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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good rice cooker - simple but a little fussy, January 23, 2009
This review is from: Oster 4722 3-Cups Uncooked/6-Cup Cooked Rice Cooker with Steaming Tray, Red (Kitchen)
I've never owned a rice cooker before this, however, I have cooked lots of rice over the years. Its an inexpensive rice cooker and if you follow the directions, it'll do fine.
Since moving to the mountains of Colorado, its taken me years to adjust to the lowered the boiling point due to the higher elevation (8300')... it takes more time (add ~10-20min) and the dry climate means using more water (for a 1 cup of dry rice, takes ~2.5+ cups water rather than 2cups). Still, there have been many times when rice just didn't work out the way I wanted.
So I mentioned that it would be nice to have a rice cooker and let it deal with the cook time. Of course I had done some research, and when this came in the mail as a present, I was a little nervous since Oster's seem to get so-so reviews. Well, I cooked my typical basmati rice, a 1/2 cup dry and added my typical 1c water plus extra, put lid on, pressed the button and went to do something else.
A lot of reviewers mention how the rice on the bottom gets over-cooked, sometimes brown or burnt. Some reviewers like the crunchiness, some hate it. Well, the directions tell you to stir the rice - especially the bottom of the cooker after 15 minutes. Sure enough, the rice at the bottom was starting to stick. I scraped it all loose, added another 1/4 cup water, chopped it up a little, put the lid on, and let fate take its course. Would the rice by a burnt mess? 20 minutes later we had the best sticky rice we've ever had!
Plus it seemed to cook faster. And I really liked that it went to 'warm' mode automatically. One major drawback: It spewed hot sticky water up under the lid and through the vent all over the kitchen but once we wiped the lid off (without picking up the lid), it settled down. If you are a neat freak or want a set-and-forgot, this rice cooker is not for you. And for me, I'll come up with a little steam catcher helmet and deal with the mess. For the price, its a good buy. And, I love the red color too!
[found this cool tip from Spyce: To help keep the starch from bubbling up and spraying out of the vent hole, rinse the rice thoroughly and drain. Heat a small amount of olive oil in the rice bowl, once the oil is heated, carefully add the rice and saute it for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the water and continue cooking.] I'm going to try this tip next time!
BTW, this cooker seems like a knock-off of the similar Rival rice cooker (both owned by Jarden]
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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Come on- this isn't a proper rice cooker, April 20, 2010
This review is from: Oster 4722 3-Cups Uncooked/6-Cup Cooked Rice Cooker with Steaming Tray, Red (Kitchen)
It's always grating to read reviews from people who don't know how rice is properly cooked. Here's a hint for all- if you have to add oil and stir and watch your rice, you have a bad cooker. Adding oil and stirring and all that is for cooking rice in a pot or a skillet. The entire point of owning a rice cooker it to get away from that, hence why this is a horrible rice cooker.
With a proper rice cooker, you literally just add rice and water, hit the button, and forget about it. Yes, you usually need to rinse your rice before you cook it to prevent starchy water bubbling up- if you don't know that, you need to get better informed before you make rice cooking a part of your life.
With this machine, people are stirring, and adding oil and butter to prevent sticking, and trying to justify the shoddy uneven cooking by saying they like burnt rice. Please, pelase, go out and find someone who has a real rice cooker, so you can see it done properly. In fact, many asian eateries make their white rice in a restaraunt-size rice cooker. You put the rice in, and it comes out perfect. End of story.
Even if you're willing to put up with stirring and oil, why are you buying this product? Just make your rice in a skillet. It's really quite easy if you try it once, and I'll even give you a traditional method. Throw your rice into a skillet (however much you want, one cup rice is three cups cooked), put your finger on the rice and add water up to your first knuckle (or to about the average knuckle if your hands are really abnormal). Bring the water rapidly to a boil, stir once if you're worried about sticking (if you have to stir more you're doing it wrong), then simmer until most of the water is absorbed (bubbles form and break in the top of the rice). Cover and reduce to low heat until all the water is absorbed, which varies based on your rice. Fluff before serving. Ta-da! (If this sounds like what other reviews are doing with this cooker- it is! The cooker is just working like a small pot, and the measuring system does the finger trick for them. You might as well just do it on the stove.)
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Secret is Salt and a Little Butter, January 2, 2010
This review is from: Oster 4722 3-Cups Uncooked/6-Cup Cooked Rice Cooker with Steaming Tray, Red (Kitchen)
I bought this thinking it would take up so much less space on my counter top than the other model I had in mind. I got home to use it and was so disappointed until I read a comment someone else made about a review. It did sputter and spit and shoot rice water on my counter and the rice seemed to stick-the trick is to add a little butter or oil of your choice and a little salt. Now it works like a charm! I usually add liquids and butter first, then the rice. I start it up an hour or two before I want to actually eat the rice, or even longer. I've let it run for 3-4 hours before. It keeps the rice nice and warm all that time. I use this about every day-we love rice and I just started a gluten free diet so I'm eating more rice instead of noodles. I'm glad I checked the reviews after the initial disappointment. This one is a keeper.
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