Side by Side Comparison of: Inomata vs Cuisinart

Buying this bowl is one of the best decisions I've ever made. Rice is pretty much my go-to staple, so this purchase has made life a lot easier. I used to use strainers to wash my rice, which was just awkward and annoying. This bowl makes it easy to swish around the rice and let the water drain from either the bottom or the side spout.Seriously, it's less than $6. If you cook rice ever, just buy this bowl. It's awesome.

Great for cleaning rice, as washing rice is highly recommended since arsenic ooften is found in rice, absorbed through the growing fields! But washing it and not over boiling it gets rid of much of the poison. Washing the rice gets rid of the poisons too...and using a steamer, instead of letting the rice absorb the poisoned water, is the best way to cook it. So the first step, washing the rice very well, is great in getting rid of any poisons which are found in rice products as they are produced these days

I cook rice as a basis for most meals (Japanese rice or basmati rice, mostly), and washing it is a bit of a pain. I usually put the rice in the ricecooker container, pour water, than squish it by hand, pour the water hand and restart a few times. This doesn't work very well, is pretty slow, but at least you avoid the mess with a fine mesh strainer (were the rice plugs the holes). I usually settle for somewhat clear water, and it takes about 5 minutes.I got fed up and looked up "rice washer" thinking surely cooking rice is universal enough that SOMEBODY would have solved it.This is magical. The holes at the bottom perfectly regulate the water: the flow is slow enough that you can just put the rice underneath the tap, squish it for about 20 seconds, and wash it more perfectly than you ever could before. The side holes are a bit large for basmati rice, but are still useful, especially when you don't want to wait for the rice to drain.Finally I recommend a silicone spatula, to make it easy to transfer rice from this bowl to rice cooker.

Surprisingly efficient; I guess I never washed my rice well before getting this bowl.They knew what they were doing when they designed this wash bowl. It removed more of that cloudy starch in less time with fewer grain loss. The cooked rice seemed less sticky too.

This item is of quality made from Japan. It was sold from JapanSuperMall through Amazon. Some people complain that it is not made from Japan, just make sure that you use JapanSuperMall vendor and you will get the authentic original made from Japan.The bowl is about 22.9 cm from the top and about 25.4 cm from the handle to the spout. There is a decent size hole on the handle to let it through a hook, if needed. The brand label that came with the product is all in Japanese script.This is dishwasher safe but the plastic is not ruggedly thick and looks delicate but solid so I opted to hand wash it every time to lengthen its durability and quality. Besides, it is super light weight.The bottom drain is small enough to not let Quinoa out. I have used Thai Jasmine Rice and Indian Basmati Rice and not a grain goes through the bottom. The side slit near the spout is wide enough to let some Quinoa grain get through. This drain bowl is also great for mushrooms and other fruits and vegetables.For less than 5 bucks this is an excellent deal with free 2 days shipping through Amazon Prime. I highly recommend this item to anybody. +1

I'm very picky about my rice. So, I always wash my rice before cooking it and I always cook my rice in a rice cooker. The result is perfect rice every time. However, until now I've never found the right container to wash my rice in. Colanders are not suiatable because the holes in most colanders are too large so that the rice will escape with the water. With a common bowl the problem is, how do you drain off the wash water without also allowing rice to escape? I've used strainers and other approaches but, none work as well and a easily as this rice washing bowl.When I cook rice I usually cook 1-4 cups of rice at a time. This bowl handles that well but, can proabaly accomidate two to three times that much rice.In fact, when the bowl first arrived I thought it was too large. My mind changed immediately when I started using it. I like to use my hands when I wash rice and I have large hands; it turns out that the bowl is the perfect size so that I can get water, rice and my hands all into the mix and get the job done.While you can't really see it in the picture, the bowl has draining holes at the bottom. It also has draining holes incorporated in the little drain spout. This gives this bowl a lot of flexibility.I generally don't like single purpose tools in my kitchen, they just take up too much room and expense. Since I got the bowl I've been using it to wash, and strain all sort of things in addition to rice. It was a nice find for me and the price is also quite reasonable.

This is a dandy little rice cooker! ❤ It's size is perfect for a small space in the cabinet and /or on the counter top. Lightweight and easy to use this product is simply convenient all the way around. The container and lid is dishwasher safe. I would recommend it highly! ❤

I love this little thing! I cook rice in it nearly every day but haven't tried anything else. There were several comments in other reviews that it bubbled over when making rice. Resolve this by using the steamer attachment - put it on so that it's sitting atop the cooker as you would if you were steaming something. The bubbles then just come up to the bottom of the steamer attachment and stay within. Yes that means there's one more item to clean - but just stick it in your dishwasher.... Everything goes in the dishwasher (top shelf) except the electric appliance its'elf. This is a perfect size for me - I cook for two.

