The Best Zojirushi Rice Cookers – Reviews and Buying Guide
A Rice cooker is perhaps one of the best inventions in the category of kitchen utility appliances. This simple to use electronic device has brought unbelievable convenience to the lives of many. Blessed are the working individuals, in particular, who never have to stand in waiting for the rice getting cooked. Just leave it in this magical appliance and literally forget about it!
Not only does the rice cook automatically but cooked to absolute perfection too. To top it all, modern-day rice cookers come with a host of special features and settings that only make the process more efficient. One example is the rice cookers from Zojirushi, the Japanese brand which is quite popular in this market. We have also made our top picks of best Japanese rice cookers.
After the success of its other electrical appliances like water boilers, dispensers, and vacuum flasks, Zojirushi has now come out with a wide range of rice cookers. You’re assured to find the Best Zojirushi rice cooker models in this Zojirushi rice cooker review here today.
Zojirushi Rice Cooker Comparison
Zojirushi Rice Cooker Reviews
1. Zojirushi NP-HCC18XH Induction Heating System Rice Cooker Review
Standing out from the rest, zojirushi NP-HCC18XH uses induction heating to heat up the insert. This means that the cooker can accurately adjust the temperature in the inner cooking pot to cook any kind of rice (even the special varieties). The induction heating technology would ensure high and even heating for perfect rice each time you prepare a batch.
As for the design, there’s no beating this one. Compact and trendy, it’s perfectly designed to suit all kitchen spaces. The rice cooker model has a stainless steel outer body and a stainless steel insert, the perfect combination for consistent reliable performance and durability. Even though it looks quite compact from the outside, the inner capacity of the cooker is quite large. It can comfortably make 5.5 cups of uncooked rice (approx.10 cups cooked) which means a wholesome meal for even a huge family! Zojirushi 10 cups rice cookers are often deemed more desired for their higher cooking capacity.
Besides, the rice cooker also has an in-built warmer functionality with Keep Warm and Extended Keep Warm settings. You can be rest assured of coming home to warm and fresh rice when you return from work. There are 3 cooking options available for preparing different healthy rice varieties – GABA brown rice, brown rice and germinated brown rice. Yet, you’d find the cooker best at cooking short-grain white rice.
2. Zojirushi NP-NVC18 1.8 L Pressure Rice Cooker Review
Yet another offering from Zojirushi that uses the induction heating technology; however this one comes with an extra feature of Artificial Intelligence! This means that this cooker uses pressure for faster and more efficient rice cooking. The pressure technology also makes the rice appear fluffier and the grains cooked to thorough perfection.
Besides, the AI feature in this rice cooker works at automatic adjustment of both cooking time and temperature. This is made possible on the basis of certain programmed settings and other factors.
As for the cooking settings, there are at least 8 options available for white rice, sushi rice (also check our list of rice cookers dedicated for sushi), mixed rice, brown rice, porridge, GABA brown rice, quick cooking, and also umami. The latter setting lets the rice stay soaked and steam for slightly longer so that you can enjoy a better rice taste.
3. Zojirushi NS-TSC10 Micom Rice Cooker Review
Equipped with the MICOM (Micro Computerized) fuzzy logic technology, zojirushi NS TSC10 is a sure steal at this price. The cooker can hold up to 5.5 cups of uncooked rice at 1 litre capacity. The automatic keep warm feature will ensure that your rice is served just as warm the way you like it even after hours of being cooked and left in the cooker.
Besides, there’s an extended keep warm option and an additional reheating cycle too for those who like their rice hot and fresh, as though straight out of the cooking stove. The outer body is pretty durable, made of stainless steel, and is also clear coated making for easy cleaning and maintenance. There are two delay time settings as well.
The default melody signal for alert can be interchanged with beep mode if you don’t want the melody to play. There’s also an in-built retractable power cord for ease of use and storage.
Cooking settings are included for white rice, brown rice, steaming with basket provided, and cake baking (yes! right in the rice cooker itself). The inner lid can be easily removed and washed after use. The cooking pan has non-stick coating to prevent sticking of rice.
Cooking settings are included for white rice, brown rice, steaming with basket provided, and cake baking (yes! right in the rice cooker itself). The inner lid can be easily removed and washed after use. The cooking pan has non-stick coating to prevent sticking of rice.
4. Zojirushi NS-LGC05XB Micom Rice Cooker Review
Even though it comes with only 3 cups (uncooked) rice capacity as compared to the others on this list, we still feel that this model from Zojirushi has a couple of noteworthy features to be included in our review.
The cooker has at least 6 different cooking options for different rice varieties – brown rice, wild rice, long-grain rice, GABA brown rice, white/mixed rice, and sushi rice. Besides that, there are special settings provided for faster cooking when you’re short on time and steel-cut oatmeal.
The triple-heater design of the appliance ensures that sufficient heat is produced from three sides – the bottom, the side and the lid of the cooker. This provides for even heating and flawless cooked rice. The MICOM technology of the cooker is capable of making automatic adjustments of temperature according to the item being cooked therein.
5. Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker Review
This one beats all the other models from Zojirushi with its advanced modern-day design. The cooker not only looks different, it works different too. This computerised rice cooker and warmer can comfortably cook 5.5 cups of uncooked rice. The neuro fuzzy logic technology used herein is also advanced and will accordingly adjust the time and temperature according to the item being cooked.
