Side by Side Comparison of: Zojirushi vs Aroma

I love my rice cooker! Definitely worth the price. It plays a cute little tune when you start the cooking and when it finishes but you can always toggle it to do a single beep or no sound at all. I have tried baking a cheesecake in it, steaming dumplings while rice cooked, and it all worked out perfectly. It comes with handy little manuals tha tell you how much rice and water and how long to cook. I got the 5cup and it's way too big for a single person. I have let it stay on keep warm for up to 72 hours and the rice is still good (of course accompanying the signs of aging rice like a little moisture or dryness of course)

I love this product. Used on a daily basis for cooking porridge (oats). Fill it up at night, set the timer, and breakfast is ready in the morning. Also makes fantastic rice (obviously) but you need a bit of patience / planning as it takes longer than simply dumping the rice in a pot of boiling water....

I can't say enough good things about the Zojirushi. It was a tough call to spend the money on it instead of $20 on a "regular" rice cooker to replace my old one, but after recommendations from friends I'm so glad I did. Rice takes a surprisingly long time to cook - especially brown rice, which takes more than two hours! - but it's worth it. The finished rice has a noticeably better taste and texture.The timer and keep warm features are both fantastic, too.

Don't bother looking any further because this rice cooker is all you need.I had a minimal rice cooker all through college as a gift from my parents and a promise for the future. It had one setting and the silly tab you push down that pops up when the rice is done. I loved that rice cooker. That clicking sound of the tab popping up helped get me through many final seasons. That rice cooker survived several moves across the city and even one across the country. It was enough for a sad, sad Korean girl crying over her books in the cold winter, but after one year out of college and a move to the big city, my rice cooker died, like a soldier tired from battle.I took this as a sign that I needed to finally invest in the real deal - my first grown-up rice cooker. I found it in Zoji-sama. Is there such a thing as the opposite of buyer's remorse? That's what I have.Do you want rice? Fluffy, sweet, delicate, perfectly steamed rice here.Do you want cake? Grease me up, and this'll pop a fluffy yellow sponge cake out for you with barely a tap on the bottom of the bowl.Porridge at dawn? Throw in some rice and water and set the timer. You'll wake to the dulcet tones of your Zoji singing to you like a songbird.This thing is not only pretty and sleek (it appeals to my designer aesthetics), but it has every setting you never knew you wanted: white rice, quick rice (if you don't want to wait), brown rice, porridge, cake, etc. In the manual is a collection of recipes, all of which you can make in this wondrous piece of technology. The other day I made a heaping pile of rice for several hungry Asian friends, and we silently sat around my apartment and wept with happiness over the beautiful glistening white kernels of goodness that had been bequeathed to us by Zoji-sama. We then discovered the yellow sponge cake recipe and proceeded to squeal with delight while making that. An hour later, we pulled the bowl out of the Zoji, tapped the bottom of it, and this immaculate yellow cake slid out without a crumb out of place like the most perfect poop you've never had. We ate it with whipped cream and peaches (not cooked in the Zoji). Glorious.Also, the cord is retractable, and the parts come out for easy cleaning. Heck yeah.So thank you, Zojirushi, for this gift to all mankind, and to Amazon Prime for delivering it within 2 days of ordering it. My paycheck did not go to waste.

Made sushi rice on first use. PERFECT. Our old rice cooked started to overcook everything. Decided to get the best for my wife to make sure we didn't have sticky, clumpy, over-cooked rice anymore. Decided to use it to make sushi rice. Figured if it could do that correctly, should be able to do anything. Rice tasted REALLY good.First, be sure to use the measuring cup that comes with the cooker to measure the rice. It is NOT a true cup. When you use their plastic "cup" of rice, you can then fill with water to the lines in the cooker basin, and presto! The rice came out perfect.Second, use the timer. For sushi rice, you want to rinse well and then let the sushi set in the water for about an hour. With this, I could wash my rice, put it in the cooker, add the water and then set the timer for 1 3/4 hours from now. The cooker takes about 45 minutes to cook. An hour later, the cooker starts, cooks the rice, and it was done 1 3/4 hours later. Repeated that several times throughout the day as I made sushi and had fresh rice continuously coming out.Third, don't put your hand over it to see if it is running. Won't do that again. Couldn't see the steam, but my fingers could feel it! The display will tell you what it is doing. Makes a fun little melody at the end that tells you it is done.The menu is simple to use. Timer is easy to set. Won't have to get out the instructions each time you use it. Intuitive.

