I am a failure at cooking perfect rice as well. I bought an inexpensive rice cooker a few years back.

It does a better job than I can do on the stovetop, but if I were to do it over I would spend a few dollars more and get one with a non-stick surface. I would estimate that when I use my rice cooker at least 1/2 cup of rice gets wasted because it sticks to the metal "cooker bowl".

My second mistake was putting the non-electrical parts in the dishwasher. The plastic components on the lid cracked and broke off, so the knob handle is now non-existent.

You get what you pay for, I'm afraid!

Linda

Well, I got a very nice $400 Zojirushi rice cooker at the local on-line auction for $20. Non-stick pan and about a zillion bells and whistles. Says it'll cook all kinds of stuff. I wouldn't know, I've used it exactly once. Elery's used it maybe 3 times. I find it to be a lot more trouble than it's worth, and went back to dumping rice and water in a pot. (shrug)

I got this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Zojirushi-NP-NVC10-Induction-Pressure-1-0-Liter/dp/B009QYC60S/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1444187914&sr=8-7&keywords=Zojirushi+Rice+Cooker

Anyway, my advice is to scrounge around your local Goodwill/thrift shop/second hand store/ etc. I've seen several rice cookers there and all looked pretty much new, maybe used once or twice.

Mine does say that I can make things from pasta to soup in it, but I haven't tried.

Annie

We probley have 4 rice cookers, the wife is Thai so we have a few different size ones, the bigger and most expencive I know can do a lot more but we never use it for anything else. The one the wife uses the most was maby 25 bucks or so from walleys,enough for up to probley 5 people. It gets used every day here mostly just cooking enough for her. There worth it if you eat rice often and you don't have to spend a lot on one

We have a 30 year old basic classic Sanyo rice cooker. It does not have a non-stick coating and it works fine. It only gets used when we have more than three for dinner. It sometimes sticks a little, but certainly not a cleaning issue; simply a small rice loss. We actually cook a lot of rice, but I cook it in an old Ekco 1 qt 'criterion' sauce pan. It has a tight fitting lid that will occasionally create a vacuum if left to cool down. When cooking for four or five, we used to use a two quart model until it got lost in a move.

If not distracted, I can cook perfect white rice in this pot. It requires bringing 2:1 water/rice salted water or broth to a boil, then adding rice and returning to simmer and then setting lid and most critically dropping heat to lowest possible setting and cook for 23 minutes. This might not work if you don't have a real low flame or equiv. burner. Hurried, distracted cooking won't work as well. Attempting to boost water with added rice back to a boil with high heat leading to some real or certainly heavy boiling, will create sticky rice or worse.

I have misplaced our Sanyo manual and full color brochure showing cooking other things in the cooker. I thought I could come up with it today but....... no. I never attempted to use it for other things. I suspect it is a little like using a slow cooker.

There are some multi-cookers that have a rice function. I do not know how they work. I have a lower end (not the lowest end) Zojirushi and it works beautifully -- I think it can be used for other things, but I use it just for steamed rice (as opposed to other techniques). Panasonic and Hitachi are other names that people seem to like --- I had a Black and Decker before and it did not work nearly as well. The thrift shop suggestion is a good one, and Zojirushi is usually on the flash-sale sites on a regular basis (and at Costco).

It frees you and the stove to do other things. You can also put it on a timer, and use the keep warm function to keep it warm without drying out.

Barb, what method do you use for cooking rice? What kind of pot do you use? Maybe you just need to tweak that rather than spend money on a machine.

Rice is very easy to make. Just make sure your measurements are correct and you shouldn't have any problems with using a saucepan. That being said, I still have a rice cooker because sometimes you want the rice to stay warm for a longer period of time and it's really good for that. Also, it's really good for steaming veggies.

I too am a failure at making rice. I have followed all the advice here but it doesn't work for me or the results are inconsistent. Finally got an Amora rice cooker 4 cup. Love it. Very basic. I find it to be idiot proof. Never tried anything else but it was worth the purchase just for rice.

Certain sauce pans work better than others. And i use a specific burner, the med back one. Gas cooktop. It probably took me some time experimenting years ago, but i've not had trouble with different grains at all. I always look at the cooking directions as some are 1 cup rice to two cups water, but a new variety is 2.5 cups water...

Bring to a boil, turn down to low, cock the lid just off a bit, set the timer. Turn off the heat and let steam. I've never had a burn or stick.

A heavy bottom helps i think.

My favorite grain pan is an old Calphalon that has soft curve sides and a broad bottom. We seem to only use it for rice/grain now.

If you like rice and often, i think it is a good purchase. Using the advice above to get a reliable one. DH wanted one years ago but we don't have the need since i don't have an issue and we are making a sprouted multi-grain now and almost weekly in the winter months.

My favorite way to make rice is in a fry pan. Saute the rice in butter first until it's a bit toasted, then add water and cover until the rice has absorbed all the water.

I use a pressure cooker for rice, and it is quick and easy. In addition to making plain rice (which I seldom do), and often add various vegetables, which required me to adjust the amount of water/broth, but that has not been a problem. For plain rice, I rinse the rice in a large strainer, put it into the PC and add 1-1/2 times as much water as the rice I originally measured. I have a portable induction burner that is compatible with my PC, and I set that for 5-6 minutes on high and then turn the heat level down to low (250°F) and let it cook for 6 minutes more. The burner turns itself off, and I leave the pan on the burner (which is not hot by now) until the pressure indicator goes down, and then I open the lid and fluff the rice.

The last time I made it with zucchini, and I reduced the water by 1/2 cup for each zucchini (I only used one), but I also added half an onion and three cloves of garlic, plus some butter and parsley (because I have it in my yard). When I add fresh thyme, I bundle it with a bit of string and remove the stems after the rice is cooked. I generally add thyme when I add mushrooms, and I often use dried mushrooms, which I reconstitute first and then use the soaking liquid as part of the water.

I recommend getting a PC instead of a rice cooker. I had a roommate in college (when I went back for my design degree) from Hong Kong, and he had a rice cooker. Rice was the only thing he ever cooked, and I was not impressed. I cannot imagine anything a rice cooker could do that a PC could not.

There is no one single way/recipe to cook rice successfully. Don't blame yourself.

There are many preferences as to texture you like.

There are so many varieties of rice, each one cooks differently.

The same rice will cook differently depends on how old the rice is and how humid the air is.

Like Lars, I use the pressure cooker. The rice will never get burnt, and the rice can be cooked again if it comes out too tough, just add more water. You can even cook one teaspoon of rice in a PC. Just put the rice in a smaller container.

dcarch

Russ Parsons (I think it was RP) wrote about boiling rice in a big pot of water, like one might do pasta. All floating around, and scooped out with a strainer. Said it was perfect.

When I cook brown rice, I use the boil like pasta method, I think it's the easiest and fool proof method. If I cook white rice, I just follow the directions on the bag, perfect every time. I have stainless pans(old Revere pots) and an electric stove.

I just bought a small Zojirushi. I love it. I can cook oatmeal, barley, etc., in it. Anything that cooks in water, you can cook in the rice maker. You just have to get a good sense of the time you need and how much water.

I use the pan in a pressure cooker method, too. 1 cup of white rice to 1.5 cups of water inside a bowl that will fit inside the PC. Put a cup or so of water to the PC and then the rice/ water bowl. Close PC, add heat, when the PC is up to pressure, set timer for 4 minutes. Turn off heat and let pressure drop naturally. (I rinse the measured rice in a strainer if I don't want it to be sticky, although I think you rinse away some of the vitamins when you do that.)

Easy cleanup and no boilovers.