Customer Reviews

Aroma ARC-998 16-Cup Digital Rice Cooker & Food Steamer

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I purchased my Aroma rice cooker at Target as I love rice. I originally bid on a much more expensive one on ebay but was outbid even at $120. Anyhow, I was at Target, saw this one and thought...what the heck. I followed directions to make 4 cups of brown rice. I hit the brown rice button and that was it. One hour and 45 minutes later I ate what I consider to be the best brown rice I have ever had. It didn't stick together as you get at fine restaurants, and it was fluffy. I loved it! The best feature (I think) about this machine is that when your rice is cooked, it automatically switches over to keep warm setting. Therefore, you can never overcook it. If you undercook it it's only because you didn't allow it to cook for the time the instructions tell you to. I am now so glad that I purchased this one. I paid $35 for it versus the $120 I would have paid for the Zojirushi 3 cup rice cooker.

I wanted to make long grain easily, but I also wanted very good cooked long grain. This rice steamer is the only one I've found that has a
brown rice setting. It takes about 1 3/4 hours to make the brown rice, about a half hour for white. I also steam my vegetables at the same time. Easy to clean. The price is right, also.

My wife and I used this to make rice for sushi because we wanted something to cook the rice without having to watch it. We followed the directions in the manual and the rice came out much better than expected. It was fluffy and not watery at all like what can happen when cooked in a pot. We love this rice cooker and highly recommend it. It is extremely easy to use and we too bought it at target.

I'm a gadget geek and I researched affordable rice cookers for some time This made the short list, and like others I snapped it up at Target for less.

First the pros: nonstick interior for easy cleaning (and dishwasher safe), settings for brown or white rice, nice appearance, locking top and handle make it easy to move and carry. Rice comes out great.

Now the cons: Like others have noted, it does brown on the bottom, but I've only owned one that didn't. Brown rice takes an hour and forty-five minutes, so you really need to plan ahead if you want brown rice. Using the measuring cup included is annoying. I can't figure out the point to that.

The reason this isn't a five-star machine is the integrated lid. Instead of a regular top you can put in the dishwasher, this lid is hinged on one side and can't be removed. Instead you need to wipe it clean every time, including the rubber gasket that seals it. The steam vent also needs to be removed and scrubbed off. You also can't use the pot to store rice, since the lid is part of the unit.

These cons are minor hassles; above all this is a good machine and a good value. I have not used the steamer basket so I can't evaluate that.

I am the mother of 4 and always looking for ways to trim the budget and still eat well. We are a "from scratch" family and rarely, if ever, buy convenience foods. Rice is a natural go to food item when you're trying to eat well and save money at the same time. I never seemed to be able to get it right, however! We never had rice just because I could never cook it right. It would either be too hard still or too mushy or I would burn it on the bottom of the pan. Really, it's rice, it shouldn't be that hard! Fast forward to a week ago when the Aroma rice cooker entered our life. We now have a new love affair with this frugal grain! Rinse the rice, toss it in and forget about it! It's perfect every time! This is a busy Mom's dream. We LOVE our rice cooker and I can not imagine a more expensive brand doing a better job at all. Should something horrible happen and our rice cooker fail in the future, we will most definitely be trying to replace it with this exact model again, very quickly!

edited to add: Used this rice cooker to boil potatoes for mashed potatoes tonight. Did a FANTASTIC job. Just put in the diced potatoes, water to cover and hit the white rice setting. Once I heard the water start boiling, I let it go for 10 minutes and then drained. Just be careful getting the pot out due to steam. This was great and we're excited about being able to do this in the hot summer months when we need to boil something without heating up the entire house!

I bought two of these rice cookers. I thought they made great rice up until the point they stopped working! The first one I gave to my friend. The heating unit stopped working about 2 months after he started using. The cooker would heat up slightly but would never cook the rice. The one I kept for myself just stopped working all together about 3 months after I purchased it. The warranty on this rice cooker is a joke. In order to return it you have to pay for shipping to the manufacturer plus send $14 with each unit for return shipping. All together it cost $30 per unit to get a new one. Then the manufacturer waits about 8 - 10 weeks to get in contact with you. I would never buy another one of these. It's too bad because they made great rice while they were working and they looked nice in the kitchen.