Me: A foodie Dad in the USA who knows how to hand-cook long-grain, sushi, basmati, jasmine, and brown rice so they're just right. I rise early every morning to hand-make lunches for my four children and my wife because I'm socially awkward and emotionally closed off, and this is one way that I show my family that I love them. I'm a middle-class working guy, without tons of money, so I don't buy $100+ kitchen appliances on a whim. I mean, I bought my wife a Kitchen-Aid mixer eight years ago because she wanted it, but I winced at the price. I've owned this product for five months, and used it 4+ times a week during that period.You: Somebody that identifies with me and cooks rice or other steamed grains on a daily basis.My Review: If you're pressed for time and you cook a lot of rice or other boiled/steamed grains, BUY THIS RICE COOKER. I would give it more than 5 stars if I could. It's a triumph of convenience engineering, and obviously a multi-year investment. I've owned a couple $20 rice cookers, which I used when I didn't have enough time to spare to pay attention to heat-on, heat-off cycles when I was making a meal. Now, I just select the type of grain from a super-intuitive menu, select the time I want it ready, and push a button. The rice is always perfect when the beeper goes off, and is still perfect the next day.Geek details: The AC power cord is flexible and retractable. The clock doesn't need to be reset if the cooker is unplugged for 2 days at a time... handy because the cooker doubles as an insulated container (like a crock pot) from which to serve hot rice several hours later. The dual mode rice warmer + the superb design of the cooking chamber means that every time you cook rice, you re-sterilize the sealed cooking chamber and keep it sterile so that rice can easily be held (hot and safe!) for a second day. The swing-up handle makes this a cinch to carry, and it's well-balanced. The non-stick bowl is super-heavy-duty aluminum and I expect it to last for years, especially since I baby it... I love this appliance like a Wall Street CEO loves his sports car. Cleanup is easy (never more than 2 minutes, usually less than 1 with hot tap water and a splash of dish soap). The detachable pot lid is easier to remove and clean than I expected.. I include detaching, washing, and replacing it in 1-2 minute cleanup time.Disclaimer: This is for the 5.5 cup cooker, although I assume that the 3 cup cooker is similar. I've never bought a more expensive model to compare... my prior experience is with pot-cooking rice or using a $20-$30 model when I didn't have time to baby the rice.Extras: Works great for wild rice and quinoa. Medium and short-grain rice are perfectly cooked so long as you rinse them properly before putting them in the cooker... if I fill and set the timer at bedtime, I can season and cool the rice, cut nori, crab, and avacado, and make California rolls within 12 minutes from stepping into the kitchen.

I bought this rice cooker because I was looking for something with a non-toxic inner pot; no non-stick coatings or aluminum which are harmful on many levels. This is great to make grains for one person for 2-3 meals or grains for one meal for a small family. I have cooked brown rice, white rice and quinoa in this cooker with ease. The included "cup" is actually 3/4 of a cup FYI. To cook white rice, you just measure 1,2 or 3 "cups" of dry rice and then add water to match the number of cups with the lines stamped on the sidewall. It can do up to 3 "cups" (3/4 cups) of white rice or 2 of brown. For doing 2 cups brown rice, you just add the 2 cups of rice and 3 of the same measures of water, ignoring the stamped lines on the inner sidewall. I like to use a pressure cooker when I can but this is just so much easier. I recently experimented with quinoa and cooked it the same way I would cook brown rice. It came out perfect. Sometimes I add Indian spices or coconut oil if I want. If you choose to use the included steamer basket, I would advise that you use vegetables that cook in a relatively short time like cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, zucchini, etc. If you try to cook kale or collard greens while you are cooking rice or another grain, they may not come out fully cooked. Of course, if that's how you like your dark leafys, then go for it! Overall I'm very happy with the product. One small gripe that I have is that the unit will not turn off automatically, so it may not be safe to just throw a pot of oats or rice on before you go to sleep. Once finished, it will switch to warm and stay there until you unplug the unit. Aroma makes another one that will shut off after 10 hours on warm, but it has a non-stick coating. I weighed the two and figured it was one feature I was willing to give up for non-carcinogenic cookware. Grains are the staff of life. Happy cooking!

My first rice cooker, this one is small and simple; perfect for two or three people. The most you can cook in it is the equivalent of 2 1/4 cups (8 oz. cups) of white rice, and 1 1/2 cups of brown rice. It comes with it's own cup measure that equals 3/4 cup. The stainless steel bowl is ideal for those who don't want a plastic or non-stick pot. The stainless pot feels substantial - like it's double walled. You must unplug this unit to turn it off. Some reviewers complain that rice sticks to the bottom. You must rinse the starch from the rice before using it, and the manual says you can stir the rice once or twice while it cooks to prevent sticking. It took 25 minutes to cook 3 cups of sushi rice (using the 3/4 cup measure that comes in the box) and I added water to the 3 cup line in the stainless bowl. After the rice cooked, the unit was unplugged to let the rice rest for 15 minutes, as suggested for sushi rice. The recipe book is simple and covers white and brown rice and a pilaf recipe. It says you can cook soup in it, though it seems to small to bother with that. IF it had an automatic shutoff it would be good for a college dorm. One photo shows what comes in the box - there's a US quarter coin in the bowl to give you an idea of the size of the bowl. The other image has a small avocado for size reference.

I purchased this because I really wanted a small rice cooker for my extremely tiny kitchen in my NYC apartment also I wanted something stainless steel. When It arrived it was smaller than I expected but did the job amazingly. The first thing I made in it was couscous and it was the best couscous i've ever had, perfectly cooked! the only downside is that things will stick to the bottom but I would pick stainless steel over nonstick teflon coatings any day. I purchased the aroma stainless steel steamer and together I couldn't have asked for a better product. THe best part is that I can use it to cook many different things, not just grains, and it doesn't take up much counter space (less counter space than a microwave). Overall this has been the best item I have purchased for my kitchen. As a busy mom, I love that I can set it and forget it and it wont spill water. The bamboo rice paddle and measuring cup were a nice bonus. HIGHLY recommend!!!

