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Farm Kitchen:  Rice Cookers  |
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Bridge
True Blue Farmgirl
814 Posts
Bridgette
Southern
Indiana
USA
814 Posts |
 Posted - Apr 04 2006 : 10:12:27 AM
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Does anyone use a rice cooker?
If so do you like it, was it worth buying?
I have been thinking of getting one of these.....
~~Bridge's Boutique~~
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Amie C.
True Blue Farmgirl
2099 Posts
Finger Lakes Region
NY
2099 Posts |
Posted - Apr 04 2006 : 10:18:30 AM
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| I had one in my dorm room in college and it was very useful there. On the other hand, I got two as wedding gifts and I've never taken them out of the box. If you have a stove, there's not much point. Unless you're cooking a big meal and need all your burners. |
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Horseyrider
True Blue Farmgirl
1045 Posts
Mary Ann
Illinois
1045 Posts |
Posted - Apr 04 2006 : 12:03:58 PM
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I tend to be going in and out of the house a LOT. To the barn, back from the barn. To the clothesline, the garden, the sheds, and back. So some years back I went through a streak of scorching rice. Rice is a no-brainer; how could I scorch rice? Well, if you're away from the stove at the last part of cooking, you can do it easily.
As sort of a joke, my hubby got me a rice cooker one Christmas. I was only a little insulted, but I decided to use it. And I love it! Ours is a Black and Decker steamer, and it makes enough rice for two to four people, depending on your rice eating ability. (It's about a cup of dry brown rice. There are only two of us at home now.) While I wish it was bigger so I'd have some rice for leftovers like fried rice, I still like it. Steamed rice takes about 55 minutes to prepare, and it has a bell to ding so you can walk away and know it'll shut itself off. No more scorched rice, and I can get my clothes off the line all at the same time!
I still use the brown Minute Rice sometimes, like when I'm making a one skillet rice based meal. I feel like I'm cheating, but I can get dinner on the table a whole lot faster. But it's not quite as dense as the real thing.
Now I want rice. |
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lonestargal
True Blue Farmgirl
607 Posts
Kristi
Texas
607 Posts |
Posted - Apr 04 2006 : 12:15:52 PM
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| I know a lot of people that have rice cookers and really like them. I don't have one, I just use my pressure cooker. I put my rice in a metal bowl with water or chicken broth and cover with foil, then latch the pressure cooker and in about 30 minutes for brown and 20 minutes for white I have perfectly steamed rice. I chose the pressure cooker over the rice cooker because you can do everything with it. I do my canning with it, cook most meals with it and it cooks rice great. That way I only have to store one piece of kitchen equipment. |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Apr 04 2006 : 12:38:49 PM
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My husband bought me one at Christmas time and I wasn't that thrilled but used it to please him ( I am NOT a gadget person and he knows it!) but..I have found that I do like it alot! Perfect rice every time (I tend to get sidetracked and scorch it too..before the cooker) mine is a big one so I always make alot and have leftover for rice pudding or fried rice.
Jenny in Utah
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
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Bridge
True Blue Farmgirl
814 Posts
Bridgette
Southern
Indiana
USA
814 Posts |
Posted - Apr 04 2006 : 12:47:09 PM
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Oh my gosh!!!!
I didn't know you could cook rice in a pressure cooker.
I been planning on geting one of those for canning.
Maybe i'll try that!! I am really not much of a gadget person either.
I just can't seem to cook rice to the right texture, it is always too chewy or sticky.
~~Bridge's Boutique~~
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Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator
3579 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
3579 Posts |
Posted - Apr 04 2006 : 3:50:15 PM
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I have to say that I just LOVE my rice cooker. I've always had one - ever since I first moved out of the house my mom gave me one because we always ate a lot of rice at home (my dad's hawaiian) and I'm so used to it. I use it about as much as I use the microwave! Mine is a big old Zojirushi, and although they're a little pricey, it's lasted for, let's see...12 years of probably an average of twice-weekly usage.
I didn't know you could cook rice in a pressure cooker, either! Cool! If my rice cooker ever gives out, I'll give it a try - but one of the prime things for me about the rice cooker is that you don't have to watch it - it just does it's job.