This little steamer is perfect for the two of us. The first cooked rice came out perfect. It gets a little messy around the steam vent and it tendsto spit out the "ricey" water but the rice was great. Can't wait to try putting vegetables in steamer basket while cook rice.

Best rice cooker around. I've had this same rice cooker for 8 years, and never had a single problem, despite hundreds of uses (I've honestly used this rice cooker at LEAST once a week since I got it). Nothing has malfunctioned or needed to be fixed at all. Even the non-stick basin is just like new, and I wash it in the dish washer every time I use it. I love it so much I just got my sister an identical one for Christmas. Simple one button use makes any recipe a breeze. Makes delicious rice, noodles, steamed veggies, and my favorite, mac n cheese. All from scratch, in one pot, in just minutes, and so easy.

This rice cooker is excellent. For my first dinner -- I cooked rice, broccoli, salmon, and two eggs. I put one egg directly in with the rice, and I placed the second egg in the steamer with the broccoli. Since I filled the steamer basket up with broccoli & an egg, I only had room for a very tiny tiny piece of salmon but I put that in the steamer basket too. As for the rice, I used two cups (measured with the cup that came with the rice cooker), and I filled it up with water to the line that read 2 inside the rice cooker. I must say, I am really impressed with this rice cooker. My dinner turned out great, and it was ready in about 21 minutes flat. Now I have to think of other things that I can cook with it. As for the clean up, it was very easy. I rinsed everything in warm water, and then washed everything in hot soapy water. As a side note, I had NO ISSUES with boil over or anything like that, but I did use the steamer. And finally, my two eggs were 'steam boiled' perfectly. I am very pleased with my purchase, and the trusted Cuisinart name. KennyG in Seattle

Tried it out 30 minutes after it arrived and it worked great and cooked the long grain, wild rice I made perfectly. I added a little olive oil and had no splattering as others seem to have reported. It is a quality rice cooker and looks great too. Perfect size for me. Also, people have complained after the tefflon coating scrapping off. My brother has had this exact model for over 3 years and hasn't had a bit of problems with the non-stick coating becoming scratched. He does however use only the spoon that came with the unit when stirring the rice or taking it out of the cooker. NEVER USE METAL utensils on these types of surfaces because it can, and will eventually,scratch it and then it will peal off. Also wash it in the kitchen sink instead of a dishwasher. Very easy to do especially since nothing really sticks to it so hot, soapy water and a sponge or dish rag will clean it in seconds. I will be using this probably 2 times a week since I love all types of rice and am trying to eat healthier. Good luck in your purchase of this item and I don't think you'll be sorry!

I finally got to use this and it does the job. It's considerably larger than I need, so that makes it a little awkward to use, however, it allows the rice to be rinsed without losing any. Transferring the rice from the washing bowl into the rice cooker is a minor challenge. It's difficult to get every wet grain of rice out of the bowl. Rinsing the rice did make a noticeable difference in the end product, my cooked rice was not starchy or sticky.

Not sure why we didn't purchase one of these in the past. We eat a lot of rice and this makes cleaning it so much easier.

This works as intended. However I find this was much bigger than I needed! I do not use the side drainer so much, it seems the rice gets stuck in it! I just use the bottom drainer as illustrated. I cannot compare this with anything, as I never "washed" rice before. Now when I make rice, always will wash.

I had higher hopes for the utility of this strainer. The holes in the bottom are not as numerous as I expected and staining rice doesn't work very well. The water pools and the rice doesn't get properly cleansed. Uncooked rice is the perfect size to clog up the bottom ports. This strainer works well for cooked pasta. The slits at the pour spout are okay but it's not any better than a standard kitchen utensil. If you don't have a strainer currently, not a bad choice. Definitely wouldn't recommend this to replace another one.

This colander drainer pourer is the right size for general use in the kitchen. It will handle a large pan of boiled spaghetti or a small amount of rice equally well and after draining, it can place the product just cooked in a serving dish without so much as a spilled string or grain. If you are looking for a good kitchen colander, give this one a try. For the price it is a bargain. Although they sent a clear plastic product, it is very acceptable. I like it.

This is an awesome rice bowl. Being Asian, we eat rice at every meal and making rice is a chore everyone hates since the rice we eat is a mixture of short and long grain rice. As such, if the water to rice ratio is not correct, the rice is not cook completely or becomes gruel since it is hard to drain the water completely without spilling rice when using a regular bowl. We could always tell how experience the person who made the rice was, depending on how cooked it was. This bowl solves the problem of having too much or too little water. As such, I felt fine letting my teenage sister or niece make rice, since I knew it would turned out edible. The reason I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars is because I wish the bowl was just a bit bigger. We usually make about 6 -8 cups of rice and I can rinse 6 cups of rice in the bowl if I'm careful without rice going over the edge. Other than that, it's the perfect bowl.