Trying to minimize any risks of chemicals leaching when cooking so I'm transitioning my cookware to inert surfaces such as ceramic, stainless steel or glass. I was worried about rice sticking to the stainless steel, but after a few months of use at least 2-3x a week, there have been no problems. Long grain, short grain, brown rice and wild rice mix cooks perfectly if you follow suggested rice to water ratios. Do read the instructions which enlightened me of the "cup" unit of measurement for rice not being the same as our standard American "cup"! Hence the inclusion of the rice cup with the cooker. Small capacity is perfect for up to 3-4 adults (with realistically sized dinner servings.) i didn't need anything fancier, and I appreciate the small footprint on my counter. Lightweight too so it's easy for grandma to whisk in and out of the pantry.My previous rice cooker was also from Aroma, similar model but with a tin or aluminum insert. That one lasted over 15 years. I only gave it up because I was worried about the metal material. I expect this one will last me a long while too. For $35, that's an incredible value.

As I have been using the product "Aroma ARC-757SG 14-Cup (Cooked) Simply Stainless Rice Cooker" it is a great cooking pot, and it has a stainless steel substance called "surgical-grade 304 stainless steel".I have been using this product for a while.I love this product, and especially how it is 100% stainless steel. Many other rice cookers carry a non-coated inside.If you follow the manual instructions correctly, the rice will be fine.It tells you how much rice and water you have to put in, once the rice is done, it will click in to 'warm'.The fact that the paddle was made of bamboo made it even a better quality product, as plastic and heat doesn't cooperate well together. The rice cookers I bought in the past stink, especially with the non-coating in comparison to this product.The lid is glass. There is a ventilation hole for the steam to go out.This rice cooker is simple to use, as there is only a "cook" and "warm" option when it is done.I highly rate and recommend this product, and it met my expectations. I am satisfied with this product.The product does a great job as a rice cooker.Update :It still works great, I haven't used other cooking materials besides rice so far.

I'd been using the Aroma 6 cups (cooked, 3 cups uncooked) rice cooker with the non stick (aluminum) interior for years and have loved it. Rice never stuck to bottom, even if I just made 1 cup of uncooked rice. I replaced that one with this stainless steel inner pot Aroma model and it does a fabulous job. I've only used it once and the rice was perfect, but since there are so few reviews, I wanted to add mine for you as soon as possible. I made 2 cups (uncooked) brown basmati rice, according to the directions.Since many users comment about rice sticking to the bottom of their rice cookers, this is the method that I've been using for years. First, I rinse the rice (in my new Japanese rice washing bowl--OK the bowl is new). I pour a very small amount of olive oil on the bottom of the inner pot and use my fingers to get it to cover the entire bottom. Add rice, then water, then cook.This is the part that I think keeps it from not sticking--when the button moves from the cooking to the keep warm position (you can hear it pop), I remove the inner pot with lid on and let it finish off the heat. After about 15 minutes, I fluff the rice with the included paddle (previously I had used a fork) and the rice is perfect.For grains, white rice, and brown rice, there is an instruction booklet for grains to water ratio. For white rice, you can also add the measured rice (they provide a rice measuring "cup," which is ¾ standard cup) into the inner pot then fill with water to the inner pot markings for 1, 2, or 3 cups.Stainless steel is a good weight. Doesn't take up much space. Rice was PERFECT--did not stick or burn. Bamboo paddle, rice measuring cup, and instruction booklet are included. Excellent product and does great job.***Update. I've now used this at least a half a dozen times for brown rice, quinoa, and buckwheat (whole kasha) and it's performed as well as the first time I used it. I'm very happy with this cooker.

First of all Amazon needs to have a price match guarantee for at least 30 days after purchase of an item. I paid $147 plus tax for our Zojirushi NS-TSC10 last week, this morning the Zojirushi NS-TSC10 was $139 on Amazon and as I write this review the Zojirushi NS-TSC10 is $142 on Amazon.Our Eastern Indian neighbors recommended the Zojirushi NS-TSC10. We do like it very much and rice as well as steel cut oatmeal is fabulous when cooked in our Zojirushi NS-TSC10. The detachable inner lid needs to be coated with a nonstick type of coating similar to the inner cooking pan. You are to clean the detachable inner lid each time the Zojirushi NS-TSC10 is used and food remnants do stick to the detachable inner lid. Also, I am not happy about my food being cooked against bare uncoated Aluminum, which the inner lid appears to be fabricated from. If Zojirushi will hopefully make this design change, how about also coating the upper fixed inner lid because if any food does boil over the fixed inner lid will get soiled. Common sense engineering would have prevented this issue.The other issue is that the instruction manual is printed in brown ink, which is okay, but some of the instructions are highlighted with a light brown and then other instructions are highlighted in a medium brown. Highlighting is supposed to highlight not obscure, and the brown print on medium brown highlighting does obscure badly. Again common sense was not applied to printing of the instruction manual.Our recipe for steel cut oatmeal is ¾ cup English volume unit (not the supplied measuring cup) and 2-1/2 cups English volume unit water set on the PORRIDGE setting and the timer set for 5am.

Brown rice tastes so good with this cooker. Zojirushi really knows how to cook rice. The only reason I took one star off is the steam basket gets stains after first use and the stains can't be removed.

I purchased this rice cooker for my wife two years ago after reading all the great reviews. Am I or my wife doing something wrong? The rice is always in very dried out condition within hours of completion. I have heard my wife complaining every time she makes rice. She makes rice daily. We have been using cookers for 50 years and this was one of the worst. We last had a Tiger fuzzy logic model and never had a problem. When it got a little rusty after 10 years (Hawaii) we replaced it with this. The $20 dollar models were better than this Zojirushi. Perhaps their is a secret to making it or we have a defective model. I don't usually give negative reviews but I don't want to hear my wife complaining any more.

