http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/ Engadget Comments for Sanyo showcases uber-pricey IH rice cooker http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/Jul 21st 2007 9:20AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/Jul 21st 2007 9:20AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/Jul 21st 2007 9:29AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/Jul 21st 2007 9:43AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/Jul 21st 2007 9:44AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/Jul 21st 2007 9:52AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/Jul 21st 2007 9:58AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/
(***keeping fingers crossed that OP is American (but then again, English would be just as fine)***)]]>Jul 21st 2007 10:00AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/Jul 21st 2007 10:31AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/
No, it's way too small for a restaurant. Also, a restaurant would not need the benefits this cooker provides which is much faster cooking times. They would buy a couple of larger cookers and start them in the morning and then they have rice for the rest of the day.

This product is clearly aimed at the wealthy asian rice lover who wants good rice fast.]]>Jul 21st 2007 10:46AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/
Also there are great IH(induction Heated) rice cookers that cost around $150. For the Japanese, good quality domestic rice can easily be in the $100 for 10kg bag. A good rice cooker is a good investment for something you use everyday.]]>Jul 21st 2007 4:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/To scoff at it for it's price is like going off at a Ferrari - it is after all 'just' a car. but if it were not for tech like this that pushes the boundaries of current technology then there would be no further developments, and that's a good thing in my eyes. Unless you're happy still sitting on the long-drop whilst waiting for the town cryer to swing by with the latest.]]>Jul 21st 2007 5:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/Jul 21st 2007 9:59AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/
Once you try rice cooked in a good cooker (I have a Zojirushi cooker), you can't go back to eating instant rice. It's like eating bread cooked in the microwave vs toasted in the oven.]]>Jul 21st 2007 10:47AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/Jul 21st 2007 7:24PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/Jul 21st 2007 2:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/
...you are now entering...the comment zone!

]]>Jul 21st 2007 5:04PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/Jul 21st 2007 10:13AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/Jul 21st 2007 12:22PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/Jul 21st 2007 11:36AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/
I must be doing something wrong.
]]>Jul 21st 2007 12:32PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/
My wife's Japanese and she bought us a $15 rice cooker at Bed, Bath and Beyond that works fine. Her family back home uses a little more expensive model - think it cost them about 8,000 yen or so - but it's one of those models that also warms, and it's got a larger capacity.

This $1,000 rice cooker is a complete waste. But you know, one thing about Japan is that there is a class of people (like here, I guess) that just feels like they need to have the most expensive thing to show off just because it's expensive.

You can *not* cook rice properly in a pot, though, or a microwave. Not real rice, anyway, only the processed stuff.
]]>Jul 21st 2007 1:15PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/And in the end rice is just damn simple to prepare so any idiot should be able to do it.
What is left to explain is what a ricecooker is doing on engadget]]>Jul 21st 2007 2:06PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/Jul 21st 2007 2:28PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/Jul 21st 2007 4:47PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/
]]>Jul 21st 2007 8:46PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/> Strangely, I have no problem perfectly cooking a variety of different types of
> rice (short grain, long grain, "sticky", etc) in a rice cooker I bought for about
> $30 from Costco (US member-based discount chain).

While the rice probably tastes okay, the rice from the $100+ "fuzzy logic" cookers usually taste better. First, they often have heating elements around the pot as well as on the bottom. This promotes even cooking and less burning. Secondly, a computer cycles the heating to match the type of rice being used. Many of the best cookers also have a slow cook mode which takes 40 mins and longer. This uses a cycling algorithm which optimizes the release and cooking of the alpha and then beta starches. Afficionados tell me that the slow cooked rice is fantastic.]]>Jul 22nd 2007 12:06AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/Jul 21st 2007 1:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/
Does it play Doom?]]>Jul 21st 2007 1:48PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/Jul 21st 2007 10:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/Jul 21st 2007 2:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/Jul 21st 2007 2:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/Jul 21st 2007 2:48PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/Jul 22nd 2007 2:27AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/Sep 8th 2007 9:14AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/
Sam Daniel
> there is a *significant* difference from microwaved or "instant" rice cooked on
> the stove vs. good rice in a rice cooker

It is a mistake to think that microwaved rice is INFERIOR. I cook normal long and medium grain rice in the microwave with great success. In fact, it usually tastes better than rice cooked on the stover or in a cheap rice cooker.

Here's why: microwave heating is evenly distributed throughout the pot (assuming the pot is on a turntable). That allows the rice to cook and steam evenly. Cheap cookers and stove cooking concentrate the heat on the bottom, which makes cooking uneven and risks burning (which is nearly impossible in a microwave. This is precisely why these new induction heating cookers are so successful: Induction causes the entire metal pot to become the heating element, which means even heating throughout the pot. The more expensive non-IH "fuzzy logic" cookers often have heating elements on the sides as well as the bottom to distribute heat, while a computer cycles the process.

The cheap cookers and stove pots do none of this, thus inferior rice. There are other advantages to microwaving if your oven has advanced controls. I'd pop my rice in before leaving for work and set its timer to cook about an hour before I get home. My program is 20 mins on HIGH (100%) to fully cook and then 2 hr at 10% to keep WARM. Some online recipes start on high, then lowering to medium, and at least one recipe claims to take only 15 mins.

BTW, in this case, the microwave saves neither time nor electricity. It will still take about 20-25 mins for the alpha/beta-starches to cook no matter what type of heat. And most microwaves use 1000 watts while a typical medium rice cooker uses about 800-1000 watts. The advantages are convenience, consistency, and ease of cleanup.

While you can microwave rice in normal glass/ceramic ware, I'd recommend getting a dedicated plastic microwave rice cooker. The locking vented cover is made to properly recycle the moisture and distribute the steam. Believe it or not, I've seen cheap knockoffs in Chinatown for as little as $3.95.

http://www.google.com/products?q=microwave+rice+cooker&btnG=Search+Froogle]]>Jul 21st 2007 11:38PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/Jul 22nd 2007 4:44AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/
We use only glass in microwave (like pyrex) for simple reheating . We never cook anything in the microwave.

I just cooked some brown rice in my zojiruchi fuzzy logic IH cooker that cost about $200. I used the gaba brown setting that takes about 3 hours to cook - tastes great.]]>Jul 22nd 2007 4:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/
Now fill up my coffers and get those Chinese slaves back to work.]]>Jul 22nd 2007 6:18PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/Jul 23rd 2007 2:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/21/sanyo-showcases-uber-pricey-ih-rice-cooker/Aug 5th 2007 2:04AM