This cookier does a good job of preparing the rice. I noted the comments about the rice burning, so we do not leave it in the cooker very long after the cooking operation. This seems to take care of that. Also, the rice was less sticky if we rinsed it with hot water before putting it in the cooker. I would recommend this item.

Have to be carefull with the rice because it does get burn

Enjoying however sometimes I think the timer isn't too great as sometimes the rice isn't cooked before it stops cooking.

I like this rice steamer, but don't use the glass lid to cook the rice, use the metal steamer lid! When I used the glass lid, the hot steam and water from cooking the rice boiled over and made a huge mess on my counter! When I used the metal steamer lid this didn't happen. I believe several other people who reviewed this steamer said the same thing.

Though many are unsatisfied with this product, it suits my needs. To prevent overflow, like others, I place the stream basket on top. Compact and stylish. It did overcook my broccoli with brown rice, but brown rice seems to take longer than white rice. Cooks quickly too. Ended up with under cooked sweet yams, but kind of expected that. Had to try though, lol. I Dill really like the product, but might not use the steamer as much... still messing around with it.

My girlfriend and I use this on a daily basis since purchase. It is perfect for serving 2-4 (4 Cup Rice Cooker). We also purchased TexMati Rice also available on amazon. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EH4XYI/ref=oh_details_o02_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1We don't have to stir the rice and we also use the included basket to cook veggies. No need for setting timers or watching your food closely.... simply press the button down and check back when convenient for you, when your rice completes it will be stored at ready to eat temp.Tips for using and cooking quick rice/veggies:Open lid and spray down with cooking sprayadd rice/water/butterinsert additional steaming colanderadd canned veggies/fresh veggies/seafood etc of choiceadd the lid to the toppress the buttonwait until unit switches from cook to warm.I only took off one star because the design of the colander could have been a bit better.. they could have added a handle or something to make it easier to dismount keep hot pads handy because obviously when it's been steaming for a few minutes it will be hot.

This product was bought as an add on to my Rice cooker. The plastic used seems to be too thin.I have one already which I have been using for many years and this one is not as sturdy. The holes at thebottom does not really make the rice wash any better. With the bottom sealed, you can really immerse the rice inthe water and get all the debris out. Then the slotted spout will drain the water.Not very happy with this item, but it does a satisfactory job.

I usually just throw the rice in there and let me spray tap run for a while to wash the rice out instead of using my hands to scrub the rice. The reason is because the rice gets stuck at the bottom in the holes and really hurts because they all stick up. Don't know if that makes sense - all add a photo next time I use to explain better.

It does the job. The small holes in the bottom drain slowly and even after allowing the rice to sit for a minute there will be some water left. I wish the feet were taller to hold it a little higher off the sink. The larger slots in the spout are the perfect size to trap rice grains and that's an annoying flaw.Update. Downgraded to 3 stars. My enthusiasm wore off over time after poking rice grains out of the holes. Now I use a mesh strainer which works perfectly and is much faster.

This is a huge rice washer. Expect it to be very oversized. I do like it's ability to drain water from the wash without losing the rice BUT the side for pouring the washed rice into a cooking pot has slightly larger drain slits and the rice gets stuck in there and isn't easy to get out. So I feel that sort of defeats the convenience that the rice washer. I will continue to use it, but I'll have to figure out a different way to transfer the finished product.

I have always washed my rice in the rice cooker bowl. Thought that this might help get the last bit of excess starch out, convinced that I do leave some starch at the bottom when I normally just tilt the pot over to drain the water. Here's the problem. The holes drain water so quickly that I can't get the rice swirling in water for a proper wash. This ends up using more water than my usual method, with no noticeable improvement. Now if you cook your rice on the stove, and want to wash your rice and get out all the water before adding a measured amount, then I think that this is useful. Otherwise just wash in the rice cooker bowl and fill water to the correct line.

The description is deceptive in more ways than one. Others have pointed out its origin not in Japan but in China. There are no "side vents," too, apart from a row at the very top of the bowl. The strainer I've used for years is actually faster for washing rice. This might work for berry-washing, if one needs another colander.

Makes great rice BUT you have to basically cook it in the sink because the water boils right up and over the sides of the cooker, down the sides and into the counter top....leaving a right bloody mess! Bad design by cuisanart on this one. It does make great rice though so I'll keep cooking in my sink!