Good product, but bowl material are kind of thin and inner top lid design is kind of lack of attention. Overall not as good as NS-LAC05XT.But still a keeper since I wanted a 5.5 cup, but couldn't find 5.5 on LAC series.

Makes really great rice - it just takes ~2 hours to make a pot of brown rice! Also when installing the pot back into the pot you need to pull the lid back a bit. We've made 10 batches and the bottom of the pot (not inside the pot) touching the element already has the nonstick coating coming off.

Makes the best rice from an automated cooker I've ever prepared - BUT - the lifespan of this unit will depend on the cooking pot inside, which, while better than the competition, is still thin and shows signs of wear after only a few batches. The cooker will outlast the pot, so if replacement pots aren't available for purchase, it will be a better buy to purchase a less expensive unit. You can buy 3-4 complete but less sophisticated cookers for the cost of this unit. Retractable cord, carry handle and full attached lid are nice, but will be wear points to watch. Cleaning up is easy, and the steam management of this unit over glass lid models is great - no hard water stains or gurgling while cooking. The chime signals at start / end of cooking are cutesy, but if they really annoy you, they can be changed to a simple beep or no sound at all. 4 out of 5 - I think the pot could be better.

I have been using this little guy for the past few months (cooking plain white Basmati rice about couple times a week, sometimes more often) and it has held up well. The stainless steel container does get stained (i dont know how or why) but other than that, it does what its supposed to, is healthier than the nonstick stuff, and you can afford to be aggressive in terms of the cleaning (you dont have to baby it so as not to scratch off any coatings, cos there isnt any). Note that if you let the rice sit in on warm more for any amount of time, a layer of rice is going to stick at the bottom no matter what. But I always soak it in the sink for at least an hour before cleaning it.

We eat rice several times a week. This cooker worked for us with white or brown rice (a little extra water and let the brown steam a little longer). It even came on vacation with us. Sadly, after 2.5 years of trusty service, it started shutting off before the rice was fully cooked. Now we are shopping again. I would buy the same over but my partner wants to try the Miracle brand for a slightly larger pot. We had the 7 c/14 c cooked pot. It only cooked 6 c. Before the lid was pressed with rice though.

This is a great little rice cooker. The 3-cup size is much smaller than you might imagine, but it works perfectly for two people. We only cook 1 cup of uncooked rice at a time, and it makes two nice big portions in a short amount of time, especially white rice. It might be enough rice for three people but not four.The warmer feature is nice, but I wish there was an off button or an auto-shut off feature after a couple hours. You have to unplug it to turn it off. We frequently forget to unplug it right after serving, but thankfully it makes a little "click" noise intermittently while still warming and that helps us remember to unplug it.The stainless steel is great. The rice actually sticks less than our old, worn out "non-stick" rice cooker from Oster. It takes a bit of elbow grease to clean, but it does clean up nicely. There is absolutely no plastic or non-stick coating in contact with the food, which is a huge plus for us. Even the screws to hold the handle on are just metal, presumably steel. The handle on top is plastic, but it doesn't get in hot or come in contact with the food. The steel looks and feels like it's of a good quality.Some of the watery starchy goo bubbles out and onto the lid but it's never gone down the sides, just on the lid. It does let out a good amount of steam, so it's best to have it an open area, not under a cupboard or very close to anything hard to clean. I used to keep my coffeemaker right next to it, and it would get a bit of a film on it from the starchy steam.It's much easier than cooking rice on the stovetop and pretty hard to go wrong. We've cooked American long grain white rice, basmati rice, and brown rice in it. I would definitely recommend it for anyone looking to quickly and easily make one or two good portions of rice.