The Aroma Rice Cooker ARC-998 is the only rice cooker I will ever need. My boyfriend and I had been researching rice cookers for a while now, and ended up purchasing this one since it was on sale at target for $25.00. We are rice lovers but had never used a rice cooker or cooked rice on our own before. We used short grain white Hitomebore rice (extra sticky Japanese rice commonly used in sushi and rice balls) and the rice came out absolutely perfect the first time we used it!

It was the best rice we have EVER had, and that is quite an accomplishment since we often go to Japanese and Chinese restaurants.

It did not stick or scorch at all, which was a surprise considering all the previous user reviews for this product. My point is, if we can cook rice for our first time using EXTRA STICKY rice and have it come out perfect, than there is absolutelly nothing wrong with this cooker.

I believe that those who have had the rice burn are not properly washing it before cooking it. Rice is naturally starchy, and if the excess starch is not properly washed off before cooking, then it can result in burning and scorching. My only advice to those people is to properly wash your rice until the water runs almost clear and not milky anymore.

The Aroma ARC-998 8-cup rice cooker has made cooking rice easier than ever for me. I love rice and have recently gotten into Indian Curry so I have been making a bit of rice lately. While making rice over the stove can be a quicker alternative to this rice cooker, the ARC-998 has a no mess and simple one button solution to making delicious fluffy rice without worrying about pots and spill over.

The Rice Cooker uses a simple digital interface to determine which kind of rice you plan to use. There is Steam, White rice and Brown Rice and a Warm/Off button. Depending on the mode you select determines how the cooker will steam/cook your rice. Set-up is incredibly easy. Just add rice to the removable bowl, add water and put into the rice cooker. Press the corresponding button and walk away. When finished the cooker will sound an alarm before switching to Warm mode to avoid over-cooking the rice. Depending on the amount of rice/water you add to the pot determines how long it can take to make a batch. White Rice can take upwards of 30-50mins (2-8 cups) and Brown can take upwards of 1hr 40mins - 2hrs (2-6 cups) As you can see brown takes much longer than average with this cooker, and that is because of how it handles the rice. It cooks it longer and slower due to the rice being heavier.

As a RICE COOKER the ARC-998 might be a little slow compared to other models but it does what it is supposed to do, and does it well. Having made a few batches of rice already (brown rice) I only ran into slight burning once. That occurred for the rice that was directly over the heating element and was burnt prior to the device auto switching to the warm state. Soaking the rice like the instructions say got rid of the slight burning. However do not leave your rice on WARM for too long or it will begin to burn. Every batch of rice that I made came out fluffy and delicious, the rice tasting far better than it did when made in a pot over a stove. The steaming process brings out the flavor I think.

As a STEAMER the ARC-998 is sub-par at best. While it can be used as a steamer it really doesn't do a good job when compared to an actual steamer. If you try to steam with rice forget about it. Your rice will be done far before the food. If you wish to steam food by itself it does a much better job, but don't be shocked if you might have to run it through the steamer process again for another 5-10 minutes.

OVERALL in the end this is a great rice cooker. It has white and brown rice options but can handle a wide variety of rice from the Long and Short grain families. It is a very simple rice cooker that gets the job done, and does so being quiet and clean. The steaming option is sub-par in my opinion, but for the price the Aroma ARC-998 is worth the investment. 5 stars!


PROS
+ Simple setup
+ Cooks rice perfectly no matter how much you put in (anywhere from 2cups to 8cups)
+ Condensation collector to avoid getting that rice grime put into the air
+ No mess design (no spill over)
+ Optional ability to be a steamer

CONS
- Steamer option not the best solution
- Hinged Lid makes cleaning the grime that builds up on the lid difficult at times
- Longer than average cook times

*NOTE: Comment section will list cooking times/measurements for White and Brown rice

This is the 2nd or 3rd Aroma Rice Cooker we have owned. Maybe we have bad luck with rice cookers, I don't know. This model, which we love when it works for the first 2-3 years, is wonderful. But somewhere around the end of year 3, they begin to fail. It begins to shut off too early because the sensor inside is failing. Still, because it makes great rice, that is why we keep buying the same model. But don't look for it to last more than couple of years.

