rice at the Asian Market she goes to!

~Tondi

[luvmypeanut]

I've got the NS-KCC05 and the NH-VBC18 and have had them for two years. I haven't had any problems with the bowls at all. When I lived in Tokyo, all my Japanese friends recommended the IH rice cookers. When we moved back, I had to get the US version because I missed the great rice my old cooker made.

[2girlsandalab]

>all. When I lived in Tokyo, all my Japanese friends
>recommended the IH rice cookers. When we moved back, I had to

What is IH? Is it a brand?

[californiagirl]

We have a Panasonic; a friend has a Zojirushi. They both have excellent non-stick that flakes a tiny bit on the OUTside but is perfect on the inside. But the Panasonic beeps and the Zojirushi plays little tunes. Also, the Zojiruushi has cool-down time before you can restart it, which is a problem for some of the fancy stuff we do (rice-cooker risotto, mmmmm).

[nupe]

I make my risott in the pressure cooker--it is so fast and yummy.

[luvmypeanut]

IH stands for Induction Heating. Apparently, the technology ensures that every single grain of rice is cooked perfectly. I haven't tested that claim but the rice sure tastes good.

My kids like the "twinkle twinkle" tune on the Zojirushi.

[mum1day]

I've had this one for 7 years and it's perfect! Still in excellent shape. The pan isn't non-stick perse.

[klyama]

I have the one with the flowers on the side. It's designed so you can take it to the table to serve. We received it as a wedding shower gift over 11 years ago and it's still in fabulous shape. These are the best rice cookers you can get. The rice never burns and the non-ctick coating is perfect (use a non-scratch sponge to wash). It's worth the investment!

[tina-t]

I have one that looks similar to the NS-RNC10 which I bought in SF Chinatown 12 years ago. It works great except that a few years ago, one of our guest cleaned the inner pan with the scratchy part of the sponge and got some of the non stick part out. But we love the Zojirushi brand. My brother has one too for almost the same number of years and his is still working great. And these have been used in our home almost everyday for that number of years.

HTH.

[hellokitty]

OK, I was a die hard zojirushi customer for a long time. I have an older zojirushi which has always worked well (for a decade), but was starting to cook rice inconsistently. I wanted to get another zojirushi, a fuzzy logic one, but omg, the prices were crazy. I researched and read a lot of reviews and ended up looking into the sanyo 10 cup fuzzy logic. I got it at amazon (fantastic price, all of the asian markets carried it for at LEAST $150, it's $99 at amazon, free tax and shipping) and was a little skeptical, since I've always considered the zojirushi THE mercedes of rice cookers.

Anyway, we love it. We've had it for 6 months, and we use it 5-6 days out of the wk (both DH and I are asian american, so rice is a staple). I love that you can program it, you can cook rice porridge (a traditional chinese breakfast) in it, you can cook all different kinds of rice in it, including brown rice which can sometimes be a pain to cook in a regular non-fuzzy, it is easy to clean, we have not had any issues at all with the non-stick coating AND it also can be used as a crock pot!!! The zojirushi model most similar to the sanyo was TWICE the price and it did not even have the crock pot feature! I mean, this thing practically sews drapes! I have been so impressed with it, I wish all of my kitchen appliances were as wonderful as my sanyo. I find that it is pretty much idiot proof to use, even though it sounds like it must be really complicated to use since it has so many features.

Also, just a note. Technically, nobody should be rinsing their rice in the rice pot, the instructions say that it can wear away the non-stick coating... for ANY brand of rice cooker pot. So, if you really want to make sure you prolong the life of your rice pot, make sure you rinse out the rice in another bowl and then transfer it into the rice pot. Just a thought, if your rice cooker still works, but it is just the pot that is worn, you can probably get a replacement and it may last if you discontinue rinsing the rice in the pot.

Anyway, just to make things harder on you, I'm throwing in the sanyo as a rice cooker that you should seriously consider. :) I'm telling you, I have gotten all my friends and family to get the sanyo after I got mine. I love it (they should pay me commission!), and when/if the one I have ever breaks, I will get another sanyo w/o any hesitation. In fact, it's actually brought down the opinion I have of zojirushi that they would charge so much for a product, just based on their reputation, when another company has made an even better product than they have for half the price. Oh, and I also think the sanyo is a more stylish looking design than that zojirushi, so it actually doesn't look like an eyesore sitting on my counter top, which is where it usually sits, since we use it almost every day.

[2girlsandalab]

In what country is your Sanyo made, or a least the bowl part? Is Z made in Japan?

[hellokitty]

Sanyo itself is a japanese company. It looks like the rice cooker is made in china. I have no clue where the pot is made, since there is not really anywhere they could have put a stamp on the pot. I don't know if Z is still made in japan or not. Before thinking that everything made in china must be bad, remember that there are plenty of great products made in china too, high end stuff. It's just that the cheapy junk has gotten so much negative press lately, now everyone is on a china bash.

[kusumat]

Does anyone know what type of material is used in the nonstick inside bowl? I wonder whether the teflon was used.

[2girlsandalab]

>Does anyone know what type of material is used in the
>nonstick inside bowl? I wonder whether the teflon was used.
>

I just spoke with Z customer service. their bowls are coated with Sumiflon. She says Sumiflon will become toxic above 700F, but the highest temp their r.c. will reach is 212. A new/spare bowl from Z costs ~ $78.

I was interested in the 2 IH models, and they are both made in Japan.

[suz]

I just purchased a 3 cup NS-LAC05 last weekend for $115 at an asian market. I used to have a Tiger 10cup R.C. from costco. We had it for many years, but decided to replace it because the bowl was flaking off, it was too big for our family, plus it didn't not look as good as the newer smaller R.C.

So far, we've been very happy with the rice it makes. The only complaint (aside from price) is that it seems to take longer to cook the rice with the new zojirushi than my old tiger one.

[jenmcadams]

My parents bought one like this (the flowers) for all of us years ago -- I didn't realized how expensive and nice they were at first. Ours still seems brand new and it's probably been 5-6 years

[luvmypeanut]

I was just at our Costco and saw the IH 10cup model for $94. I don't know if they are at every store but you could call and ask.

[2girlsandalab]

>Zojirushi plays little tunes. Also, the Zojiruushi has
>cool-down time before you can restart it, which is a problem
>for some of the fancy stuff we do (rice-cooker risotto,
>mmmmm).


Can you share your method for risotto in your Zojirushi? I tried making risotto in ours. It turned out ok, but the risotto was not creamy or sticky. It was not much different than regular rice. Did i just not add enough water/broth?

[californiagirl]

We have a Panasonic, but our friend with the Zojirushi does risotto in it too. He had a lot of trouble with it initially, even though he was using the same recipe we do (from "The Ulitmate Rice Cooker Cookbook" http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Rice-Cooker-Cookbook-Porridges/dp/1558322035/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-9613846-8496113?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1192493552&sr=1-1 ) It turns out he wasn't using risotto rice!

The method we use is just like making a standard risotto -- you put the rice cooker on quick cook so it heats up maximally, you put in oil, saute the onions or whatever, put in the rice and stir it until it gets translucent, and then at the point where the recipe has you slowly add whatever liquid, you dump all the liquid in, close the rice cooker, and reset it to "porridge" so it cooks slowly.