The most important function of a rice cooker is to make delicious rice, from jasmine to brown and sushi.Our expert found the best ones that are designed to lastWhy the humble rice cooker might be the only appliance you need in your kitchenThe Guardian’s journalism is independent.We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link.Learn more.Not a day goes by where I don’t cook and eat rice.

I grew up thinking of it as central to every meal.I’m also a former professional chef who, for over seven years, ran a restaurant and food truck that served Hawaii’s local food – a cuisine that is rice-based.All told I have made tens of thousands of pounds of rice.The Guardian’s journalism is independent.We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link.

Learn more.This means that I have purchased dozens of rice cookers of various sizes, both for home kitchens and commercial ones.I even have portable rice cookers for easy toting to outdoor cookouts.My guiding principles in this review are, firstly, that the most important function of a rice cooker is to make delicious rice.But, secondly, I am fundamentally opposed to appliances that are single-function – rice cookers should be able to steam vegetables and other foods, too, often while the rice is cooking.

Thirdly, I look for rice cookers that are designed to last.I tested 17 rice cookers in what I referred to as the “Rice Cooker Olympics”.I organized them in “heats” of three to four rice cookers each (so as to not blow a fuse), making rounds of short-grain Kokuho rice with each cooker.I’m used to assessing the quality of rice.As a food writer I judge sushi restaurants based partly on the quality of their rice, and I develop rice-based recipes.

In this cooker review I looked for:The gelatinization of rice after it was cooked – could you still taste separate, distinct grains?Was rice cooked to the correct consistency that corresponded to the menu option?Did the pot of rice cook evenly or were there obvious burned bits?Could cookers make brown rice or germinated brown (gaba) rice if they claimed to have that functionality?Could I cook other meals with the cookers – such as quinoa, beans, steamed vegetables, chawanmushi and congee?I didn’t look for speed – most take roughly 20 to 30 minutes for a pot of short grain white rice.Since my husband is also a professional chef, he brought the seemingly endless pots of rice I cooked to his restaurant to turn into rice vinegar or manipulate into staff meals.At the end of the Olympics, I returned the cookers I did not own to their manufacturers or donated them to the Philly Aids Thrift or the food lab at Drexel University.Read on for my top picks, and for a rice cooker Q&A at the end.All prices current at the time of publication.

Best overall: Zojirushi Induction Rice Cooker NP-HCC10 $384,99 at AmazonBest budget: Green Life 1,5 quart rice cooker $19,99 at GreenLifeBest for impatient people:Cuckoo Electric Pressure Rice Cooker and Warmer CRP-ST0609F$229,99 at AmazonBest dispenser: KitchenAid Grain and Rice Cooker$399.

99 at KitchenAidBest high-end: Zojirushi Pressure Induction Rice Cooker NW-YNC10$229.99 at AmazonBest stainless steel: Tatung 11 cup electric rice cooker and steamer$220 at Yun HaiIf you want a multicooker – but on a budget: Hamilton Beach Multi Cooker 37523MN$67.99 at JCPenneyIf you want to cook different kinds of rice: Cuckoo CR-0675F$139.99 at CuckooIf you want carb reduction: GreenPan 8-cup rice and grain cooker$149.99 at Home DepotIf you want a rice cooker that is indestructible: Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy 5 cup NS-ZCC10$226 at AmazonIf you want a rice cooker that doubles as a pressure cooker: Our Place Dream Cooker$199 at Our Place$384.

99 at Amazon$384,99 at WalmartWhy we love it The Rolls Royce of rice cookers,White rice comes out noticeably more fragrant than practically any other rice cooker tested,On the regular setting, cooked grains were distinct and lightly al dente, with a gelatinized texture that you’d look for in sushi rice or sticky rice,This effect is achieved through precise temperature controls.

Its smooth interior allows for easy cleaning (just wipe it).I love the 0.5 rice cup setting, which is helpful for making rice for just one person – other rice cookers rarely function as well when cooking rice in such small quantities.The cooker also comes in a larger 1.8L model.