Another interesting feature of this model is that it can be easily wall-mounted too. The design of the device is also quite unique with a sphere-shaped non-stick inner pan. There’s an LCD clock timer on the outside of the appliance and a retractable cord too.
As for cooking options, the cooker has been known best for cooking white (both regular/sushi) rice, which can be made softer or harder as per choice. It also makes equally well mixed rice, porridge, sweet rice, semi-brown rice, and brown rice. Like all Zojirushi rice cookers, this one too is a great fit for cooking brown brown rice. If brown is of concern to you, we’ve compiled a separate list of rice cookers for brown rice for your reference.
Choosing the Best Zojirushi Rice Cooker – Buying Guide
After having reviewed a number of rice cookers from the brand, we present here some key points to note which might help you in picking the right one for your kitchen. If you’re not fan of Japanese appliances, you can also check our picks for Korean Rice cookers like Cuckoo or Cuchen.
Are Zojirushi Rice Cookers Worth the Money?
Zojirushi rice cooker reviews above reveal that the brand generally tends to sell its rice cookers at marginally higher prices than the rest of the competition. While this may be inarguably true, there’s indeed another vital point to note here.
The price is fairly justifiable, looking at the kind of advanced features and technology that Zojirushi equips its rice cookers with. But, if you are still worried about the price, there are plenty of sales on these rice cookers, one of such is Zojirushi black friday sales, you can purchase these rice cookers at cheapest price during the sale, don’t miss out on it. Whether it’s MICOM or Neuro Fizzy, the AI-powered devices are all trained to cook rice “intelligently”.
We’ve all seen rice cooked harder or softer than needed in our rice cooker models. But with Zojirushi, you can barely go wrong. As for the quality of the appliance, it speaks of durability from every angle – outer or inner. The exterior is made of stainless steel while the inner pan has non-stick coating for that doesn’t let rice stick. Zojirushi stainless steel rice cookers are one of the best, if not the best investment for fond rice eaters.
Factors to Consider to Get the Most Out of Your Zojirushi Rice Cooker
1. Capacity
At least a majority of Zojirushi models are designed to comfortably host large meals or guest gatherings. The cookers can hold up to 5.5 cups of uncooked rice (which makes it up to 10 cups of cooked when served). This means that you can easily fill a large family and even store extra for later. Zojirushi 10 cups rice cookers
There are a few models though which only allow for 3 cups uncooked capacity but even those can be well considered ideal for small families. Besides, these cookers can cook multiple varieties of rice as well as other dishes too when you need a change.
2. Non-stick Inner Pot
The inner cooking pan of the rice cooker is made of Teflon non-stick coating. This is a careful move by the brand, allowing for easy convenience of use to the buyer. The rice doesn’t tend to stick to the pot after cooking/scooping out. Like these from Zojirushi, rice cookers from cuckoo too feature non-stick inner pots if you’d want to consider them.
This is a huge advantage over other conventional rice cooker pots where the rice at the bottom has to be literally scraped off, resulting in unwanted scratches on the pot. But with Zojirushi rice cookers, this isn’t a problem, thankfully. The non-stick coating ensures that the rice doesn’t stick even after hours of being left inside the cooker.
3. Induction Heating System
The IH technology of Zojirushi rice cookers is designed to ensure even heating and uniform cooking of rice. Its cookers run on induction which means that they tend to have a higher response time in terms of heating, when compared with non-IH ones.
Besides, induction cooking also facilitates more accurate temperature control during cooking, which is particularly useful in cooking of rice. Your rice will never be too hard or too soft-gunk; just the perfect cook and served at a perfectly warm temperature.
Also, if you feel that the heat generated inside the cooking pan has increased/lowered, IH technology will help you make adjustments.
4. MICOM Menu Settings
This is a notable feature found in most Zojirushi rice cooker models. They are equipped with the MICOM or microcomputer chip technology, which helps improve the cooker’s versatility at cooking to a considerable extent.
In other words, your simple rice cooker becomes capable of making many more items besides just rice (and even that of various varieties). Additional enhanced settings for user convenience are also provided, such that of warm, extended warm, and reheating cycle.
These MICOM-equipped rice cookers ensure that the temperature gets automatically controlled depending on the item being cooked. So does the cooking time as per the amount and type of rice used.
5. Dishwasher Safe Removable Parts
This is a yet another advantage of choosing Zojirushi rice cookers over others. Standard rice cookers do not generally provide for detachable parts for better cleaning efficiency.
However, Zojirushi ensures that its users aren’t inconvenienced in any way after buying the device. The lid of the cooker can be easily removed from the device and washed, even in the dishwasher. This helps the user clean up the lid nicely where the steam tends to collect up.
And because this removable lid can be washed in the dishwasher too, it allows absolute convenience to the user. No more hassle of hand-washing and drying!
Conclusion
Zojirushi rice cooker reviews, all seemingly infer that this brand is exceptionally reliable for all families that just can’t exclude rice from their everyday meals. is quite difficult because japan-made products have a history of endurance in the international market. Besides that too, the company has made efforts to launch a range of “intelligent” rice cookers, which the global market had been lacking all these years.
The MICOM and Neuro Fuzzy technologies in these cookers have taken rice cooking a step further with all the advanced settings and features. As for the design, that too is in tune with the times and durability is ensured with stainless steel non-stick coatings. Even at a slightly higher price, they’re definitely worthwhile for staple rice-eating families.
