Kitchen appliances today are now more advanced than ever. Just by looking through some online rice cooker reviews you are able to discover some of the intended uses for them. However, there are lots of things you can use them for besides what the manufacturers tell you.
There are two main kinds of rice cookers on the market today, electrical models (which tend to be the cheapest) and more advanced electronic devices (which make use of a Micom computer chip). There are advantages to each type of unit. In certain cases, you may in fact want to own one of each.
As far as making the best quality rice is concerned, the more you spend on a Micom rice cooker, the better your rice is going to taste. In fact, if you choose one that has the Induction Heating component then you will get the best results. Be warned though, these models start at around about $200.
Some rice cookers, both cheap and expensive, come with special steaming baskets. These are not designed for cooking rice. However what you can do is to make really healthy steamed vegetables, seafood and you could even try making your own Chinese dim-sums (steamed dumplings).
All Micom rice cookers come with lids on a hinge that lock into place when your rice is cooking. This means that you should never really have any leakage from your rice cooker, unless you add far too much water and it comes out the steam vent. However, the drawback of this type of unit is that you cannot really see what is going on inside and it makes it harder to add things to your dish as well as stir your foods if required. If you are just making rice or a mixed rice dish then you should never have to. But if you want to utilize the full versatility of rice cookers today then it is actually the cheaper electrical models that are better suited.
The reason for this is that the cheapest machines come with a removable lid, just like a saucepan. So they can be used without the lid on at all. This is great if you are cooking steel cut oats or if you want to make beans or quinoa. There are loads of different foods that you can prepare with this style of device. Cooking without the lid on means you can prevent your foods from boiling, which in many cases is going to be advantageous.
If you are interested in finding out more about these types of kitchen appliances, take a look at the Japanese Rice Cooker Store on Facebook. They hold regular rice cooker give-aways.