It’s a shame that … Unlike most models I recommend, this model uses induction technology – and it takes longer to cook the rice.On a regular setting, a pot of white rice required 54 minutes.Even so, there is a “quick cook” setting that speeds things up.Capacity: 1L / 5.5 Cups uncookedMaterial (body and liner/pot): Stainless steel and plastic body, platinum-infused non-stick inner potFunctions: White rice (regular, softer, harder), umami, mixed, sushi and sweet rice, jasmine, porridge, congee, brown, gaba, steel-cut oatmeal, quick cooking, extended keep warmAccessories: None$19.

99 at GreenLife$32,79 at AmazonWhy we love it I tested four basic, traditional mini rice cookers from brands like Aroma, Dash, and Black and Decker,GreenLife’s produced the best, al dente, non-mushy white rice,It was the only one of the budget brands that I tested that had a ceramic coating,This yielded a hint of brown at the bottom of the rice, but for me that was preferable to a more traditional nonstick coating and potentially more PFAS chemicals.

This is the ideal cooker for a single person or couple seeking a handy and easily stowable device, and who don’t need one that can steam other foods or make various types of grains.It’s a shame that … it only has two functions.It’s heated via a coil in the cooker’s interior, which can make cleaning challenging if liquid or food is spilled on it.The inner pot also doesn’t sit perfectly on the coil, so it does bounce and jiggle when not in use.Capacity: 6 cups of cooked rice or 3 cups of uncooked riceMaterial (body and liner/pot): Aluminum body.

Ceramic- coated pot.The lid is glass and plasticFunctions: Cook and keep warmAccessories: None$229.99 at Amazon$324.89 at WalmartWhy we love it White rice turns out beautifully sticky with distinct grains.It is also a beast.

Though compact at 5.8kg (12.7lbs), it’s about twice the weight of the Zojirushi above, so it’s the sort of appliance that might live on your countertop.Thankfully, it’s sleek, attractive and feels hi-tech.Its turbo cooking mode is absolutely remarkable and makes a pot of nearly perfect white rice in roughly 15 minutes (the timing varies according to how large a pot you make).

This rice doesn’t necessarily come out quite as fragrant as our Zojirushi picks, but it still has the right bite.Moreover the sprouted brown rice I make with GABA function comes out wonderfully textured, while also sticky, fluffy, and nutty.(Scroll to the bottom for an explanation of what gaba rice is.)Its inner pot has handles for easy removal and cleaning.It also speaks to you in a sweet, high-pitched voice, saying things like “Cuckoo is starting,” “Steam release will begin,” and “Super-turbo is complete.

Stir the rice.”It’s a shame that … this seems to be a hallmark of Cuckoo cookers, but it leaps backwards when you press the button that opens the lid.This doesn’t make the cooker fall over, but it has knocked other items off my kitchen counter.Capacity: 6 cups uncooked, 12 cups cookedMaterial (body and liner/pot): Body is stainless steel and plastic, inner pot is stainless steel with a non-stick coatingFunctions: High pressure: white rice, turbo white rice, mixed rice, gaba rice, high pressure steam, high heat.Non-pressure: white rice, frozen rice, open cooking, veggie rice, baby food, non-pressure steam, open cooking.

It also has an auto-clean modeAccessories: None$399,99 at KitchenAid$399,95 at WalmartWhy we love it I’ve been using this KitchenAid cooker for over a year, and it’s perfect for when I don’t feel like measuring the amount of rice I’m cooking or the amount of water I need to cook it,It’s also perfect for beans – I always forget to soak my beans before cooking, but this appliance, with an external water tank (like a Nespresso coffee pod machine) takes the guesswork out of it, measuring the correct amount of water for practically any bean or grain that you can think of to cook,It’s basically a little computer.