After owning 2 cheap rice cookers that each lasted less than a year and were too small for my large family, I decided to try this model. It has worked out wonderfully! No matter what kind of rice I try, it turns out perfectly. There are several things that people should be prepared for, though, before they purchase this unit.

I have noticed other reviewers have complained that their cooker is burning or browning the rice on the bottom. According to the instructions that came with my rice cooker, this is a normal occurrence. I don't really care if the very bottom of my rice browns, but I have noticed that if I open my cooker and stir the rice near the end of the cycle, this is prevented. I have also noticed that I don't have to wait until the beep. I usually will stir my rice toward the end of the cycle, and if I see that the water is absorbed I will turn it off. This still produces perfect rice, without the crust on the bottom. Incidentally, the other two rice cookers I owned did the same thing. The benefit of those cookers was that the lids were clear glass, so I could see when the water was absorbed, however they were just too small and both stopped working within a year of purchase.

Another complaint I have seen is that it takes 1 1/2 hours to cook brown rice. Some people even thought their cooker was broken and threw out the rice after the traditional 45 minutes it would have taken on a stove top to cook it. Per the instruction book, brown rice is better if given some time to soak before cooking. When cooking brown rice, realize that this model allows the rice time to soak before it actually starts to cook it. I usually cook brown rice because I believe it is healthier, and we love the taste and texture. Because there is a warm setting that kicks in when the rice is done, I can make my rice well in advance and allow it to stay warm while I make dinner. If I am in a hurry and still want rice, I will make long grain white rice or basmati rice.

One other complaint I saw was that it does not truly make 16 cups of rice. All of the rice cookers I have owned have used their own measuring cup and do not make as much rice as we Americans may expect if we are thinking in terms of our measuring cups. If you use the measuring cup that comes with this cooker, it would make the 16 cups. However, I use a regular measuring cup when I make my rice. I usually make 8 cups cooked rice, though I believe I could get 10 cups of rice with this cooker. It is more than I was able to make in my previous cookers. Incidentally, I do not use twice the amount of water per the amount of rice, though that works. I have found that I like my rice better when I use just under that amount of water or broth. For instance, if I make 4 cups of uncooked rice, I add 7 1/2 cups of water or broth. This works well for me, though you can use the extra water. Again, I usually stir my rice toward the end of the cycle and stop the cook cycle when it looks like the water is absorbed. I have used this method with all my cookers to prevent the crust on the bottom. I would encourage people to play around a little bit with the amount of water they use, and if they don't like the crust, which really doesn't bother me when I am too busy to stop and stir it, then they can prevent it by following the method I just noted.

A couple of other things of note:

Because the brown rice setting is timed to allow soaking, realize that if you turn it off or unplug it during the process, it will start the process over again when you turn it back on. I was cooking rice in the kitchen at church for a dish-to-pass afterwards. While I was in the service, a well-meaning young woman who was helping with the dinner set-up unplugged my rice cooker to take it out to the table where they were putting food. She then plugged it in there, thinking it was just like any crockpot and would pick up where it left off. Unfortunately, it started to soak the partially cooked rice!

This cooker has a lid that is attached, so it cannot be removed to be washed in the dishwasher. You must clean it with a cloth every time you use it. There is a black steam catcher in the lid that must be removed and can be washed in the dishwasher. There is also a water catcher that catches water running down the lid when you open it. This also can be washed in the dishwasher. I really like the steam catcher feature because the other cookers I had allowed the starchy steam to rise up onto my top cupboards.

Overall, this is a great rice cooker. It cooks the rice perfectly--whether you allow the crust to form at the bottom, or stir and stop the cook cycle just before this happens after the water is absorbed. This cooker has outlasted my other two, and it makes the largest amount of the three, perfect for my large family or for dish-to-pass suppers at church or anywhere else. I believe that if you purchase this cooker, knowing the facts I listed above, you will be happy as I am.

By the way, I purchased mine from Target for $29.99!