Which Rice Cookers

[237SJ]

Is there anyone on here who would be able to look up the Which results for a couple of rice cookers please?

[barry1010]

If nobody can help with the Which? recommendations then the BBC Good Food site is a good starting point
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/review/best-rice-cookers

[237SJ]

Thanks barry but I`ve already looked at that (and Amazon reviews) Just thought I would see what Which had to say before I go and buy one.

[Canary42]

OK, hang on while I look.

[Canary42]

Best Buy: VonShef 0.3L Personal Rice Cooker 13/342. £27
Best Buy: Tefal Cool Touch RK1568UK Rice Cooker. £29

I've not always found Which? accurate, so you might like to ask for personal experience from Abers here.

[237SJ]

Thanks Canary - that's helpful. I want a small one and I have been looking at the Vonshef. Lakeland also do a mini one and that is on Which as well. I was just wondering what they said about it.

[Canary42]

Lakeland 2 Portion Mini Electric Rice Cooker
Only available at Lakeland: £39.99.

Cooking times: Approximately 33 minutes for 1 cup of basmati rice; 53 minutes for 1 cup of wholegrain rice

Comes with plastic serving spoon, 135ml measuring cup and non-stick cooking pot, can be used to cook porridge, delay-start timer of up to 12 hours, not dishwasher-safe, fill lines are labelled, three-year guarantee

Pros: Delicious fresh rice, keeps wholegrain rice tasting freshly cooked on keep-warm setting, excellent build quality, easy to clean

Cons: Long cooking times, poor keep-warm setting for basmati rice, timer has limited usefulness

Our verdict: Takes its time, but cooks excellent small portions.

The freshly cooked white basmati and wholegrain rice was delicious, and had a lovely fluffy texture. The basmati rice became very dry and stuck together after being kept warm for an hour, though.

The timer is useful for its delay-start feature and for keeping tabs on how long your rice has been kept warm, but it only counts down the last six minutes of cooking so it's pretty useless for tracking cooking times.

[237SJ]

Thanks for taking the time Canary. Think I`ll go with that one

[davebro]

33 mins to cook Basmati rice! Blimey takes me 8-10 mins in a saucepan.

[pastafreak]

^^^ I thought the same...should be much less for long grain also. But, maybe a rice cooker uses less energy than the cooker.
Win some, lose some.

[Buenchico]

I dislike 'Which?' as a source of reviews. They seem to assume that their readers all shop in John Lewis and often don't even bother to test products that are, say, only sold in Argos. (I suspect that a poll of their members would probably show that the vast majority of them do shop in John Lewis though. I doubt that many of them ever venture into Poundland, Wilko or B&M!)

35 years ago 'Which?' acquired a rival publication when 'Expert Reviews' hit the newsstands. It based its reputation upon its absolute independence when reviewing products and allowed people to buy only the issues that reviewed products that they were actually interested in. (If you subscribe to 'Which?', you end up paying for loads of reviews for types of products that you're never going to buy anyway).

'Expert Reviews' has now moved online but it's still recognised as an excellent source of independent reviews. So this is where I'd be looking if I was considering buying a rice cooker:
https://www.expertreviews.co.uk/kitchen/1405022/best-rice-cooker

Having said that though, I still reckon that rice cookers are a total waste of money anyway. I can cook great rice using just a saucepan!

[Zacs-Master]

Yep, 8 mins for basmati in a saucepan.

[gingejbee]

I'll answer Chris's rather dimissive post above (15.07).
I'm a Which? subscriber and, yes, do shop with John Lewis (online) and Waitrose...but am not averse to shopping at Wilko, B&M, Home Bargains, Aldi, Lidl etc when near them (rather a long drive away).
And...when Which? reviews food and drink, and household "stuff" (batteries, toiletries, detergents, printer inks etc) and domestic electricals, they do include own-brands from Aldi, lidl, Wilko, Argos etc. So not quite as elitist as painted above.

[Tyrion44]

In my house a rice cooker is called a saucepan. But each to his own ….

[237SJ]

"Each to his own" You said it but thanks for that pearl of wisdom anyway. Thanks for the replies to everyone else.

[Atheist]

237; What's wrong with cooking rice in a saucepan? It must be cheaper than buying a special gadget. Have you got good reason for needing a rice cooker? I know nothingabout them, so I'd be interested to know what they do.

[Canary42]

Although a long-term subscriber to Which?, I very rarely shop in John Lewis.

But I often shop in Argos (where I've been known to buy Which?-recommended products), Wilco, AO, Poundland, B&M, Poundstretcher, etc.

I have a rice cooker (an unexpected Xmas present some years ago), but never use it, the saucepan method being easier, especially when it comes to washing up.

[Hopkirk]

When I look at Amazon reviews I ignore the best ones. A look through the average and poor ones give you a better view.