Customer Reviews

Aroma ARC-960SB 10-Cup Sensor Logic Rice Cooker & Food Steamer

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

At home we have a rice cooker on which we spent over $150. I am on an assignment away from home for a few months and wanted to find a rice cooker. I specifically wanted a rice cooker with delay function, so that when I get off work the rice is ready.

Pros: Cheap compared to rice cookers with similar functions. The cheapest rice cooker with delay function is over $80. This one is only $50. The rice cooker works pretty well as far as I can tell (I have been eating rice all my life).

Cons: The details are not as good as some of the more expensive brands. For example: the cord is not retractable; there is no rice paddle holder on the rice cooker so you will have to put it somewhere else; the paint of the plastic sticker showing 15 hours sticks to the rice cooker even after you remove the sticker (this must happen a lot - I don't know what their QC people are doing). None of these affects the functions of the rice cooker. But it just appears that the manufactorer does not pay much attention to the details.

Overall it is a good value. If you are looking for a rice cooker with delay function and are not willing to spend a lot of money on it, I recommend this rice cooker. If you are a person attentive to details and easily irritated by annoyance, you may want to spend more money buy a name brand.

Regarding the reviewer left rice warm for two days: no food should be left warm for two days -- the food will go bad no matter how good your rice cooker is. I typically keep extra cooked rice in the fridge and then microwave it before meals.

Aroma makes solid rice cookers, all the reviews are pretty good across the board -- this one is no different. It's very similar to some of the cheaper digital models but has more features. I'm not sure how the sensor logic (fuzzy logic) works, but the rice comes out perfectly, no timer, no worry about perfectly measuring. Brown rice was the real test and it came out phenomenal , not burnt or unevenly cooked - that's an accomplishment considering how long it has to cook -- I have never once been able to cook brown rice quite right in a pan.

**I'm not sure what planet the last reviewer is on --
Firstly, you cannot leave rice in it for 2 days (max 12 hours)
Secondly, how would someone get such a strong impression of a product
in just a few days (this model was only in stock literally days
before Christmas, I was looking weeks before that)
Rmoon's rant in questionable at best -- user error is obvious

I bought this rice cooker for work related luncheons. When my husband and I used it at home, we decided to keep it. It does perfect rice and steamed veggies! I have always had a hard time making good brown rice. Now we have delicious brown rice once or twice a week. It is a great value for the quality, look, and functions. I recommend this cooker if you can't decide.

This is a great deal for an automatic large-capacity rice cooker with so many options. If you want to get anything better, you will probably have to spend at least twice as much. What more do you need than different options for white vs brown rice and a delayed timer? I eat more brown rice than almost anyone else on the planet (no joke) and use this cooker all the time for large batches. The delayed timer feature is very useful. My only criticisms: 1) like almost every other rice cooker, it is not so easy to clean; the top of the inside needs to be wiped down after every batch and insert plastic piece should also be washed after each use. 2) the non-stick coating on the pot should be thicker/stronger; I don't do anything abnormal and it is already significantly scratched up (simply from use of sponge when cleaning) after about 200 uses. Overall, this unit is very good.

(Original Review posted 12-28-09)
One of the best values out there. I've been using it (bought elsewhere) for about a year and a half, and have made all sorts of grains, soups, steam buns, poached fish, cupcakes...really, you name it, I've tried cooking it. That said:

-The white rice and brown rice buttons, so far as I can tell, mainly affect how quickly the heating element works, and I've been happy with their performance. Because brown rice still has the bran and germ in it, it cooks slower, and if it were heated as quickly as white rice you'd end up with half-cooked centers surrounded by mush. Trust me that this is less appetizing than it sounds. If you're working with some other grain than rice, judge by its size and texture which setting will be more appropriate: oatmeal or quinoa, for instance, do much better at the white rice setting, while barley and wild rice require the brown. Don't even get me started on beans.

-The delay timer only works in 1-hour increments, and it's a delay to when cooking begins, not when it's done. Plan accordingly.

-The condensation collector is excellent, but the particle trap beneath the steam vent is not. As other reviewers have said, you do need to clean it by hand, and there's no easy way to get to all the little nooks and crannies in the sealing ring. The problem mostly comes from grains with a lot of loose starch, and can be reduced by rinsing them in cold water before cooking. If you see strange bubbles coming out of the lid, you didn't rinse long enough.

-The steamer tray works well, though there isn't much vertical clearance. If you want to steam large amounts of food I'd suggest getting a few insertable ones to stack in the main pot.

Really, if you're looking for a convenient multi-purpose cooker that can handle food in portions for 2-10 people, this is excellent. You're not going to find the same functionality for a comparable price.

EDIT 9-5-11: A bit over three years after purchase, the latch-hook on the lid broke. The rest of the cooker still works perfectly, and aside from some oxidation on the inserted cookpot's exterior there isn't any noticeable wear. Honestly, the latch probably would have lasted longer if we hadn't stored it on top of the fridge and carried it down by that convenient handle on top. Still a four-star product.

Another product I used at a relative's house and loved the results. I purchased a smaller version of the one I used because I don't need anything larger. This one is plenty large for almost all families. There were a few adjustments in water to rice ratio but that is a preference thing and not a fault with the rice cooker. So far I have used only white rice so I cannot comment on brown rice or the steamer part as I bought it specifically for white rice. It does get slightly (and I do mean slightly) brown in the center of the bottom. When you stir the rice, it is not noticeable. It makes the best white rice. I love the "set it and forget it" feature of this product. I don't have to worry about it while I cook the rest of the meal. If it gets done first, then the warm feature keeps it at a good temperature.

Aroma ARC-960SB 10-Cup Cool Touch Digital Programmable Rice Cooker, StainlessWe like this rice cooker and have no problems or complaints. It turns out the rice fluffy everytime. At the store you will pay almost the same for the same brand in plastic, with just the basic on/off. There are also some stainless models out there with these features, that only hold 5-cups and are the same price. P.S. To the customer who complained about overbrowning at the bottom, try fluffing the rice when it cooking cycle chimes that it is done.

I tried making brown rice according to the directions. it turned out OK, but a little burnt on the bottom. Also, you can't do a one step recipe like steaming food/meat and cooking rice at the same time. You will need to open the cooker part way through the rice cooking cycle to add the veggies/meat. I don't really see how this is going to save me any time or make clean-up easier.

This rice cooker cooks the rice but that's about all the good things I can say about it. If the rice is left in the cooker until the "warm" stage it comes out browned on the bottom and sometimes with a crust. I've had to explain this to dinner guests but I don't think they believe me. It tastes fine.

The inside top of the cooker is hard to clean. It accumulates rice starch that has to be scraped off. My last cooker had a lid that could be removed to clean.

We loved our Aroma ARC-1000 so much that we bought this as a present for my brother-in-law's family. The stainless steel finish looked nicer in their kitchen than our white rice cooker. We should have taken a closer look at the picture because although it has the same number of buttons, it does not have the same features. There is no quick rice function here, and it does not give a countdown of the final 9 minutes before the rice is ready. Those are the two features we liked most about our own rice cooker. Other than that, it makes decent rice. But I have never really seen a rice cooker that messes up, as long as you put the right amount of water. Bottom line, I would strongly recommend the Aroma ARC-1000 over this model.