This thing cooks too hot for rice. It's fine for steaming other foods like vegetables. water splatters everywhere because it's boiling so hard and the rice on the bottom is burnt. Soggy sloppy rice like int he Army. I can make way better rice in a pan.

This is one of the messiest rice cookers I've owned! It makes rice like its suppose to but for some reason the lid design allows a lot of steam to bubble out and all over the appliance. It works like any basic twenty dollar rice cooker. There is nothing about the functionality of it that deserves a higher price. Buy it on sale, and love it's drooly dysfunction.

We bought this to replace our 10 year old model, which works fine, but the bowl lining had scraped off, and the lid handle had irreparably fallen off. The new one is, well, shiny and new - but the major downside is that the cord is no longer retractable! This was a great feature of our earlier model, and one of the things I loved the best - no dangling cord to deal with when it was stored. Now, I think we'll use the bowl and lid from the new one, and the body of the old one. A bit of a waste.

I like very much the style and size. It is small enough for my small space and to feed just 2 people. The style is great and functional - but it doesn't do its main job: to make good rice. It has just an on and off button which switches over to warm when it senses the rice is cooked. However, with brown rice it isn't cooked enough when it turns to warm. Instructions say to leave it on warm for 2 more hours to complete cooking! Really? So I tried it with white rice and it does better but the rice wasn't cooked as well or taste as good as I would expect from a Cuisinart.

Is this a bad product, no. It does exactly what it say it will do. However less expensive rice cookers and steamers that do exactly the same thing are available. It boils the rice and steams what ever food is in the steamer pot above. The stemer pot is light weight and somewhat flimsy. I was attempting to check the food that was steaming and the slightest touch knocks the steamer pot off balance.Another reviewer stated it cooks sticky rice wonderfully, but I did not find that to be the case, so it may be I don't know how to cook the rice except in an actual steamer. It has a warmer to keep the food warm until iam ready for it. I can also cook other foods that require boiling in it.It also much nicer looking then my current cooker and has taken its place on the appliance shelf. Although, I'm going to keep old faithful.

I did not like this. I frequently make rice. I used it twice before giving up on it.There are two problems. It is white so it makes it more difficult than necessary to tell when it is done. Also, rice gets caught in the holes. While rice does not escape while washing, you waste time trying to get it out afterwards.

My wife is asian, we cook a lot of rice and I thought she would like this. However, I found it difficult to use for washing rice, grains stick in the grooves and it's no better than simply washing the rice in water in the rice cooker bowl a couple times. Also, this uses running water, not a good purchase for me in California in a drought.

This bowl is much too big for my needs - I only rinse 1-1.5 cups of rice at a time. Also, the water doesn't drain completely out of the bottom, so I'd have to pour it through a strainer anyway, and the rice would fall out because the bowl is so much bigger than my strainer. I used this once and went back to just rinsing rice in a small bowl and pouring it out through a strainer.

The item I received does not have the slots around the bottom edge as the picture shows. Mine has only pinholes in the bottom which allows water to drain as a light shower, adequate but will take longer to wash a large quantity of rice. By the handle (orange dot) is where some slots are located but who in the world swishes their rice that far up??? Clarify with the seller BEFORE you buy.

It does the job but considering its made to put rice in I would expect it to be designed so grains of rice don't get stuck in the holes on the bottom and at the spout. You have to use your hands to push the rice through in order to get it un-stuck.

I noticed several other people commenting on how easy this item breaks. I purchased this along with a Rice Cooker. The order was fulfilled by Amazon. The shipping box was in perfect condition on the outside, but inside - the Rice Cooker (in its retail box) and this item (in a type of plastic bag) apparently got into an argument during the trip and the bowl was a mess, i.e. broken shards of brittle plastic.When you examine the bowl, you can see how brittle the plastic is so that is a legitimate concern if you are buying this bowl. Throw in a shipping box with a much heavier item and it bounced around enough to break it into pieces.The real joke is: to get my refund I have to return (shipping paid for by Amazon). Expensive return for Amazon to pay for, but only way to get my money.EDITED: January 24, 2014 -- I took the package to the local UPS Store (early evening, January 23rd) to ship back to Amazon in order to get my refund. I got an EMAIL around 9:30 p.m. that my purchase price was being refunded. Not sure how they do refunds, but obviously the package didn't get all the way back to the shipping destination before they processed the refund. Oh well - maybe I will order another one - just this time all by itself so it is not packed with anything else that could possibly break it!