It’s a shame that … while versatile, you don’t get the same wonderful floral flavor in rice that the Zojirushi models unlock.Capacity: 8 cupsMaterial (body and liner/pot): Plastic and stainless steel body and dispenser, aluminum inner pot with ceramic non-stick coatingFunctions: Short-grain brown rice, long-grain brown rice, short-grain white rice, long-grain white rice, basmati rice, jasmine rice, wild rice, sushi rice, steel-cut oats, rolled oats, couscous, quinoa, pearled barley, hulled barley, farro, black beans, red beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, chickpeas, lentilsAccessories: Steamer basket$499.99 at Bed Bath & Beyond$499.99 at ZojirushiWhy we love it The reason this Zojirushi model is our pick for best high end isn’t simply because of its price, but because it makes basic Kokuho short-grain white rice taste like high-end Tamanishiki rice.The rice grains turn out sticky but also fluffy – without any manual fluffing with my rice paddle.

I’m aware of every individual rice grain as I’m chewing,The machine itself is extremely straightforward,It’s very clear about cooking time – for instance, it told me my germinated brown rice had a 192-minute cooking time,There’s also a 10 cup, 1,8 L version.

It’s a shame that … it’s not fast.One cup of white rice takes 59 minutes to cook, but if you’re normally letting rice steam in the cooker after cooking it anyway, it’s not that much longer.You also can’t open the lid during the cooking process to add vegetables into your pot to steam while the rice is cooking.This is also the most challenging to clean.Rice scum gets between the gasket and the inner lid.

Capacity: 1L/5.5 cups uncookedMaterial (body and liner/pot): Plastic, stainless steel body.Inner pot is made from aluminum with a PTFE (Teflon) non-stick coatingFunctions: White rice (regular, firmer, umami), quick, brown rice, gaba, jasmine (regular, quick, congee), sushi, sweet, congee, steel-cut oatmeal, keep warmAccessories: None$220 at Yun HaiWhy we love it This is actually your momma’s rice cooker, and it’s an heirloom for a reason.It’s consistent, makes an excellent pot of rice, and can steam anything.It has the great advantages of having all its cooking components made of stainless steel (eliminating concerns about PFAs or toxic non-stick materials), and of not having a heating coil inside of the cooker, making cleaning very easy.

You will have to soak the rice pot after use, and avoid abrasive scrubbers, as the rice would start to stick to the stainless steel pot,It functions differently from all other rice cookers on this list as it is essentially a double boiler – you have to fill the outer pot with water to steam the rice in the inner pot,Make sure the rice is completely flat so that it cooks evenly, and keep an eye on the level of the water in the outer pot so that it doesn’t run out during cooking,It’s a shame that … it takes a little getting used to keeping an eye on the water level in the outer pot,Capacity: 11 cups (there is also a 6-cup model)Material (body and liner/pot): Stainless steelFunctions: Cook, keep warmAccessories: Inner pot cover, steam plate (can be bundled with steamer tongs, bowl clip, upper stainless steel pot)$67.

99 at JCPenney$67.95 at WalmartWhy we love it I like the straightforward controls.This one also had by far the best-designed lid of all of the 17 rice cookers I tested – it’s easy to clean.The pot’s side handles are not made of metal, meaning you can lift it out without using hand protection.(I’ve burnt myself on many other rice cooker pots.

)It didn’t make the final cut because … the grains of the white rice were sticky and overblown, the rice as a whole was gummy, and the bottom of the pot quickly developed a rice-paper film.I also don’t like how the appliance is so large, and the minimum amount of rice you can cook is two cups, at least according to the inner pot’s line measure.Each of the three Hamilton Beach rice cookers I tested came with plastic steamer baskets, but I’m put off by the idea of cooking with plastic at such high temperatures.Capacity: 4.5 quarts/20 cups cooked riceMaterial (body and liner/pot): Stainless steel, plastic steamer basket, non-stick stainless steelFunctions: White rice, brown rice, slow cook low, slow cook high, steam, hot cereal, soup, keep warmAccessories: Plastic steamer basket that sits inside the inner pot$79