This was the least expensive stainless steel rice cooker that I could find. I bought the 20 cup (cooked) rice cooker. I read the reviews and could not figure out who is telling the truth because most said this is a great rice cooker while others claimed all sorts of problems such as the steam bursting out of the hole and rice being burnt. Though I read the negative reviews, many gave this cooker a positive rating because of the health benefit of cooking rice with a stainless steel pot instead of the stick-resistant coating that teflon cookers have that are rumored to be a cause of cancer.My mom always had this Japanese stick-resistant teflon/plastic cooker with the flowery designs on the outside. Eventually, rice stuck to this kind of rice cooker any way, and my mom had to scrape to wash the rice off to the point that the cooking pot just didn't seem safe to me to continue cooking with it as most of the stick-resistant coating has peeled or scraped off from years of washing. I decided to buy a new cooker for my mom that was safe health-wise by going with stainless steel.When the Aroma Simply Stainless 20-cup cooked rice cooker arrived, my mom and I thought it was a nice cooker because of the simple and clean looking design. We were excited. So, we cleaned the rice, place the rice into the cooking pot, placed the pot into the cooker. Within minutes, we were disappointed. The rice cooker spewed hot steamy gooey water every where just as reviewers claimed it would do. Gooey water was all over the floor, the counter top and all over the glass cover of the cooker. Mom insisted on returning this new cooker and go back to the old cooker. I did not want to return it due to having to repack everything and contacting Amazon and dealing with shipping, etc.; and I wanted this cooker to work for us because it was the healthy alternative. However, I needed to convince my mom to keep this cooker and resolve the problem of spewing water. Then, a light bulb came to mind. I told mom that when she's ready to cook the rice, just put a light dry cloth over the opening of the cover. This will allow the rice to cook with the steam continuing to come out of the cover hole, but it would prevent the steamy water from spewing out, and it worked. The cloth over the cover controlled the spewing of gooey water and the rice cooked nicely. Mom was happy to keep the cooker until she discovered another issue.Mom found that the rice was burning at the bottom of the cooking pot, and mom did not like the idea of having to soak the pot over night in water, so that the burned rice would come off easily. I thought we had to return the cooker due to this issue, but mom soon discovered that if she immediately unplugs or shut off the cooker the moment the cooker signals that the rice is cooked, there isn't much burning at the bottom of the pot, and she can clean it the night of the cooking. Other reviewers have suggested lining a thin layer of oil on the stainless steel pot before putting the rice in to prevent the rice from burning onto the pot for easy cleaning.Anyway, mom has now gotten to like this stainless steel rice cooker a lot. She knows it's healthier/safer than other types (aluminum or teflon/plastic) of rice cookers. The rice comes out well-cooked with the right level of softness/firmness and taste like rice you get at restaurants. She likes the fact that the cooker makes a sound to let you know that the rice is done cooking. So, she unplugs or shuts off the cooker immediately after it is done cooking (never leaving the warmer on). She leaves a light dry cloth on top of the cover when ever she starts cooking, and no more water is spewing. She's gotten used to the routine and now loves this cooker enough that when I asked if she wants to return to the old teflon cooker, she said no, she likes this stainless cooker much better. So, yes, reviewers who gave this cooker a low rating is telling the truth, but there are ways to resolve the issues of this cooker if you just take a moment to think about them. High raters are also telling the truth, I like the taste of the rice from this cooker and I feel better.

This unit overall score is in the 4 star range. Yet, there was some 1 star reviews which seemed pretty bad. So I started to look at some other models, and, well, every model at least some people don't like and have similar complaints. So, I decided to try this one. So far, I'm happy.A lot of people complain about the steam hole. Yet, how else will it relieve the pressure? My very first rice cooker had a top with no vent, the top would just constantly burble a bit and let steam and rice-water around the edge of the top and over the side of the cooker.My second one, well, I guess maybe it was better, it had a closable top with an internal lid. I honestly don't remember what happened with the steam. My wife usually cooked with it and it has been broken for six months. We've been needing to buy a new one. So, perhaps that one was better but I honestly don't remember how it worked.I like the fact that the lid is glass so you can see. My previous two had solid tops.I think they should have made the steam hole closer to the top of the lid so that there would be less rice-water leakage. If they put the steam hole in the very top center and put maybe two handles on the sides of the top instead of the top of the top, that might be better. And put a raised water catcher around the upper rim, that would be great. But, its a minor quibble, at least to me.The instructions claim that their 6-oz "cup" is "industry standard" for rice. I have no idea, but, I've never heard that before. Thus, if you measure in standard 8-oz cups, it is only 3/4 as much as listed.

We are pretty happy with this 14-cup (cooked) rice cooker. Some of the other reviewers stated that the 6-cup stainless model is much too small, so I went with the 14-cup model which is just right right for my family. It's simple to use, easy to clean, and much safer than the non-stick coated aluminum ones. We only used this product about a dozen times and thus far we have had pretty good results. You will find that you need to play with the water to ratio yourself to get the rice to the tenderness that you desire because the instructions seem a little off but that is not a big issue. One minor grief around that though is that the unit does not always want to turn back on to "cook" after it has been on the "warm" status. We had to unplug the device and the restart it to continue cooking the rice a little longer. Another little gripe is that there is not an option to turn the rice from "cook" to "off". It will go to "warm" which is nice but you have to be careful because the rice at the bottom can burn.Overall, we are very pleased with our rice cooker and the results that we have received thus far. We are also looking forward to trying some of the recipes that were provided with the purchase. They look delicious!

This makes the most perfect rice ever, especially if you follow the directions including rinsing the rice before cooking. White rice, brown rice, specialty rices all come out flawlessly.However! We used our previous cooker for steamed veggies a lot, and searched for a cooker with a decent sized steamer insert for that purpose. Unfortunately, this cooker starts counting down on the timer the minute you hit the start button. Our previous rice cooker didn't engage the timer until the water was producing a full head of steam. So if you wanted to steam slender asparagus stalks for six minutes, you would set that other steamer for 6 minutes and the asparagus would come out perfect. With this cooker, it hasn't started to steam yet at six minutes. And good luck figuring out when the steam will start to set a longer time with any accuracy! We've gone back to steaming veggies on the stove.Disappointing for a brand as respected as Zojirushi.

Bought it a year ago. It is good for 8 months. Now the keep warm function is not so good any more. When in "keep warm" mode for one day, it will burn your rice. I think the pot is not thick enough. Also, the rice will give you smell after keeping in there for more than one day. The older model is excellent. It lasts eight year. Zojirushi does not make good product anymore. Trying larger model and same thing happens. Also, you have to clean up around the pot after few days because the water will accumulate and drip down when in "keep warm" mode.

