Zojirushi Rice Cookers

Zojirushi rice cookers are known for their durability and thier ability to always make the perfect bowl of rice. Zojirushi rice cookers range from the basic styles all the way up to the most technologically advanced rice cookers on the market.

Many of Zojirushi's mid to upper-range rice cookers come with Neuro Fuzzy Logic technology, designed to constantly adjust the cooking time and tempurature to make the best rice possible. Newer models also come with induction heating technology, evenly heating the rice to cook it more efficiently and reduce any risk of over-heating the bottom.

Below are some of my recommended Zojirushi rice cookers:

Zojirushi Rice Cookers
Zojirushi 10-Cup Rice Cooker Est. $58 at Amazon	Zojirushi Micom 3-Cup Rice, Stainless Est. $130 at Amazon	Zojirushi 5.5-Cup Neuro Fuzzy Est. $180 at Amazon
Zojirushi 3-Cup with Induction Heating Est. $280 at Amazon	Zojirushi is hands down my favorite rice cooker manufacturer.	Zojirushi 10-Cup, Stainless Steel Est. $292 at Amazon

Although the above rice cookers are those that I recommend, there are many others that you should take a look at before making your desicion. Here is a list of places that sell a wide variety of Zojirushi rice cookers:

Why I Prefer Zojirushi Rice Cookers

Japan is an entire nation of very particular rice eaters that runs nearly exclusively on Zojirushi rice cookers. This has got to speak volumes about its quality. In fact, having tried various brands over the years, Zojirushi is now the only brand of rice cooker that I would ever buy. The quality of the finished rice product is always perfect, now I'm not saying that other rice cooker brands don't make a quality rice cooker, because they certainly do, it's just I've just found that comparatively, Zojirushi produces a higher quality rice.

Zojirushi rice cookers range from the most basic for those on a budget or who don't need many features all the way up to the most advanced rice cookers on the market. Whether you're just one person or a large family Zojirushi has a rice cooker that will fit your needs.

Zojirushi rice cookers of different prices come with different features, the main features to look for are below:

The Warming Feature

Just about every Zojirushi rice cooker that's out there comes with a warming ability. However, some of the cheaper models only can keep rice warm after it's finished cooking whereas the higher-end models come with the ability to re-warm rice or other items. But no matter what rice cooker you use make sure to take care when using the warming function with only 1 or 2 cups of rice as it could dry it out.

The Steamer Feature

Getting a Zojirushi rice cooker with the ability to steam is definitely a good idea if you want to do more than just rice with yours. There really isn't much of a difference between rice cookers with a steamer feature and ones without except the ones with are designed to hold a steamer plate that comes with the rice cooker. With a steamer you can steam vegetables, fish, certain types of rice such as Jasmine and Thai sticky rice and a ton more, it's a fantastic feature that really opens up the options for your rice cooker.

Neuro Fuzzy and Fuzzy Logic

Fuzzy programming, Neuro Fuzzy being the newer of the two types mentioned above, is a wonderful feature for your rice cooker to have if you are serious about the quality of rice it produces. Pretty much all the Zojirushi rice cookers that are from the mid or upper range come with this technology. These processors in your rice cooker allow the cooker to continuously update the temperature and cooking time throughout the cooking process so it will produce a perfect rice each and every time. This fool-proofs the act of cooking rice with a rice cooker even more than it already was.

The Induction Heating Feature

This feature is typically only available on the higher-end Zojirushi rice cookers. Contrary to most standard rice cookers, those with induction heating don't use a heater coil below the cooking pot for all its heating. Instead, it uses a technology that allows a very uniform heating and thus a uniform cooking, preventing rice on the edges of the pot from getting cooked more than that in the center.

Again, Zojirushi rice cookers are the best in my book, finding the right one for you can sometimes seem a bit complicated. I hope that the features described in this article help you in finding the perfect rice cooker for you.