Cooking rice is not difficult, but it does require keeping watch over the pot to ensure the heat does not get too high resulting in burned rice, or the water steams away too quickly and the rice sticks to the bottom of the pot. The rice can be overcooked and mushy and unintentionally sticky or under-cooked and chewy. This is the benefit of the rice cooker - there is nothing to watch and no guesswork involved.
Attractive stainless steel clad exterior with black plastic trim, capacity is two to fourteen cups of cooked rice/grains. The internal cook pot cook pot is thin aluminum with a dark non-stick coating. Included is a User Manual in English, French and Spanish, a white plastic steamer basket which can be used to cook vegetables or a piece of fish, a rice paddle which will not scratch the non-stick finish for use in removing the cooked rice from the pot and a rice measuring cup which is six ounces rather than the usual eight.
The six ounce cup size (approximately ¾ of a cup) is the standard used with the cooker. Add three cups of rice to the pot and then add liquid up to the "3" line marking on the inside of the pot. The maximum amount of rice that can be measured and cooked in the pot is seven uncooked cups.
This is a good mid-level rice cooker, residing between the $20 and $100 plus models in features and quality. It is handsome in appearance and competently cooks rice and grains without any problem. So far, I have prepared white rice, brown rice and oatmeal with the cooker with perfect results. Whether it is a good choice will depend upon the needs of the user. At most, I will cook with it a few times a week, and it is well-suited for that level of use -- light to medium duty.
All the steps normally taken to cook rice - measure and rinse the rice, add liquid to the pot, add the clean rice, cover and cook, remain the same, but instead of bringing the pot to a boil, covering and turning down the heat and leaving the pot untouched for the appropriate amount of time and hoping things turn out okay, selections are made on the rice cooker control panel and an alarm sounds when the rice is finished cooking.
And, when the cooking cycle is finished, the cooker automatically goes into warming mode, keeping track of the time on the display until either the appliance is opened and the cooked rice removed, or twelve hours, whichever comes first.
For added convenience there is a delay timer button which allows scheduling the cooking functions up to 15 hours in advance so the pot of rice, various grains, beans, etc. can be ready and waiting in the evening, or a pot of steel cut oatmeal can be ready first thing in the morning. I used the delay option overnight for a morning pot of oatmeal cooked in apple cider. Obviously, products that need to be refrigerated, like milk, should not be used in an extended delay cycle. The heat/simmer cycle was set for 15 minutes (steel cut oats) and it was perfectly cooked and ready when needed.
Along with Delay Time option, the control panel has the following options, Cancel which will turn the unit off, Start (self explanatory), Cook Time which is used to set time in the Steam Cook or Heat Simmer mode and finally Select Mode where the particular item being cooked is selected.
Those options are white rice, quick rice which eliminates the pre-programmed rice soak, whole grain for brown rice and other grains except white rice, heat/simmer for use with prepackaged rice, soups, stews, hot cereals, beans, oats, grits, etc. that have a heat (boil) and then simmer for a set amount of time cycle, and finally steam cook to steam food for a selected amount of time.
The steaming cycle time can be set for zero to just boil water up to 30 minutes for cooking. When all of the cook cycles are completed, except for the steam food selection, the keep warm cycle automatically starts.
Before use wash the pot, steam basket, rice scoop and cup. These items are dishwasher safe but do not use the sani cycle which the user manual says can damage the items. I do not place items with non-stick coating in the dishwasher because the harsh detergent and temperatures seems to negatively affect that non-stick ability, and this pot is particularly thin so I am not sure how much abuse it will take before becoming damaged.
Because steam is continuously released during cooking, if possible place the cooker in a location where the steam won't damage overhead cabinets - like a kitchen island or table. And, do not move the cooker while it is cooking because the escaping steam can burn. The power cord is 29 inches long.
The User Manual contains two recipes - Overnight Oatmeal and Steamed Salmon with Brown Rice - that's all. But, there are an amazing number of rice cooker recipes available for free on the internet (search rice cooker) along with a variety of rice cooker cookbooks I noticed are in print.
I experimented and tried to create Spanish Rice curious to see if I could infuse flavor into the rice by cooking the seasonings in rather than adding spices after cooking. To add more depth, rather than plain water I used organic chicken broth, and then added one half tablespoon ground cumin, three quarters tablespoon mild chile powder and chipotle chile powder for three cups of raw rice. The heat is in the chipotle powder, so if trying the recipe, adjust that amount down if spiciness/heat is not welcome. It worked -- the spices were absorbed into the rice rather than just resting on the surface.
After cooking the rice was a rich red color. I added salt, sautéed sweet onions and red bell pepper along with some chopped roasted green chilies and topped off the dish with a little grated cheddar. I served the Spanish rice with a green salad and Turkey Tamales. The rice was delicious and I will definitely make it again.
The options for cooking with the rice cooker are extensive if the user has the desire to explore them and range from risotto to frittatas to poaching fruit. I am impressed with the unit's performance and have few complaints, but if I planned more than the occasional I would select a model with a stainless steel, rather than plastic steamer basket. But, I will simply steam food in other ways and enjoy pot after pot of perfectly cooked rice and grains that require absolutely no monitoring.
Hamilton beach rice cookers make mounds of delicious, fluffy rice with minimal effort. These popular appliances cook rice to the perfect moistness and texture, then shift to keep rice warm until serving time. These rice cookers are perfect for any family that enjoys cuisines from around the world. Versatile and easy to use, Hamilton beach rice cookers do more than just cook rice--use them to steam at the same time or cook beans, whole grains, mac and cheese, or any pasta/rice mix. These powerful rice cookers are also easy to clean, including nonstick bowls and glass lids you can put in the dishwasher.
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- Expand your menu with perfectly cooked dishes
- 1-14 cups (COOKED) capacity
- Select cooking function and it does the rest
- Great for rice, beans, whole grains and flavored pasta & rice mixes
- Unique heat / simmer function
