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Rice cookers and steamers are among the most versatile small appliances you can purchase. These little appliances are not just another fad tool that will end up in your appliance graveyard. They are very useful and can be used cooking many other foods than just rice. They can also steam vegetables and can be used to cook soups or stews. A small microwave rice cooker makes the perfect gift for a starving college student.

Rice cookers were designed to cook rice. Most do that task very well making perfect rice in about twenty to thirty minutes. The thermostat located in the bottom of the pot senses when all the water has been absorbed by the rice and it switches from the high heat setting to a keep warm setting. With a good rice cooker you are able to have real rice that has been cooked to perfection in about fifteen minutes longer than it would take for instant rice to cook if you include the time for boiling the water and allowing it to sit for five minutes.

Rice is a nutritious food that is a staple around much of the world. If you are a meat and potato family, try substituting rice for the potatoes on occasion. There is no pealing, washing or dicing required to cook rice. Measure the desired amount into the cooker, add water to the correct mark and press the button for perfect rice.

The rice cooker can do more than just rice however. It also makes a great steamer. With your rice in the bottom, add your vegetables to the top in the steamer basket just before you press the cook button. When the rice is ready, the vegetables will be ready also. For a hot dog just like those at the ballpark, try steaming the dogs in the basket. In addition, fish also does very well steamed.

If your husband insists that he must have potatoes at every meal, dice a couple of red potatoes and put in the steamer while you cook rice for the rest of the family. For mashed potato nights, the cooker will boil the potatoes and free the other heating elements on the stove.

The rice cooker is described as a perfect tool for cooking any food that needs to boil like crazy. It will not work well for creamy soups that need to simmer, but it is excellent for broth based soups. This makes it great for many Asian soups including egg drop soup or sweet and sour soup. It even works to cook inexpensive packages of Ramon Noodles as well as other pasta.

Rice cookers that have nonstick pans are the easiest to clean. With this pan you will be able to empty the rice into a serving dish with nothing sticking to the pan. Since it is not recommended that you stir rice when it is cooking, there is no danger of scratching the nonstick surface. Clean by rinsing and you are ready for your next batch.

For the best rice cookers and steamers, look for those that are manufactured in Japan. They will last longer and make better rice. Many of the cookers from other countries will not last as long as the Japanese cookers.

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