Customer Reviews

Zojirushi NS-JCC10 Neuro Fuzzy 5-Cup Rice Cooker

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Zojirushi makes excellent rice cookers, and they deserve their great reputation, and their home in many Asian and non-Asian kitchens.

This cooker makes perfect rice every time, to the consistency you desire (regular, soft, hard, etc.). It's foolproof and helps make sure that dinner won't be a disaster.

Supposedly the neuro-fuzzy logic helps it make decisions to get it right. But I think the main asset of the extra-cost electronics on this unit is greater programming flexibility. E.g. you can set it to start cooking and have it ready when you get home.

However, a few negatives prevent me from giving it a 5-star rating:

1) The unit's electronics are powered by a lithium battery which supposedly lasts about four years. When it dies, you have to bring the unit to a service center to get the battery replaced at your expense.

If you think four years is the lifetime you expect out of this cooker, this won't be a problem. But if you don't like this, look toward the non-neuro fuzzy models and save your money.

2) A more serious problem: it takes longer to cook rice with this cooker (and most electronic rice cookers) than the old-fashioned way (with a pot over a stove). Regular rice is supposed to take 40-49 minutes in the cooker. I can cook rice on the stove in about 25 minutes (5 minutes to boil, 20 minutes for the rice).

The tradeoff is that I can make more errors on the stove (cook the rice too long, too short). However, when you're trying to whip up dinner quickly, the extra time of the rice cooker might frustrate you, and you'll find yourself bypassing it and whipping out the pot.

I really like this rice cooker. Once you get past the clumsiness of the manual and that fact that what they call a cup is about 2/3 of the standard measuring cup, it becomes easy to use, easy to clean, and makes all kinds of rice perfectly. I suppose that if you make rice once in a while, it might be hard to justify spending a lot of money on a rice cooker. But since we bought this, we have used it everday for two months and go through about five pounds of rice a week.

The cooking time varies; its not fast like a pressure cooker. Speed is not its strong point. (There is a quick cooking setting but we never use it.) What it will do is cook rice to an exact setting. It will cook rice to the perfect hardness for restaurant quality fried rice. It will cook brown basmati to a perfect consistency. It makes thai jasmine so delicious that we add nothing to it but a little salt and that's our lunch. It will do excellent sticky rice, with a little extra preparation.
It has a timer so it can be set up in the morning and lunch will be ready at twelve.

The setting we really like and hasn't been mentioned is the porridge setting. Porridge brings to mind oatmeal, but in this case what they are talking about is actually Chinese congee or jook, more like a thick rice soup. Making it on the stove top is a real hassle because of starch boil over and stirrings. However with this rice cooker its possible to make an excellent low calorie and low fat dish very easily. We substitute no fat chicken stock for water and after it is cooked we may put in some stir fried shrimp and greens with a little hot sauce. Its a great little meal very easily made

If you fluff the rice when it is first done the warming feature keeps it well for hours. And if there is any left after three or four hours, which usually doesn't happen too often, I scoop it into a bowl with a little milk and sugar for dessert.

There are only a two things to remember; wipe the bowl dry before puttting it into the cooker and don't lose the cup. There is no standard metric or american measure that will replace it accurately.

Oh, and if the battery runs out after a few years, it only affects the timer function and not the operation of the machine. If you want to use it without a battery, you just have to reset the time after plugging it in before setting the timer.

This is probably one of the best kitchen appliance I have ever used.

Wow! I can't say it enough. WOW!! I've gone through many rice cookers, and this is the tops. My partner is Japanese, and she's *really* gone through a lot of rice cookers, and she thinks this one is the tops. This is soooo easy to use, and does an INCREDIBLE job of making perfect rice, and keeping it warm, and allowing us to set the timer to have rice later on, etc. etc. etc. It makes perfect porridge, perfect rice, perfect everything.

Though one cannot "see" Nuero-fuzzy working, the consistent and delicious quality of the rice, compared to rice cookers that don't have nuero-fuzzy, lead me to believe that the neuro-fuzzy *is* working, and *does* make a difference.

Not only does it cook well, it is also a solid machine. It's rugged and durable - built to last. No thin plastics, no thin rubber o-ring seals. This is a serious quality bit of machinery. Expensive? Compared to others, yes, but you'll not need to buy another one for a long, long time.

Zojirushi is an incredible manufacturer.

Last night was the first time that I used my new rice cooker, and I must admit that I had some apprehension about what I was going to think of the rice relative to what I paid for the cooker ... But after I tasted my creation (curry rice with chicken), I have to say that the rice cooker is worth every penny. In short, it RULES!

I have owned several generic rice cookers in the past and have not been too happy with the quality of the rice, but it was good enough... or so I thought. I had no idea what I was missing out on for years, and had I known the rice was going to turn out so good, I would have made this purchase long ago.

I'm a very pragmatic person who has a very busy schedule and needed something worry free and easy to use. This is it! On top of that, the non-stick worked like a charm. Not a single bit of rice, sauce, or anything stuck to it. Easy to clean.

In short: Great rice, hassel free, easy to clean, great product!

My wife is Japanese, and she usually laughs at the rice cookers she sees advertised in American catalogs. She says "They look like what my mother used 20 years ago."

Unlike most rice cookers sold in America, this Zojirushi (literally "Elephant-logo") brand rice cooker is very modern and well-made. It's even better than the rice cooker we have in Japan.

This machine is programmable. You can set it to cook all sorts of rice. You can even delay cooking. In other words, if you feel like rice with breakfast, then you can put in water and dry rice at night, then set it to start cooking at 6:00 am.

