Rice had been a staple of my diet for a long time. Not only is it the perfect side dish for almost anything, but it’s relatively inexpensive in terms of caloric content and when it’s cooked just right it’s super tasty. As I’m sure you know, the problem is always making sure it’s cooked just right. That’s hard enough by itself, but when you’re cooking a few other things all at once it becomes nearly impossible to make sure it’s cooked to perfection.
That’s why I picked up this Zojirushi NS-ZCC with Neuro Fuzzy Logic. I’ve messed around with standard, one button rice cookers in the past and never been very happy, but I heard great things about Zojirushi and thought I’d give it a try. Now, I must warn you, it is expensive. Like all things there are more and less expensive models, and this one is towards the lower end of the higher end, but it was definitely worth it. Check Amazon for a deal on the NS-ZCC
The Review
Now that I’ve said it’s worth the money, it’s time to tell you why. The first, and most important reason is that the NS-ZCC can handle all kinds of different rice. Never again will you need to worry about the difference between brown, white, sushi, washed, un-washed, and any other sort of rice. The rice cooker will do it all for you. This may seem like a relatively small feat, but when you can simplify 11 or so different tasks into a few buttons and no worries, it really changes the way you cook.
The second reason is that this rice maker is incredibly portable. It may seem strange to think about a rice cooker as portable, but in fact, the NS-ZCC is so portable that it make you just want to haul it around. Not only is it compact, but it has a very useful and well-designed handle with a retractable cord that means you can just cook your rice, toss it in your car, and plug it in at your destination to reheat, which makes it very convenient for potlucks or dinner at a friend’s.
Thirdly, the NS-ZCC makes delicious rice. Just plain old delicious rice. It’s hard to compare, but the rice I’ve had since I’ve been using this cooker has been better than any rice I’ve had in the U.S. outside of fancy restaurants. I’m definitely eating a lot more rice now, and cooking meals with the anticipation of using the Zojirushi.
Overall Impressions
The thing is expensive, but it works amazingly well and the brand has a great reputation. I don’t see any reason why it shouldn’t last for years to come. If you have the money (or are thinking about holiday gifts, wink wink), it’s definitely worth it and it will change the way you look at rice. Happy cooking!
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I agree completely about the utility of these cookers. Another use is making steel cut oatmeal – load it up at night with 1:3 oats to water and set it to go off about a half hour before you get up (add cinnamon & sweet potatoes). Once cooked, add chopped apples, walnuts, raisins, blueberries or whatever you have in the fridge. The oatmeal keeps well in the fridge, and it almost tastes better the second day when the flavors have a chance to merge.
My brother gave us a Zojirushi for Christmas a few years ago, and it was awesome! Last Christmas he gave us a new Sanyo one! We just didn’t know what to do, but we ended up giving the Zoji to my parents (who don’t use it much, unfortunately–it’s rather big), and we just love our little Sanyo. We eat rice at least once or twice a day, so that sucker stays on almost 24/7! Makes perfect rice (jasmine/basmati/brown), cooks fast, easy to clean… What I like most is that there is always hot rice. When we cook something, it stays parked on the stove/counter until we finish it (<24 hrs). Even though we have a microwave, I don’t like using it, so I just put the room temp food over nice, hot rice and chow down.
Hey Doug and Mikeize,
Thanks for the comments, I really love this thing. It’s changed the way I cook…I think I’ll make some late night rice,
[...] while back I talked about the new Zojirushi rice cooker that I had gotten, and how much I liked it. Nothing has changed on that front, but after having the [...]