Customer Reviews

Zojirushi NS-ZCC18 10-Cup Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker and Warmer, Premium White

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Excellent rice cooker. So far, I've used it for white and brown rice with and without the automatic timer and it works great. I'll use it for shushi next week. With the automatic timer feature you set up the machine and then tell the rice cooker the time of day when you want your rice to be ready. After that time it switches automatically into 'keep warm' mode so your rice is ready to eat in case you're delayed. This is one of the main reasons I bought this specific model.

A few things to note so you can make a more informed purchase.

1- Cup size is different. I guess a japanese cup is different than those used in the US. Therefore, 10 cups in this case actually translates to 7.5 US-sized cups of rice.

2- Cooking time is longer than 'normal'. I included the estimates for some types of rice straight from the manual. The zojirushi website also has estimates.
a- Quick cooking (only white rice): 35-45 min
b- White Rice: 51-60 min
c- Sushi rice: 47-58 mn
d- Brown rice: 82-108

3- The minimum amount of rice you can make with the 10 cup model is 1 cup except for sweet, mixed, and brown rice where the minimum is 2 cups. Mixed rice is one where you ad a few other ingredients that will cook together with the rice 9eg. soup stock, soy sauce). For the 5 cup the minimum you can make is 1 cup for all types of rice except porridge where you can make 0.5 cups. Again, these are the smaller cup sizes.

4- For those with small kitchens, the 10 cup machine has the following dims (WxDxH in inches): 11x14.2x9.4. The 5 cup is 10x13x8.1

Enjoy perfect rice every time. Spend your time preparing other parts of your meal.

I've made rice all my life. I learned from my first cook book -- Julia Child.

But a few years ago, I moved to a new climate area and it's been hit and miss ever since. I made pots of rice turned to mush and pots of rice so hard and uncooked they were inedible.

In desparation, I read all the descriptions, online reviews, evaluations by "America's Test Kitchen" -- all the resources I could find -- and this 10-cup Neuro Fuzzy seemed to offer the most consistant results to people and testers.

And you know what? They were right.

Every pot of rice since I got this machine over 6 months ago has been perfect. Also perfect with broccoli added on top of the rice in the last 10 minutes. Also perfect in the "mixed" mode with chopped veggies added with the rice and water. Also perfect for rice pudding. Also perfect for breakfast hot cereal.

And the "keep warm" function is sooooooo useful when people are in and out at meal time -- or when folks are sitting up late working and need a second helping of something warm and good.

who knew? Not me. Now I do.

I have had the Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy 10 cup rice cooker for about two months now. I am still somewhat amazed at the cost of this rice cooker and the fact that I paid that much for it. But I must admit that this rice cooker was worth every penny that I paid for it. I took about 2 months to choose a rice cooker because I was kinda tired of cleaning seared rice water off the stove. The ease of use for this is great you rinse your rice add it to the rice cooker add water to the appropriate line, shut the lid hit the button, listen to the tune wait for the next tune and you will have the greatest rice ever. It makes all kinds of rice as well as steel cut oats. I use it for making the boxed flavored rice as well. I bought this mostly for what it is intended (making rice) but have read about many other uses for it. It has a programmable timer so your breakfast or dinner will be ready when you want. Then it switches to keep warm mode if your not ready when it is and extended keep warm if your really late. There are setting for white, reg/sushi, harder, quick cooking, mixed, porridge, sweet, semibrown, and brown. I have only used the white rice, mixed, porridge and brown and all have come out excellent. Its cute too and made in Japan which is another plus. It comes with two measuring cups white for most rice and green for pre-washed. The cooking pot seems real durable and nothing sticks to it. The little white server also looks durable and cleans in a snap. The inner lid is removable and cleaning it is also a breeze. It has a carrying handle so it quite mobile. It keeps time in military mode and the LCD display is large and easy to read. Another plus is the retractable cord when your done with it retract the cord and storage is simple.

I purchased one of these cookers after reading many glowing reviews about them. I have been using an old switch cooker for several years, and eventually I learned to make plenty extra so I'd have some "good" rice above that crunchy brown layer (yeah I know some people love it). Even so, sometimes it would turn out too dry or too mushy.

So after buying this cooker, I read quickly through the manual and tried my first batch...it was perfect! No, really! People have said that there is a huge difference between rice from this (and other zojirushi) cooker and their old ones, and were they ever right! No more gummy, starchy-tasting mess. I've tried two different kinds of rice so far and they both came out perfectly, with no brown crunchy layer. (If you like that layer, keep your cheap cooker!) It's really foolproof. Just make sure to wash your rice thoroughly, add water up to the line and poof! you're done.

It does take longer than my old cooker. From 45 minutes to an hour for the rice I've cooked so far. But the results are well worth the wait, and the timer function almost makes this a non-issue. Set your rice in the morning to be done at 7pm, and it'll take care of the rest. Very easy, and foolproof. Hey, even I could do it.

We've had this for about five years. The battery went dead but THERE IS NO WAY TO CHANGE THE BATTERY. The battery is soldered to the circuit board! They expect you to ship it back to the factory which will probably cost $20 each way! I opened it up, cut out the old battery, and duct-taped a new battery in there but it just comes loose every few months. Cooks rice great, though.

We have researched and researched and finally took the plunge on this 10-cup neuro fuzzy cooker. And we absolutley love it. We eat rice at least twice a week and it is soooo easy to use and clean. It is easy to cook 2 cup of rice as it is to cook 10 cups of rice; the output is consistent very time. We bought the larger model for when we entertain. My hubbie loves it and he used to be the 'minute rice' man.... and now loves the taste of the rice cooked properly. He is now a convert and he was hard to convince to splash out and buy this cooker.

