Zojirushi NS-PC18 Electric 10-Cup Rice Cooker and Warmer

by Zojirushi

Product Features

• Cooks 2 to 10 cups rice and keeps it warm, fresh, moist for hours
• Nonstick pan readily releases rice and cleans easily
• Single control for easy operation; cool-touch exterior
• Rice spatula, removable spatula holder, measuring cup included
• 600 watts; 10-1/2 inches wide, 10 inches high, 13-1/2 inches deep

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 15.3 x 12.3 x 11.8 inches ; 9 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005OBC4
• Item model number: NS-PC18
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,778 in Kitchen & Dining (See Top 100 in Kitchen & Dining)
  • #93 in Kitchen & Dining > Small Appliances > Rice Cookers

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Equipped with a locking lid and a steam cap/vent to preserve moisture, this 600-watt electric appliance produces 2 to 10 cups of cooked rice and automatically keeps the rice fresh, moist, and warm for hours. About 30 minutes is required to cook 10 cups, with an additional 15 minutes of warming recommended for maximum fluffiness. The cooker operates simply. There's a single control to begin the cooking process, and lights signal when cooking ends and warming begins. Inside the white-plastic, cool-touch exterior, a nonstick pan readily releases cooked rice and then cleans up easily. Accompanying the cooker are a rice spatula, a spatula holder that hooks onto the cooker's side, and a plastic measuring cup. The cooker measures 10-1/2 inches wide, 10 inches high, and 13-1/2 inches deep, weighs 7-1/2 pounds, and can be lifted by handles recessed into the sides. --Fred Brack

Product Description

Start your rice in the morning and have it moist, tender, and hot when you come home for dinner. This large capacity cooker will make enough for a crowd and the "keep warm" system switches on immediately after cooking without any help from you. Clean up is no biggie with the non-stick cooking pan and direct heating provides more even heat distribution to ensure delicious results every time.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some experimentation may be in order, August 5, 2004

By 

Debbie Lee Wesselmann (the Lehigh Valley, PA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zojirushi NS-PC18 Electric 10-Cup Rice Cooker and Warmer (Kitchen)

Using a rice cooker should be easy - otherwise, why plunk down the money for it? This Zojirushi is user-friendly only after some experimentation since the manual contains almost no information about how to use it. However, since I've finally found the right procedure (as I'll share later), I've been pleased with its performance.

First, some background. I have a Zojirushi NHS-10 that worked beautifully from the start, but after a year of use, started spitting and gurgling starchy water all over the counter. With that kind of mess, I was afraid to cook larger amounts of rice, so I bought this model as a replacement. I liked that the top latched and that the vent hole had a shallow well around it to catch expelled water. I had loved the quality of rice that the less expensive model cooked, so I stayed with the same brand.

My first attempt with this model resulted in the same gooey mess as with my old model - and I was furious. After several phone calls to relatives who also owned this model, I discovered that you MUST use the measurements provided by the plastic measuring cup and inside the non-stick pan. (Because I found that the plastic cup is not really a full cup of rice and was used to a one cup rice to two cups water ratio, I had used my own measuring cup.) For every Zojirushi plastic cup measurement, fill to the corresponding water mark inside the pan. Fill the pan with water to the correct level AFTER adding the rice.

Rinse rice twice before cooking if you want to avoid slight browning on the bottom. Allow fifteen minutes after the machine changes from cook to warm for additional steaming and fluffier rice. How do you cook brown rice? Not a clue. Brown rice requires longer cooking time and therefore more water. My old Zojirushi came with a small manual that provided rice/water ratios for several varieties, but this arrived with almost no instruction. I suggest experimenting with brown and wild rice before counting on it for company.

The pan for this model is huge, and you must use at least two cups of dry rice. The size stated on the box is misleading, as two to ten cups refers to uncooked, not cooked, quantities; rice doubles in size when cooked. Although it's not practical for a small family, larger families and frequent rice eaters will appreciate its generous capacity. Cleaning is slightly more complicated (though hardly time-consuming) than with less expensive Zojirushi models since the steam valve at the top should be rinsed free of accumulated starch between uses. (One relative rarely rinses the valve, however, and has no problems.) The non-stick pan cleans easily, although care must be used not to scratch the surface. The cord wraps around the bottom for storage. The unit itself is surprisingly light-weight given its appearance, making it easy to remove from even high cupboards.

I have mixed feelings about this rice cooker, as I prefer the results of the less expensive model. However, the overall design of this cooker, with its latched lid, larger steam hole, and "dew" catcher (to collect condensation when the cooker is left on warm for prolonged periods), is better, especially if you intend to leave the rice on warm for an extended time. The biggest drawback of this model is the lack of instruction for users unfamiliar with rice cookers.

Three stars right out of the box, four stars once you adapt.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great rice cooker, April 7, 2002

By 

J. Lang (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zojirushi NS-PC18 Electric 10-Cup Rice Cooker and Warmer (Kitchen)

We eat rice often. We've had a Faberware cooker for years that finaly died. Wouldn't get another as it cooked the rice unevenly with 'burned spots'. The Zojirushi costs lots more, but is well worth it. This unit cooks all of the rice perfectly every time.

I wish we could leave it pluged in, but there is no on/off switch. The overall quality seams very good, what you would expect from a [price] machine.

If you eat rice frequently, and enjoy high quality food, this is an excellent machine and is well worth the cash.

31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mixed results, August 3, 2003

By 

xiuh (SF) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Zojirushi NS-PC18 Electric 10-Cup Rice Cooker and Warmer (Kitchen)

First off, let me say that the first time I used this rice cooker, I was immediately impressed with the texture of the rice and the ease of use. It couldn't be easier -- add rice and water, insert the metal bowl, close the lid and hit the "cook" button.

After several months of use, I've realized several flaws in the design. First, there is no "off" button. To me, this seems to be a bit of a fire hazard, as it is far too easy to forget to unplug the machine after the rice has cooked (it reverts to "warm", which WILL burn eventually). Secondly, there is no timer or bell to alert you to the fact that the rice is done. I've never quite managed to "catch" it reverting from cook to warm, so after 8 months, I still don't know exactly how long it takes to cook rice in this cooker.

I've also noticed that the metal "bowl" included for cooking loses its anti-stick qualities over time. After several months, rice began sticking to the bottom of the bowl during cooking, resulting in a lightly burned bottom layer of rice. I've also noticed that during the first few months of use, lots of moisture was captured in the drainage caps, resulting in very sticky rice. Now, no moisture is ever captured, and the rice almost seems wet (and often undercooked).

Finally, unless you're positive you want to cook at least two cups of rice every time you use the rice cooker, this is NOT the cooker for you. I honestly thought I'd want to prepare two cups at a time each time I used it, and now I understand that a cooker with a one cup minimum would have been a better purchase.

In all honesty, I don't feel the quality of this cooker was significantly higher than those a fraction of the cost. While I'm certain I'd love the "smart logic" high-end Zojirushi cookers, I would have been better off buying a cheaper model than this one -- the cost was astronomical compared to the quality, and now I feel I'm a bit turned off from Zojirushi. They just have not delivered the quality I would expect from their reputation.