1/1/17 Update, a little over two years after purchase:Downgrading to three stars. This machine still makes good rice pretty consistently, but we get an occasional pot of rice that is overly mushy or dry after the pleasant little alarm tells us the rice is done (we do wait 10 minutes before opening as with older machines even though it's not necessary). We use our machine almost daily for jasmine or Japanese sushi rice, but there should still not be such an inconsistency after only two years of use. The "Keep Warm" function is useless- it pretty much guarantees rancid cooked rice within a few short hours after cooking. It's fine if you are immediately consuming all of the rice - but then why pay a premium for fuzzy logic? Overall, it's been a real disappointment and we are searching for it's replacement.Original (4 star) review: Love the multi-function features of this rice cooker, including the steamer and ability to make perfect sticky rice. If you are Thai or cook with/for Thai loved ones, the sticky rice feature really is a huge bonus; it will come out as perfectly as if you had used the traditional basket method as long as you make sure to rinse your rice very well (and it tastes much better than the short cut microwave method). Our only disappointment is this rice cooker's inability to keep rice warm and edible for more than a 36 hour period. So far we have found that only dryer rices like jasmine or basmati will keep over 24 hours, and even that is hit or miss. Japanese/sushi rice must be removed within four hours after cooking or it turns yellow/crusty and smells rancid. I only took off one star because I have to imagine this is simply the way the technology has progressed. This rice cooker replaced an "old school" cooker that would keep any type of rice nicely for up to a week. With heavy hearts, we've had to throw out a lot of rice that has gone bad in the cooker as we continue to try to retrain our old habits. Just something to be mindful of when you are purchasing, especially if you've grown up with a rice cooker as a permanent fixture on your countertop!

Was using the 3-cup white Zojirushi cooker before this one, but got the display panel wet by accident and it stopped working abruptly, so decided to upgrade to this 5-cup version instead.Although it is well made and a lot more spacious, washing rice in the bowl isn't as easy as in the 3-cup one because of the 90 degree angle at which the side of the pot meets the base, unlike the curved base of the 3-cup cooker, which makes swishing rice around easy. We've had to resort to getting a rice washer strainer and use that in conjunction with a larger salad bowl to wash rice conveniently and effectively.We've only used the white rice and porridge settings so far. The white rice turns out ok, but not as fluffy and chewy as with the 3-cup cooker. The porridge is decent as well, and does last for quite a few days in the pot without drying out, but it just doesn't taste as starchy or "sweet" as the porridge the 3-cup cooker makes. Maybe it's because this cooker is still new and has yet to be truly broken into, but we're still disappointed enough not to be eating as much rice, or as often, as we used to---sort of ironic, since we upgraded to the 5-cup because we ate so much rice with the 3-cup it never seemed enough!I wish I could revive our old 3-cup cooker so I can get inspired about cooking and eating at home again.

Well. I am okay with this rice cooker but sometimes I wish i bought a standard rice cooker. Nice design but the quick cook feature takes 40 minutes and the regular rice cooking takes upto 1 hr. It takes bit long time to cook compare to what I had before. I thought this is made in Japan but came out to be in China as usual. Hopefully, this will last… .

Makes great rice, but a few caveats:1) The instructions are terrible. For a device that does essentially one thing, the manual and instructions are crazy complicated.2) I had assumed it cooked rice quickly; this is not the case at all. It takes about 40 minutes on the *fast* setting to cook rice.It *does* have the ability to keep rice warm for a long time (without overcooking). You just need to think of it like a coffeemaker -load it up and then have it autostart when you get home from work.

It's fine for my purposes - not looking for fine cooking here - just fast, easy prep for rice under my chicken. This is the same as my previous unit with the flaking non-stick coating, only a little cuter with little pot legs and a stainless inside pot. Yes, rice sticks maybe three kernels thick - I just scrape out the rice I want and soak the pot to clean. The "stainless" or whatever it is gets mottled soon enough but no big deal. I experimented with water and rice to get the right amount - the embossed water line's a good reference point. I'll keep and use until it wears out. What can you expect for thirty bucks anyway . . ?

I cooked 1 cup of rice with a little over 2 cups of water. As warned, the rice did stick to the bottom of pan. The rice water spilled out of the vent hole in the cover. Perhaps I did not rinse the uncooked enough? I also bought the steamer insert but have not used this yet. I would probably use it only as a steamer due to excess water spill with rice. This is a nice looking little steamer and small enough to store easily. I will continue to use and revisit my rating if the pot cooks with less boiling over. The rice cooked nicely and the cooker flipped to warm at the appropriate time. The stainless stell unit is easy to clean and even the stuck on rice scraped away easily with a short water soak.

It cooks rice okay. Sometimes it comes out crunchy or soggy but with the right rice it seems mostly okay.The rice always sticks to the bottom of the pot. Putting some oil or butter first helps with this but it still sticks. You will have to hand wash every time you cook (washing machine can't remove the dried up rice bits).If you actually put more than 2 cups of rice in it, the steam bubbling through the hole in the lid will make the lid dirty and nasty, but it hasn't really dripped off the sides on the counter yet. The lid luckily washes okay in the machine. I've only tried 3 cups a few times, and it seemed to work okay, but was very stressful since I could never tell if it was gonna spill everywhere or not.