I guarantee that if you love to cook rice and have hated the experiences of cleaning and eating under/over cooked rice .. you will not regret buying this appliance. The rice comes out perfectly everytime from jasmine, basmati and brown rice. This is the best out there... though dont go for the cheaper alternatives ,, you get what you pay for that is what my dad taught me and he has never been wrong.

Update: March 2009: we are still using the rice cooker, but use it properly on average 4 times a week now! It definately has been one of those best buys. Also, we found that the rice stays nice and warm under the 'warming option' as long as you do not open the lid.

Zojirushi makes the best rice cookers hands down: better than Sanyo, Tiger, or Panasonic. Don't believe me? Go into a Korean or Japanese speaking house and take a look in their kitchen.

This one is great! The thick, non-stick pan consistently cooks the rice nice and even, but the best feature is that it will keep the rice perfectly warm for a couple of days. Most non-Japanese made rice cookers will not even keep your rice warm for a couple of hours without creating excess condensation, browning on the bottom, or gluttonous rice.

People who complain about paying this much for a rice cooker must not have grown up eating sticky rice, or must not have ever been to an Asian grocery store. This isn't made for cooking Uncle Ben's. Even the most frugal Asian families don't skimp on their rice cooker.

A rice cooker is not a slow cooker and shouldn't ever double as one. Crappy American, Chinese made brands advertise this as an added feature. Don't be fooled. If you want restaurant quality rice, buy quality rice and use a Japanese made rice cooker that is dedicated to cooking rice.

The only reason I'm giving this 3 stars is because most Asian grocery stores sell this particular model for much less. I bought mine for $119.

Another piece of advice, do not use an abrasive sponge with heavy detergent to clean the pan. Read the instructions. Soak and wipe.

I grew up in an Asian family and my parents always had a one-button rice cooker. So when I saw this one, I said to myself "what's the big deal, a rice cooker's a rice cooker, right?" Wrong! This rice cooker makes rice 10 times better, if I could put a numerical value to it, than any of the one-button cookers we have used. Now rice has become one of my husband's favorite things to have for dinner. Considering that he's white and wasn't brought up on rice, it says a lot. : )

Tips on making Cantonese style porridge: cook the porridge as instructed with water / stock. When the porridge is done, add boiling hot water / stock to bring it to the desired consistency. It's important to add the liquid as the last step. If you add extra liquid at the beginning, the porridge will not cook properly. I've tried it.

In Hawaii, many of us eat rice every day, so most of us have rice cookers on our kitchen counters. I'd been wanting a "fuzzy logic" cooker for a long time, but my old-fashioned, bridal-shower-era aluminum cooker took its sweet time easing into retirement. When it was time to say farewell, I'd narrowed my choices to the higher-end Zojirushi line.

My sturdy Zojirushi was worth the wait! Rice comes out dependably, every time. White rice. Jasmine rice for curries. Mixed brown and white or wild rice and brown or white. Never overcooked; never crunchy. There are multiple settings to accommodate all kinds of combinations -- "reg/sushi" is best for everyday, and hit the "pre-washed" button if you've washed the rice grains. The others are self-explanatory with one possible exception, sweet, which is probably not a common choice. A steam vent up top keeps the rice from getting overly sticky, and the included rice paddle may look like it has measles but it's designed to keep the rice from sticking.

I'm a gadget geek, so the computer melodies that indicate the start and end of cooking make me smile every time I hear them, and sometimes that's twice a day (I do love my rice). The warming function seems to work well, keeping the rice quite hot without drying it out, but for best flavor you would want to eat the rice within 30-60 minutes.

The non-stick coating truly is ... no more soaking the aluminum pot in cold water to get the "goo" off. Instead, a quick hand-wash with hot soapy water is all the bowl and the detachable cover liner need. As to the measuring cup, as one person noted, it's not exactly a dry measure 1c. I keep it in my rice tub, scoop out however much I want to prepare, wash it in the sink (old habits die hard) and then use the knuckle measure technique to add water. Basically, no matter how big/small your hands or the dimension of the cooker, rest your pointer finger barely touching the top of the rice; the water level should hit your first knuckle. I boost this a bit for brown and wild rice.

This cooker has given our family more than 3 years of faithful service so far, and my eye hasn't wandered.

We have had our Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy 10 cup rice cooker for about a year now. We have owned a couple of rice cookers and this is by far the best rice cooker we have ever used. The rice comes out perfect every time. We eat a lot of sushi and sushi rice comes out just right with this cooker. We have also cooked a lot of jasmine rice and basmati rice as well and it comes out beautifully. Brown rice...to perfection! It is easy to operate. A nice feature is the quick cook option for when you are in a hurry. This rice cooker does have a bit longer cooking time (about 10 to 15 min) than other rice cookers but it is worth the wait! We have NEVER found the bottom of the rice to be that light yellow color you find with so many other cookers from being close to the cooking element. The rice is consitent and fluffy throughout. This rice cooker is also very easy to clean. It is attractive. My wife, who is extremely picky about what items are left on the countertop does not mind this cooker to be permanently placed on the counter. Our cooker is on all the time...you will love the keep warm and extended keep warm options. We always have rice whenever we need it--hot and ready to go!! You will pay more for this rice cooker but you will get quality, professional, asian-style rice every time.


Update August 2011: Our Zojirushi is still going strong. Use it several times per week and always have hot rice in it. Never have had a single problem with it EXCEPT my wife left it open and the lid came in contact (for a while) with our under the cabinet light and melted it so it couldn't latch closed correctly. I called one of the authorized service shops. The guy was really nice, sent it to me for cost and shipping saying I could replace it myself. And that I did! Works like a charm. And the lid was only around 30 bucks I think. Zojirushi is the way to go!