20 most worthless pieces of junk: #20 -- The rice cooker
WalletPoppers Amy Vernon and Todd Pruzan discovered they ... disagreed about the usefulness of the rice cooker: that stove-top electric appliance that does exactly what you can do with a cup of rice, a cup of water, a pan, and pretty much zero effort whatsoever. But Todd had some arguments that didn't suck, so we allowed him to rebut Amy, whose initial argument was little more than PBBBT. (That's a Bronx cheer.) Here, Amy and Todd debate the rice cooker in an IM chat.Amy: The rice cooker: useless piece of garbage, or useful kitchen tool for lazy people?
Todd: Oh, definitely the latter. But emphasis on "useful" over "lazy." I think a lot of us tend to be very busy these days with work, or looking for work, and kids and so forth. And a rice cooker is pretty reliable.
Amy: I've never understood the appeal of the rice cooker. It takes more time to make the rice than it does just making it yourself, and I've always found rice to be just about the easiest thing to make. And I don't make Minute Rice or Uncle Ben's. I'm talking basmati or long-grain. Once you boil the water and put the rice in, pretty much all you have to do is set a timer. What's the problem?
Todd: Well, that's three steps. WIth a rice cooker, it's just two; dump the rice and water in, and push a button.
Amy: How long does it take to cook it in a rice cooker?
Todd: Probably around 20 minutes -- I've never noticed an exact time. But a rice cooker can keep the rice warm -- for hours, on some models.
Amy: Ick. Why would you want rice that's been sitting around for hours? That's like eating stuff that's been sitting under heat lamps all afternoon.
Todd: Well, I'm pretty sure most Asian restaurants use them. They don't keep cooking rice all day long, they stick it in a rice cooker and scoop it out when they're serving you a meal. Who wants to take up valuable stove space with a pot of rice?
Amy: How do you know that?
Todd: Well, fair enough. I haven't done my due diligence. So don't quote me. Next point!
Amy: I'm still stuck on the part where cooking rice is too difficult.
Todd: Just to be clear -- I don't think cooking rice in a pot is difficult at all. It's just that cooking rice in a rice cooker is even less difficult. It's kind of like Nigel Tufnel's mixing board in Spinal Tap: "This one goes to 11."
Amy: But going to 11 makes sense. Spending money and wasting kitchen and closet space on a rice cooker when you already have a saucepan that you can cook the rice in doesn't. I don't need anything extra to make rice in a pot. Why would I spend hard-earned money on something I need to make space for on my counter? And I don't have much counter space.
Todd: I hear you. Well, a rice cooker offers reliability. You get the same thing every time. If there's an emergency that takes me away from my stove for a few minutes, I don't worry that I'm going to ruin the rice or the pan.
Amy: That's the first legit argument I've heard so far. In my humble opinion, of course.
Todd: Ah, thanks. And really -- is a rice cooker less useful than a popcorn popper? Obviously, you could pop popcorn in a pan with oil. And it's delicious that way.
Amy: Actually, I will admit that a popcorn popper is more useless than a rice cooker. I've never owned one. The popcorn tastes like cardboard.
Todd: Especially those air poppers that were popular a couple of decades ago. Awful.
Amy: OK, so a rice cooker is less useless than a popcorn popper. We can at least agree on that. But only marginally.
Todd: Well, as long as you're feeling charitable, I'm going to concede another point to you.
Amy: Oooh.
Todd: Rice cookers are a pain to clean -- I can never get them fully polished. They create a kind of rice-water-crud residue that fills tough spaces. So that's one more point in the Against column.
Amy: I wonder if, in the end, the time you spend cleaning outweighs the time you save cooking.
Todd: Oh, probably. OK, I'm going to throw out my rice cooker. But you know what's really useless? The Diaper Genie. Why aren't we writing about that?
Amy: OMG! It's like, just throw the diaper in the garbage and be done with it! And the poopy ones are so gross that you just take the entire garbage out immediately anyhow. Never had one, and damn proud of it.