Not like my Mom's rice which she made on the stove and it was PERFECT! I do not cook like my mom so this rice cooker had to do! I steamed cauliflower in it with the rice. I was always under the impression that you could not "peek" at the rice while it was cooking, but they tell you that if you are steaming veggies along with the rice, you should check the veggies periodically. This, I think, messes up the rice. When I did this the rice came out damp and lumpy (but it was still good). I tried one cup of rice later - it was still lumpy, but not as bad. I think you have to "fiddle" with the cooker and perhaps know without looking when you are steaming, the time when you coud take the veggies out. The rice cooker came with a dent on the side, but my husband said it was ok to keep. I will keep it. It is a cute item. I only cook 1 cup of rice because there is only two of us, The cooker did not spill water or rice out of the opening.

I purchased this product because of the reviews. But one month after I started it using it. It stopped working. The cooking light stays on but the rice is not being cooked and the water is not even warm. I couldn't return it to Amazon because it is past the one month date after purchase. I am hoping that I can get it replaced with another one from the manufacturer. The one that I currently have is surely defective.After I called and complaint, they did send a new one to me right away. This new one has been working well for about a year. So the first one they sent must have been defective. Because of how quick they were in resolving this issue. I decided to change it from 1 star to 3 star.

I have had rice cookers for years, they basically have all worked well, it's a simple device. I purchased this cooker because I am trying to avoid aluminum in my family's diet, so I was thrilled to find this stainless steel, affordable model. It cooks the rice fine and keeps it warm, BUT the thing bubbles and spits and blows out the top like a whale! I had rice milk splatters all over my counter, coffee maker and toaster. Now when I cook rice, it sits by itself with a towel underneath to sop up the mess.

no problems with cooking speed or taste of rice but it dries out the rice too quickly. my previous rice cooker was also zojirushi and similar price and appearance but did not do this. i choose the extended keep warm but for some odd reason, every time i check, it's auto switched back to the standard warmer.

Thought this was one of the best rice cookers out there but I was thoroughly disappointed. First, this takes an hour to make white rice when other rice cookers take 15-20 min. Second, my rice starts to dry out in an hour, much less 3 hours, while others can keep for almost 3 days! Third, the bowl is chipping and peeling even though I never use anything other than a plastic rice paddle. I won't be buying Zojirushi again.

Okay so this LOOKS enormous, but it is NOT. Its a VERY VERY VERY GOOD rice cooker. But its for two people who want a dinner or two. Its not for the big rice-eating family like mine. They make larger sizes though and let me tell you, this brand is THE BEST. THE BEST. THE BEST.

Missing measuring cup for the rice. Looks nice. 1 hour to cook the rice.

We purchase this rice cooker on Oct 30, 2016 and we use it a few times a week. It is nice to not have spill around like the old style ones. However, The holder for the spatula broken off and the power cord is having difficulty retract back. I hope these are the only problems we have.

I must rescind my glowing 5-star review. This was an excellent rice cooker for the first year. And now I know why the warranty is only for a year. At this price you would expect it to last for years. Just short of 2 years' use and the rice dries hard on top and around the edges after one day. Very disappointed.

I ordered this to replace my zojurishi rice cooker because this one does not have teflon and my other one did. When I received this I was pretty sure I would return it that same day, which I ended up doing. It looks really cheaply made and there is very little functionality. When I was searching for a replacement I came accross the instant pot mini 3 quart model which I snagged right away! I have an instant pot 6 quart and love it and realized that I would have all of the functionality plus a million of my original rice cooker all with a stainless steel cooking pot. Yay! For an additional $40 the purchase of the instant pot mini is so well worth it.

The pot worked as expected and does have a tendency to sputter and bubble out through the cover lid vent. That would be acceptable but we returned it as the pot is not solid stainless steel. It is plated and the interior plating started to flake off after only a couple of uses.into the food. I was not willing to take a chance with my health by eating flakes of whatever plating material is used in the fabrication of the "not so stainless" pot. The light colored spots in the picture are the spots where the plating came off exposing a different metal underneath. Maybe they are getting shortchanged by their supplier?

I had a high expectation with this one largely due to stainless cooking surface. When it arrived, I noticed large 1/4" vent hole without any trap. It was just open, which was weird. I gave a try anyway to cook some rice with it and it was horrible. It simply is not cooking rice the way it should. Uncooked partially (about 20%) and gets dry extremely fast. Perhaps it was not meant to be a rice cooker but more general steamer. As a rice cooker (both long grain and short grain) it is less than one star product.I appreciate the manufacturer to provide low price stainless cookware though. Since I used it I'm not sure if I can return it. Perhaps I'll use it for making soup or home made soap. ,,

I bought a Black and Decker rice cooker and have gotten many, many years of good use out of it. It is still going strong, but I want a stainless steel pot. I think the non-stick coating is not healthy. This has a stainless steel pot. I bought this Aroma rice cooker on Sept 23rd, it is now Nov 26th, It started working ok, but spits lots and lots of fluid out of the over sized vapor release hole. That makes a mess periodically. Now it is turning itself off prematurely. I have to fight with it periodically to get it to finish cooking. I would return it if I could--but it is too late. I would recommend a different one.