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
Edited by - Libbie on Apr 04 2006 4:27:49 PM |
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akcowgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
296 Posts
Valerie
Homer
Alaska
USA
296 Posts |
Posted - Apr 04 2006 : 4:12:02 PM
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I have a microwave rice cooker that i got when i was in highschool and i love it. 20 mins and i have great rice. I would love to have a pressure cooker to cook rice in some day because there is so much other stuff you can use it for also.
Valerie
Alaska Girl all the way
Deja Moo: The feeling that you've heard this bull before.
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Destiny~
True Blue Farmgirl
195 Posts
Dar
west
TX
USA
195 Posts |
Posted - Apr 05 2006 : 11:17:59 AM
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Hubby lived for three years in the Phillipines and really likes rice. When I met him he had a rice cooker but I wasn't too sure how to use it so I always tried to cook it on the stove top. That never worked, it was either too dry or overcooked. One day I was watching the cooking channel and I saw this little trick on how to figure out the amount of water to put in the rice steamer and I've been hooked on it ever since. I'm still not too good on trying to watch everything at once if I'm cooking several things at one time and, like some mentioned here, with the steamer I just load it and turn it on. I plan on it taking about 20 minutes and I can focus on everything else.
We've been together 15 years and the steamer still works. |
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Amie C.
True Blue Farmgirl
2099 Posts
Finger Lakes Region
NY
2099 Posts |
Posted - Apr 05 2006 : 11:38:44 AM
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| You guys must be a lot fussier about your rice than me, because I am never disappointed with what I get on the stovetop. I just bring it to a boil, turn it down to warm, and then turn it off to sit for a few minutes when the water had gone down to the level of the rice. Meanwhile I'll be cooking what I'm going to put over the rice on another burner, and they usually are done around the same time. I eat rice probably three to five days out of the week, and it really doesn't seem like any hassle. Am I doing something wrong? |
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Horseyrider
True Blue Farmgirl
1045 Posts
Mary Ann
Illinois
1045 Posts |
Posted - Apr 05 2006 : 12:17:52 PM
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| LOL! Amie, if it ain't broke, don't fix it! |
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Destiny~
True Blue Farmgirl
195 Posts
Dar
west
TX
USA
195 Posts |
Posted - Apr 05 2006 : 1:07:41 PM
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Oh, you're supposed to 'turn it off' when the water reaches the same level as the rice. That would explain alot.
Btw, Amie, growing up, I spent a lot of time on Conesus and Seneca lakes. You live in a really beautiful area. |
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CityCat
True Blue Farmgirl
198 Posts
Catherine
Toronto
Ontario
Canada
198 Posts |
Posted - Apr 05 2006 : 4:01:04 PM
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Being Asian, I can't live without rice! When I went away to university, my Granma gave me her little 3 cup rice cooker. I still use it 3-4 times a week. :)
One of my past roommates loved to listen to my rice cooker - the lid rattled and made tinkly noises. She said that the rice cooker sounded happy, burbling and chattering, and always made her smile. When she got married, I gave her a set of rice bowls. :) -Cat
ps. I learned a few tricks to figure out how much water to put in the pot (both rice cooker and pot on stove). This is for short grain asian rice. My Mom says to put in enough water that when you stick your thumb in, the water comes up to the first knuckle joint with the tip of the thumb just touching the leveled rice. My friend Gary puts his hand into the pot, flat so he just touches the rice, and makes sure the water just comes up over the back of his hand. Hope that helps! |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Apr 05 2006 : 4:01:35 PM
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I think my problem is gettting too many things going at once Amie..I can't bake cookies without a timer..EVER!! I get to doing something else trying to save time and burn them every single time. Rice is like that for me too..but after the kids are older I will no doubt not be as distracted..right..I am naturally distracted..haha. Good for you that you can concentrate. I need to learn that!!