Todd: You're a smarter consumer than I. If I were stranded on a desert island with no electricity, I'd still rather have an electric rice cooker than a Diaper Genie. At least I wouldn't want to kick the rice cooker into the ocean.
Amy: You know, Todd, for the first time, I see the appeal of a rice cooker. OK, I'd better run -- I have to get some food into my little guy.
Todd: Hey, better go check on your rice! I smell something burning.
Amy: PBBBT!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
7-09-2009 @ 8:14AM
Jon said...
I love my rice cooker. If I am busy cooking a meal, especially for a large group of people, I simply place the rice in and can forget about it because it turns off when the rice is cooked. It always comes out perfect, and I don't have to ever worry that it will burn on the stove if I have to leave the kitchen for a while. It is also great to use as a steamer for other foods along with the rice. I suggest everyone buy one.
Reply
7-10-2009 @ 6:09AM
Sharon said...
An Indian friend taught me that one could also add any vegetables to the rice when you start it. I add any spices I want and the veggies and it works perfectly.
I just am sorry that I didn't have a rice cooker many many years ago. It is also fabulous for cooking all grains perfectly.
7-09-2009 @ 8:47AM
Tom said...
Half the time I make rice on the stove....the other half I use my rice cooker--usually when I need a lot of rice. The rice cooker keeps the rice warm & moist for quite a long while which means I can dump in the water & rice way ahead of time and not worry about it. I have many Asian friends and most use rice cookers.
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7-09-2009 @ 9:03AM
Barbwa is like buttah! said...
When I got laid off in 2002 (thank you George Bush Crime Family), I ended up moving back in with my elderly folks, partly because I had no where else to go and also because they needed my assistance. Dad was forever messing up the stove cooking rice when it would boil over. Sorry, but it was always real hard-grain cooked rice, none of this instant rice crap - that's not real rice, you see.
The folks had always been "down" on rice cookers (they had one that regularly burned the rice, another one that was such a pain to use the stove method was easier). The smaller 2-cup device would be perfect for our meals, it cooked automatically and maybe some rice at the bottom is "brown", but not burned. Clean up of the cooker is much easier than having a pan soak for two days before you clean all the crap off of it. Rice cookers do have a place!
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7-09-2009 @ 9:32AM
Asian said...
Clearly both of you are white. What Asian family does not have an rice cooker? The obvious difference of the rice cooked within a pot versus a rice cooker is something you can't your head wrapped around with. Get cultured!
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7-09-2009 @ 12:26PM
RichNH said...
YES! Anyone who knows someone from "the Orient" knows that there is ALWAYS a rice cooker in the kitchen...
7-10-2009 @ 3:09AM
Susie said...
I am with Asian, I have some philipino friends who have rice in the rice cooker 24/7 and it is very useful. To non-Asians, it may not serve a purpose because we don't ingest as much rice as an Asian family does. Soooo, having said that, it is very useful to people who eat alot of rice.
7-09-2009 @ 9:40AM
Merry Bateman said...
The rice cooker is a kitchen essential! For me, it's the convenience factor for preparing whole grains which can take as long as an hour to cook. My programmable timer lets me set it and forget it. Before I go to bed, I put steel-cut oats in my rice cooker, add some nuts and dried fruit, set the timer for 7 a.m., and it's done when I get up. And when I come home from work I can find brown rice or wild-rice ready and waiting for dinner. This is an appliance that is well worth the investment and the space in the kitchen!
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7-09-2009 @ 10:08AM
Larry said...
Are these two the best you can find to represent the pros and cons? You provide us with sophomoric banter from two who reflect the wasteful, lazy society today.
I eat rice frequently and find the automatic features of a rice cooker to be a time saver, stress-free, and never a burnt mess. It takes about 15 seconds for me to clean the insert of an aluminum electric rice cooker, and I don't have to stand watch worrying about burning a pot of rice. Clean up of a pot takes much longer.