This rice cooker works (or rather, worked) perfectly for 3 months.Pros: We are a heavy rice-eating household (like many people who buy a rice cooker this big), and make about 2 cups (uncooked rice) every day. The stainless pot is a huge plus, because it distributes the heat evenly and is easy to clean without worrying about the nonstick coating eventually peeling off and mixing with the rice. As long as you've figured out the rice to water ratio (each type of rice is different, even different brands of the same type of rice), you can consistently get good rice each time.Cons: As some people have pointed out, you do have to unplug this from the wall immediately after it's done cooking and enters Warm mode. Keeping the cooker in Warm mode tends to dry out and burn the bottom later of rice. Unplugging it will ensure that the rice stays uniformly cooked.The biggest con, though, is that this does not appear to be a durable rice cooker. We've previously owned smaller Aroma rice cookers which kept going for at least a couple of years. This one, however, died after 3 months of use. It no longer turns on or heats up. I hope Amazon takes it back, especially since it appears to be outside the return period.I don't know what some of the better brands of rice cookers are - when I find one I might update this review to update you all on what we ended up going with.

Update 2015:Right now I don't use this product as much as I want. The problem has been the same... It's painful washing it. Everytime I make rice, the lid turns into a pool and my countertop ends dirty. Another con: this one doesn't have timer, that's so sad because busy people needs food at time. I have to changed to a nonstick one because of the timer and the clean process.UPDATE::After almost 10 months I have to say it's durable, it will last as well while you care of it.BUT, I can't make other stuffs because the big hole lid is awful! I tried to make millet... What a mess! Millet wasn't done, and I follow the directions of the chart., I found tons of millet over my counter, and I just made one cup! :( it's good if you are a fan of ONLY rice.Once time I tried to make oatmeal because of the perfect size ( I thought) .... Never try it! The bubbles... Always the problem are the bubbles... You will find oats and water over your countertop. :( I wanted to make quinoa but now I'm not sure.I'm thinking to buy another well-known brand although it's not S.S pot.::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Original post:I have to confess that I was hesitant of buying this rice cooker, but everything was perfect.My package was delivered four days before it has estimated. I was really thrilled by how small it is! The main reason to buy a stainless steel RC is because all well-known RCs have non-stick pans and I hate them.I love cooking, but I have to prepare meals just for a person or maybe two, so this one is the ONE!To be honest, what I've noticed:-it does a good job with white rice-brown rice sticks a little more than the white one to the bottom--Some steam and tiny drops come out from the steam vent hole (but not a big problem)-Either both rices are cooked FASTER than in a common pot.-Its size is a PRO because it fits under all the tops cabinets.-No more food scrapsI highly recommend this RC for newlyweds, small families, singles or kind of.you won't be regret !

The rice turns crunchy after just a few hours on the keep warm setting. It takes 60 min to cook white rice!

I had this for about a month. I think this is defected!. It cooked unevenly most of the time. Love to get money back. :(

We purchased this rice cooker one month and one day ago. It over cooks the rice. The rice does not "keep warm", it keeps cooking. We are so disappointed as this is a very expensive product and we are a couple of days out of the return window.

the rice does not cook well after one month. sad!!!! and it can't be returned for replacement!!

This product does not keep rice warm properly, so it spoils very quickly after it's made. Useless! Do not buy if you are a frequent rice eating family. We are throwing it out only three months after buying it!The attached photo shows the rice one day after making it. I have never seen a rice cooker do this.

This is my 2nd one. The first one was replaced due to the malfunction. It didn't circulate the moisture properly so rice became very dry all around the edge of the pan. The replacement started to do the same thing a year later. I'm from Japan and I trusted the brand, so this was a surprise to me. My Tiger and Panasonic rice cooker both lasted almost ten years of everyday use, but not this one. I'm getting ready purchase Tiger rice cooker this time. I can't stand this rice cooker anymore.

Not satisfied with this product at all. It stopped working in 35 days. Not reliable product and not worth of dollars.

It broke after just 4 months after non frequent usage!! Furthermore, it does not distribute heat evenly. It burns the bottom and does not bring heat to the middle of the rice.

I bought this rice cooker based on the good reviews but I am very disappointed . The cooked rice is mushy at the bottom and smells metallic . I thought I would be ok with cooked rice sticking to the bottom but it turns out to be very inconvenient and wastes a lot of rice . The capacity is for 3 cups of uncooked rice but it is almost full with 2 cups. I really don't understand all the positive reviews.

Why is there no -5 stars? This is a really dangerous product and should be banned from use. It produces rubber burnt smell from the heating element. The water overflowed and made quite a mess. Bottom of the rice burnt and rice was soggy. Tried this a few times, same result. It never automatically shut off. We had to babysit the cooking unless you want your kitchen on fire!! Seriously, don't buy this product. I think they should refund the $ spent. I don't believe we spent about $40 on this, plus we also bought the steamer.

Don't buy it unless you enjoy scrubbing pots. I have used it three times and each time the rice stuck to the bottom of the pot. I have tried adding a bit of oil to the water, have sprayed the pot with Pam prior to use, and been extra careful about washing the rice prior to cooking. I called customer service and those were their suggestions. None of those actions made a difference. The bottom of the pot is crusted with rice. It is a significant scrubbing job to get the rice cleaned from the bottom of the pot. I will be tossing the device, as it isn't worth the effort!

When I first plugged this rice cooker in it smelled of burning plastic and started smoking. Needless I say, I returned it. The 2nd cooker I got had issues with the warm/cook button. We'd often have to flick it up and down a bunch of times before the red/cook light would come on. I should have returned it then, but I didn't want to be without a rice cooker again for weeks. So, I just kept flicking the switch until it eventually decided to never change to red/cook and stay on the orange/warm. Of course it's just past when I can return it. I really need a rice cooker, and it's hard to find one without aluminum or non-stick for a decent price.