Customer Reviews

VitaClay VF7900-3 Chef Gourmet 6-Cup Rice and Slow Cooker Pro, Brushed Stainless

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

We've been trying to minimize the chemicals in our family's diet, but for a long time we just ignored the rice cooker (which we use almost daily due to my daughter's wheat/gluten intolerance) as there didn't seem to be any alternatives to the Teflon-style non-stick coating. So we were very excited when we read about this product.

I was nervous at first about the shine and smell of the clay pot (that it might not be as non-toxic 100% clay as they claim). I both spoke and emailed with the manufacturer/owner/creator, but due to language issues I didn't get a clear answer. Luckily I live near a ceramics supply store, so I took it down to get their opinion. They confirmed that the shinny clay was not glazed (i.e. that might have chemicals), but had a "slip treatment" (i.e. basically clay in lots of water put on like a glaze) and then probably buffed out for shine.

In terms of function, it's comparable to other hi-tech rice cookers. The fuzzy programming isn't quite as good as our old one, but it works fine (i.e. you can set the timer to a start time, not an end time like our old one). You do need to mop up the water from the top and lid after cooking the rice. And the clay pot doesn't clean up quite as easily, but it still cleans really well.

Overall, it's all totally worth it to not have to worry about serving additional chemicals with the rice!!!

UPDATE: after using it for over six months, I still definitely recommend it.

UPDATE 5/10/09: after using it for over a year, I STILL definitely recommend it. We did break the lid, but contacted the manufacturer [...] and ordered a new one.

UPDATE 5/5/10: Still going after more than two years of 5+ times a week use! We've had some intermittent fuzzy logic issues (kept cooking when was supposed to be warming), but it only happens once in a while. I know someone commented about mold issues, FYI we NEVER store it closed, i.e. we keep it on the counter with the hinged top open so it always can dry out. Plus I wipe down the inside of the top lid when I take the rice out as it can get really wet.

UPDATE 5/7/11: still going after more than three years of 5+ times a week use. Sometimes it forgets to stop cooking, but otherwise it's great. We broke another lid and pot (little kids in our house), but it was easy to get replacements. And we still leave it open and never have any issues with mold.

My husband and I have loved this rice cooker from the moment we made our first batch of rice. We purchased it because we avoid nonstick coatings as much as possible, and we try to go "natural" when we can.

I searched high and low for a cooker without a nonstick pot, and imagine my surprise when I found one at my favorite marketplace -- Amazon.com!

It makes excellent white rice (we use the Japanese kind), and cleanup is a breeze. I haven't tried the slow cooker cycle yet, but I've made brown rice with good results.

Once, I cooked a packaged medley mix that contained brown rice, wild rice, barley and some other things, and the kernels were a little too firm inside when I served it. However, I discovered later that the portion I had left in the pot had softened to just the right texture. I think in the future I'll let some "harder" things sit on the warming cycle for a while instead of serving immediately.

I guess even a great cooker like this one can't be expected to know how to time every crazy combination!

I have looked for a rice cooker that is made of clay and doesn't have ANY coating on. I also would like having a rice cooker could do more jobs rather than just cooking regular rice. This is the exact one I found.
I use it almost every day for regular rice, brow rice, yam, sweet rice, steam vegetables, stew, herbal soup, bean soup, etc. It is fast and keeps warm for several hours, with a timer to remind you. It is just perfect.
It is easy to wash by hand.

We are a house full of ASIAN. We know our Rice. This thing is the BEST.

Before it broke, I was pretty pleased with this product. It cooked good rice although it took a long time. Most importantly it was healthy. However, after 6 months of use (I normally cook rice once a day), the unit didn't work and "E1" error message kept showing on the display. And I have no idea of what happened to the unit. The worst thing is that if you want to get it checked and repaired, you have to mail it back to California and you pay for the shipping fee (both ways). With such a heavy and fragile unit, the shipping cost for both ways might be higher than buying a new one. So 1-year warranty is basically useless. Think twice before you buy it.

The cook book is written for the larger model so you will need to cut all the recipes in half.

Other than that the product is wonderful.

This is a fantastic cooker (so far)! It does everything well from brown/white/mochi rice to soup/slow-cooking stew. The clay pot is adorable and extremely easy to clean despite not having a non-stick coating. I've been using it almost daily for the past 3 months since getting it on sale at my local K-Mart. After the first few uses, I was so happy with the results that I went back and bought another one just in case.... Yes, indeed the clay pot can be fragile and some extra care must be given to cleaning & handling but that's minor inconvenience compared to the healthy aspects the VitaClay cooker offers. Besides some glass/Corningware products (which don't come in sophisticated computerized versions), there are no other automatic rice cookers out there without aluminum pots inside. Also, I've been using the Japanese clay donabe pots for several years now and never had a problem with them, not even a crack, so here's to hoping the same with the VitaClay for many more years to come!

I have owned many rice cookers(living in Hawaii we eat lots of rice) and everything now days has non-stick on it, and after a while of use it starts to peel off and get into food.

So after lots of searching I found this, and it works great. the rice comes out smelling more like rice then like the metal pot cooked in. (only problem is the clay pot is very fragile so be careful)

So far this is a great rice cooker. We get excellent rice out of it. We cook mostly brown rice with other beans mixed in and it does a great job with nothing stuck to the pot. We have also cooked white and other types of rice and they all come out fine. We haven't broken the pot yet either ... The clay pot is a nice change from all the non-stick pots.

The one problem we found is that if you use the recommended amount of water for brown rice, there is too much water left at the end of the cycle. You have to leave it on warm for 30 min - 1 hour before you can server the rice.

EDIT - a year later
Well, the cooker lasted about a year or so. It started showing an error code after a few months but you could still get it to cook rice. Unfortunately, it eventually refused to cook. We liked the clay pot but obviously not the quality. We switched to the Miracle rice cooker with stainless steel pot. It is a simple cooker with "cook/warm/off" options and it works great for us. It comes with a steamer insert for an added bonus.

I love this product! I love brown rice and it has consistently been cooked to perfection in this slow cooker. There is no leakage of 'rice scum' and the pot is made out of clay not aluminum! Everything I have tried in this cooker has come out yummy. I would definitely buy this again.