Jenny in Utah
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
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lonestargal
True Blue Farmgirl
607 Posts
Kristi
Texas
607 Posts |
Posted - Apr 05 2006 : 9:36:57 PM
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For those of you that mentioned not knowing to cook rice in a pressure cooker, it is SO easy!! Here is what I do...
Brown Rice:
1 cup brown rice
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups water
Place the rice and 1 1/2 cups water in a metal bowl that fits loosly in the cooker and cover with foil. Pour remaining 2 cups water into cooker and close lid. Cook 10 minutes with regulator rocking then let pressure drop on it's own. Open cooker and let rice steam for an additional 5 min.
White Rice:
1 cup white rice
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups water
Same instructions as above only cook rice for 5 minutes with regulator rocking.
It's worked for me everytime!! Not to put rice cookers down at all, I'm just cramped for space and if I have a multi-tasking piece of equipment all the better! |
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Amie C.
True Blue Farmgirl
2099 Posts
Finger Lakes Region
NY
2099 Posts |
Posted - Apr 06 2006 : 06:20:37 AM
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Whew! I'm relieved to know that I haven't been missing out on some higher rice reality.
All this talk about rice cookers has got me nostalgic for my college days. Anyone else use the rice cooker for applications other than rice? I used to heat up canned soup in mine, and a couple of times I made applesauce from windfall apples I found on the lawn near the administration hall. Of course, I had to sit and watch the stuff and turn it off when I thought it was done, rather than just setting it to cook and walking away. But it was a pretty versatile source of cooking heat. |
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CityCat
True Blue Farmgirl
198 Posts
Catherine
Toronto
Ontario
Canada
198 Posts |
Posted - Apr 08 2006 : 02:12:12 AM
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| During my first year at university, my Mom nearly had a heart attack when I told her one of my roommates was using my rice cooker to cook pasta. In her world, it's completely unheard of to use a rice cooker for anything other than rice! And actually, until my roommate cooked pasta in the rice cooker, I never even contemplated that it could be used to cook other things! -Cat |
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WednesdaysChild
Farmgirl in Training
33 Posts
Mandy
Suncheon
Korea
33 Posts |
Posted - Apr 19 2006 : 8:03:56 PM
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A friend of mine, Matthew, has a rice cooker with different "Levels". He puts rice in one level, mixed veggies (frozen or fresh) in another level, and even cut up chicken cutlets in another level. He walks away and an hour or so later has a full course meal! Sometimes he mixes up some kind of sauce on the stove too at the last minute. I don't see why you couldnt cook all kinds of things in a regular one either. Any food you'd eat steamed. I think he steams eggs in it too. It's great for ppl who spend all their time in front of the computer - just fill it up and get back online! 
A Canadian farmgirl in S. Korea. |
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FarrarFarmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
330 Posts
Lynda
Frohna
Missouri
USA
330 Posts |
Posted - Apr 19 2006 : 9:01:13 PM
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I just recently stated using a rice cooker. The kind that works in the microwave. I will admit, I cheat and get the instant rice lots of times. I know it's not quite as nutritional as the long grain, but it does come out perfect every time.
When Citycat mentioned using it for things other than rice, I have a recipe for a cake called a volcano cake that you can make in the microwave in your rice cooker in 9 minutes. For those of you who are familiar with Pampered Chef recipes, you will probably already know how to do this. It is something new to the Pampered Chef collection of recipes using the rice cooker.
If anyone is interested in this recipe just let me know, I think you will be surprised as I was when you make it, but very glad to be able to put out a dessert in a very short time.
Have a great day of blessings.
In His hands,
Lynda
Pray in faith and you will not live in doubt.
www.pamperedchef.biz/lorenzfamilycooks |
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Bridge
True Blue Farmgirl
814 Posts
Bridgette
Southern
Indiana
USA
814 Posts |
Posted - Apr 20 2006 : 09:42:13 AM
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I got a Black & Decker Handy Steamer at a yard sale last friday for $1.
I went online and got the directions, so hopefully I will make rice tonight!!
Has anyone calculated how much less expensive rice vs. instant rice is?
~~Bridge's Boutique~~
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Farm Kitchen: Rice Cookers |
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Rice Cookers
