Thank you! I was just thinking about getting one, and now seems like the perfect time.

http://www.amazon.com/Sanyo-ECJ-PX50S-M … N0HF54T05H

Going for the $82 deal ;-)

I've recommended the NS-ZCC18 elsewhere; it's treated me very well (has some rice waiting for me right now, in fact).

~J

I have the Zojirushi NP-HBC10. You might think it's a little crazy for spending $280 on a rice cooker.

Yes, it is. I would have a hard time recommending it to anyone unless you have a curiosity about rice that really needed to be solved. On the other hand, it does make GABA brown rice which makes it taste really really good and much better than the normal brown rice setting. The GABA setting soaks the brown rice at a warm temperature before cooking it and is supposed to be healthier, but I just like the taste.

As for the terms:
Fuzzy Logic - Means that the rice cooker receives information about how the rice is cooking (temperature, humidity, amount of water, etc.) and adjusts accordingly.
Spherical Shape - More even heating of all the rice
Induction Heating - Heating by magnetic elements allows more even heating throughout, faster cooking

The only thing I would deem necessary is a timer. You can prepare your rice/oatmeal/quinoa at night and have it freshly cooked in the morning, it's awesome.

Shingo wrote:

I had a quick look on wikipedia first to try and prevent my stupid question from having to be asked, but, what are the advantages of buying a rice cooker rather than just boiling it in a pan?

For me, buying a great rice cooker was a matter of convenience, taste, and versatility, a single lasting investment for something that's a staple of my daily eating habits.

More on the different fancy rice cookers: http://www.zojirushi.com/ourproducts/ho … _rice.html

Shingo wrote:

I had a quick look on wikipedia first to try and prevent my stupid question from having to be asked, but, what are the advantages of buying a rice cooker rather than just boiling it in a pan?

To expand on that, the rice maker doesn't require me to attend it, doesn't require me to acquire the skill of cooking rice by hand to get very good rice, doesn't require me to be present or conscious to start cooking, doesn't require me to deal with storage and reheating (within a certain window of time), and doesn't take up a burner.

~J

Go for it. I got one for free from a friend and it pretty much changed my life. It's ridiculously convenient and makes super tasty rice. I love getting everything set up (takes 2-3 min max) and then coming back a few hours later to wonderful rice

Ryuujin27 wrote:

Thank you! I was just thinking about getting one, and now seems like the perfect time.

http://www.amazon.com/Sanyo-ECJ-PX50S-M … N0HF54T05H

Going for the $82 deal ;-)

Thanks Ruiner. I actually received my Zojirushi NS-TGQ10 (European version of the US NS-TGC10) in France from a UK reseller one week ago. I paid no less than 215€ (=$314). Call me crazy, but that's the special gift I treat myself with after coming back from my 1st trip to Japan in July. It makes great rice, is easy to use and to clean and has a timer function that can indeed change some people life. No need to stay next to the cooking pan to get good rice.