My only complaint is that the manual has the sort of awkward layout and translations that you sometimes get with Japanese products. I don't think it's that difficult to figure out, though.

My wife's only complaint is that it never burns the rice. She actually liked the flavor of the slightly singed rice we would sometimes get with our old cooker.

This is one of the best rice cookers currently available (along with the larger JCC18 model). I eat rice almost every day, and have used everything from the cheap $15 Aroma rice cookers to this one. The main reason I purchased this rice cooker was for the quality of the cooking pot inside. It's many times better than almost all of the others out there, except for maybe certain models of Sanyo rice cookers. And you don't have to worry about the effects of ingesting tiny amounts of aluminum like you do with the cheaper rice cookers. Even the non-stick pots that come with $100+ Panasonic rice cookers will peel after some years of use. The non-stick pots that come with the Zojirushi JCC and KCC series of rice cookers are made to last.

This rice cooker does take longer than most to cook rice, but I have found the results to be worth it. It has more to do with the quality construction of the rice cooker (spherical heating system, a vent that's not just a hole in the cover, etc.) than the 'fuzzy logic' computerized control that this model features.
I don't think it takes fuzzy logic to cook rice, but hey, it sounds cool.

Overall, the best (but most expensive) rice cooker I've used so far.

It may take a little longer, but the result is worth it! My husband purchased this for me as a gift, and I've been using it from 2-5 times a week without any problems whatsoever. And the rice? It comes out restaurant quality EVERY time. I had purchased a cheaper Salton model before, and the heating element was dead within a month. What a waste.

I've tried almost all of the included recipes and have not been disappointed yet. (I haven't bothered with the porridge though - so I can't say whether or not that setting works) Add anything you want to the rice before cooking. Jambalaya made easy.

I would highly recommend this item to anyone who enjoys rice dishes.

Do you cook rice with any kind of regularity? If the answer is yes, then you know how easy it is to botch. For those of you who have perfected the technique, you still know the attention necessary and the pain of clean up (especially if you've tried to keep rice warm for any extended period).

Most any rice cooker beats the heck out of stove-top hands down when it comes to ease of prep and clean up. Zojirushi's Neuro Fuzzy cooker adds consistancy and reliability to the mix. Use this and you will NEVER worry about keeping an eye on the pot. You will ALWAYS be happy with the end product and clean up is a cinch.

Think outside the box of white rice with this unit...porridge, exotic long grains, fried rice, jambalaya and absolutely everything else that I have tried...it knows how to get perfect results.

Are there downsides? Yes. The measuring cup is an off size (try not to lose it). The machine is pricey. The battery eventually dies. You may wait a few extra minutes. Should you care about these downsides? No. It's just that good. Look at the ratings and read the reviews...not one hint of regret...there's a reason.

The icing on the cake is the great kitchen kitsch of an elephant logo and the "Neuro-Fuzzy" designation...it gets more attention from visitors than my KitchenAid stand-up.

I ordered this rice cooker on a whim while surfing Amazon at 3:00 AM. After a longish shipping delay, I received it a few days ago.

This thing makes great rice, no question about it... perfect every time. Calrose comes out with just the right amount of stickiness, while Carolina long grain comes out separate and tender. It does a stellar job of keeping the rice warm, moist, and fresh, too. We've left rice sitting in the extended keep warm cycle for 15 hours, with only marginal degradation in quality, texture, and moisture.

That being said, the machine doesn't come cheap. All of the Zojirushi neuro fuzzy models carry a stiff price premium, and this one is no exception. Time will tell if this thing is worth the hefty price for us, but if you're not going to make rice a frequent addition to your menu, you'd be well-advised to save your money and go with a cheaper rice cooker.

A highly recommended accessory is The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann, available from Amazon (ASIN 1558322027). We made rice pudding following one of the recipes from this cookbook, and it was delicious beyond words, served slightly warm with fresh whipped cream. We're looking forward to trying some of the more exotic recipes as well.

Other reviewers have commented on the nonstandard measuring cup that comes with the cooker. It's definitely a good idea not to lose it, but if you do, we've found that the cup measures just about six ounces. Three standard cups equal four Zojirushi cups.

[UPDATE 7/25/02]

I've now had the opportunity to try some of the other recipes from the Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook... mostly pilafs and risottos. Unfortunately, these recipes uncovered a few flaws with this otherwise excellent cooker.

Many recipes call for melting butter in the cooker on the Quick Cook cycle and sauteeing the rice and/or aromatics like garlic and onions before adding the liquid. I've found that the pot doesn't get hot enough to get a really good sautee going, which prevents the rice from developing the rich nutty flavor characteristic of pilafs.

Several other recipes (especially creamy dishes like risottos or puddings) suggest running the rice through multiple cycles until the desired consistency is achieved. Unfortunately, the cooker will often refuse to restart after the cycle completes. The display shows "H 02"... I haven't been able to find this error message in the instruction manual, but I presume that it means the contents of the pot are too hot. There does not appear to be any sort of override function. I had to wait until my arborio rice pudding cooled off enough for the cooker to restart.

I still love this rice cooker and I'm keeping its rating of four stars, but people who want to make more complex rice dishes need to know that there will be some aggravation involved. Future pilafs will be sauteed in a separate pan before being added to the cooker.

I don't really know what goes on inside this little guy's Neuro Fuzzy brain, but 'he' sure knows how to make great rice. It turns out perfect everytime! If you prepare much rice and it doesn't always turn out so good, try this one.