What I do miss from not using a pot, however, is the tea you can make from the rice left after you've scooped out the bulk of the rice. Put the almost-empty pot back on the stove, and brown the rice residue on low heat. Once the rice has BROWNED to your satisfaction, not burned, put in some water. It will sizzle, start to brew a smoky tea, and release most of the leftover rice into the liquid. Scrape the rice off the bottom and serve with the liquid The smoky tea made this way is delicious and you can eat the recovered rice along with the tea. Foodies in the know get this in Chinese restaurants when they order "sizzling rice soup".
Why don't I do this more often? It takes too much time to clean a pot !
Lastly, if I'm being diligent using an automatic cooker, I soak the insert with clean water, scrape the rice residue off the bottom and toss the cleanings into the compost pile, including the water. Rice is a grain and will rot like any other vegetation in the pile.
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7-09-2009 @ 10:03AM
Lin said...
I will stick with cooking my rice in the micro wave. I like fluffy rice, not sticky, and get it perfect each time with no mess of a dish or pan that needs to be soaked to clean. Rice is cooked in about 12 minutes.
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7-11-2009 @ 4:10PM
adlerman said...
Anyone who uses a microwave for cooking food is committing a slow suicide.
7-09-2009 @ 10:25AM
i said...
The rice cooker is one of my favorite appliances in the kitchen... it takes one minute to prepare rice, and the rest is done for you. The cooker keeps the rice warm for the entire meal, there is no burnt rice at the bottom of the pan, and cleanup is seriously simple - just let it soak in hot water; the leftover rice comes right off.
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7-09-2009 @ 8:43PM
crystal said...
I completely agree with you. Rice cookers aren't lazy, they are smart.
1) Perfect rice every time
2) Easy clean-up
3) Stress free
4) Defines "set it and forget it"
7-09-2009 @ 10:40AM
plastic said...
I could not believe when I saw rice cooker on the list. I grew up with my parents finding this new appliance back in the 50's or 60's and had one ever since. All my family members use one too.
I guess Amy and Ted are to white only people and think that is the only type of people that read. This country has many people and lets just not look in Barbies kitchen!!!
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7-09-2009 @ 10:41AM
Cathy said...
I love my rice cooker- it makes perfect rice everytime and is quick and simple to use..
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7-09-2009 @ 10:45AM
rochelle said...
Sorry folks I have had my Rice cooker since 1973 i love it. It cooks the rice and keeps it warm till you need it without Any supervision > Every time. It also steams dim sum
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7-09-2009 @ 10:57AM
Yvonne said...
I LOVE my rice cooker. No waiting for water to boil on stove, turning down heat to simmer and making sure it's attended to while cooking (so that it doesn't boil over, over cook, etc). I simply dump water and rice in the rice cooker, cover and hit cook.
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7-09-2009 @ 10:55AM
Bill T said...
I have been married to an Asian woman for 40 years.
Most of our friends are Asian Americans. In our household, rice is consumed at least twice a day. A rice cooker is essential. If you only occasionally eat rice, a rice cooker is not for you.
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7-09-2009 @ 10:57AM
BeeTap said...
Personally I just use water and a little salt in a pan of water and make my own rice. However in some cultures and large families, a rice cooker maker may come in handy because they make rice everyday. So while the rice cooks they can cook other dishes and sides. They make so much rice every day or so that it most likely comes in handy. It's a constant they don't have to worry about ruining. Believe me one can ruin rice in a hurry, lol.
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7-09-2009 @ 11:07AM
AmyVernon said...
Well, I have to say I've actually heard some good arguments here for the rice cooker, though they still don't make me want one. Sorry. Just my personal preference (which doesn't make me ignorant, nor Barbie, by the way). I don't burn rice when I make it, so cleaning the pot has never been an issue for me.
I appreciate that people are so passionate about their rice cookers, though, and that you cared enough to chime in.
This whole post came about because I really have never seen the point (which I'm sure is obvious to all of you who've commented) and Todd loves his rice cooker and vehemently disagreed with me.
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