Zouirushi Rice Cooker

I never really wanted one, however I have heard so many good comments about them. Do they really cook the rice so much better than just cooking in a pot? I have a credit with a company and today I saw a Zojirushi in their catalog. It has advanced fuzzy logic auto correct and also bakes cakes. It is a 5 1/2 cup and 610 watts, keep warm feature and programmable timer. What do you think?

I never felt the need for a rice cooker until I started cooking Japanese rice.

Japanese rice (Koshihikari) is quite different from, say, Basmati and other "normal" long grain rice.

It absorbs water in a 1:1 ratio rather than 2:1, and comes out dense and with a meaty texture.

Every time I try to cook Japanese rice in a pan on the stove, I burn the bottom.

But in a cooker, you wash the rice, you put it in the cooker with the correct amount of water and a couple of pieces of dried kelp (kombu), close it and a few minutes later it's done, and it comes out perfect every time. Just a bit sticky to help with the chopsticks.

I don't know about cake baking?