We are habitual brown rice eaters. We'd read that this product worked for brown rice. The manual includes brown rice recipes.We follow the manual. Rice water sputtered all over, even with the smallest proportions.We tried variations on the manual stipulated proportions. Rice water sputtered all over.We put it in the closed. No rice, No water, No electricity: No sputter. Problem solved.

The water even at below the recommended level tends to overflow. It's a messy situation. Appearances are deceiving.

I've replaced the rice cooker and still have problems with it shutting off before it's done. I'm thinking of going back to an inexpensive, unknown brand, I didn't have any trouble with it, except age.

When cooking the rice, even a small amount 2 cups of dry rice, there is a ton of splattering of liquid all around the rim and it spills over the sides of the pot. The rice tastes good but it makes a huge mess. Not satisfied with this product.

... almost every time. Follow instructions to a "T" and it still boils over. We've used it several times, with different kinds of rice, and while the rice is well-cooked, all but once it boiled over and created a mess on the counter. This isn't rocket science. Cuisinart should be able to make a device that cooks rice without creating a mess. Find another make.

I purchased this rice cooker about two months ago and am disappointed.I read and followed all instructions and still had trouble. It does a wonderful job cooking the rice and the end result is good, however, it splashes sticky rice water all over. I even read the other reviews that said to spray non-stick cooking spray on the pot before turning on -doesn't help.Also, I ran the cooker with different amounts of rice and water. One cup all the up to four cups. Four cups really make a mess. I did not rate it one star because of the design and overall appearance of the unit, which in my opinion are stylish and modern. I confess, this , along with the brand were the reasons I purchased this rice cooker. Go with a top rated version with a locking lid and save your money. Wish I would have!

Rice slips out of the bottom holes (and ends up plugging quite a few of them) and also gets stuck to the side slots while draining. Some rice still lost in the sink, the very thing I wanted to avoid which is why I made this purchase. Very disappointing product.

mine arrived cracked..it was not worth to ship back. I threw away

Takes to long to rinse the water off, made out better using the pot to drain it.

Arrived cracked across the whole bottom of the bowl...

This product is very cheaply, poorly made. It was cracked in half when I received it and the lip of it was also broken off on one side. The only thing I can say is that it was shipped very quickly, however the bowl was just thrown in the box amidst other items, it was in a self container box or anything which may explain why it was broken.

I received a decent quality rice washing bowl. However I ordered this specifically for the side openings and the product I received had no side openings only bottom openings. An add on product so not worth returning don't know if I'll ever use it again.

 Despite glowing reviews, I offer a contrarian view .... It boils over and makes a huge mess, which is precisely what we hoped to avoid when we bought a rice cooker. Our water is soft, so I tried bottled water. No effect. I thoroughly washed the rice before cooking it. No effect. Followed the directions to the letter. No effect. My advice: my the largest size even if you're only cooking 1 cup of rice. Perhaps the extra head space will make a difference.

Great looking but poorly performing product. It boils over when cooking even half a cup of rice and makes a huge mess everywhere. I've, unfortunately only after opening and using the product, seen the other reviews that suggest using the steam basket to alleviate this problem. I'll try that, but I still don't see why I should have to. The whole idea of purchasing this product was to have a smaller, better looking rice cooker in our kitchen. Now I need to have this steam bucket handy as well? Undue hassle. Do better Cuisinart! Very unhappy.

Worked well when it did work. Did not last 6months. It gave up the ghost in October 2015. I used it for steaming veggies twice a day and rice at least once a day. Would I purchase this product again?? Yes but not from this supplier. Would I recommend this product? Yes. Maybe mine was defected. I gave my daughter one of these that I have been using for over a year. Her's still works, so as I said maybe what I was sent was defected but I will not take the chance to purchase another one from this seller. But that's just my two cents. It really is a very compacted device.

Bought this bcoz my friend said it cooks rice in 20mins.....it does...but, not the fluffy, soft rice as a cooked rice should be. It heats up to high temp..esp at 15 min..water splutters/splashes..evoparates and rice gets "done" prematurely...it is firm/harder...even if I add more water.A good rice cooker usu takes 40-50 mins, does not overheat and explode like this one...looks fancy, but a bad rice cooker...can't return it now!

The bottom of the unit melted after about 10 uses. Tried to email Cuisinart to have it replaced and got the run around. I work too many hours to deal with it so I just threw it away.It boils over every time it's used. With the steam basket I figured this would be great for easy lunches at work but they missed the mark badly when they made this unit.

I received this today. I cleaned it, read directions and used for dinner. As the rice began to cook, the cooker spewed hot starchy rice water all over my counter top and floor. I had to move the unit as far back as possible and put towels all around it. The mess is unreal! It's horrible. I am immediately returning this unit!