Arguably the most important food in Japan is Rice. It is a staple in the Japanese diet and definitely the most important crop in Japan and so the Japanese know how to cook it to perfection and make it easy to do so. It may surprise you to know that electric rice cookers have been around us since 1955 and were first introduced in Japan by Toshiba. In fact, Japan still makes some of the best rice cookers on the market.
Why Do You Need a Rice Cooker?
Before asking what are the advantages of a Japanese rice cooker over the normal ones, one might just ask why do you even need one?
We can cook rice on the gas stove itself, so why buy another electric gadget for it?
Well for starters, cooking rice on a gas stove can be difficult like the rice might get burnt, the rice might be too mushy etc. A rice cooker, on the other hand, works way easier. All you have to do is add the rice, check the amount of water you need (usually marked in the rice cooker itself or the cup that is provided), add the required amount of water and press start. A basic Rice cooker has a thermostat inside it and the thermostat keeps track of the temperature and when the device hits the particular temperature required, the heat is reduced and the device turns itself off (or goes to warm mode in some cases). Also, using an electric rice cooker is way safer than using a stove as there is some possibility you might get a hand burn.
What are the advantages of using a Japanese rice cooker over a normal rice cooker?
Japan is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world. Be is warm toilet seats, be it vending machines or trains, Japan is way ahead of the rest of the world. So, why would it not when it comes to rice cookers?
Japan makes one of the best rice cookers in the world. There are lots of reason on why they are better than the regular rice cookers.
- Advanced Technology: They are able to make precise temperature adjustments in a short period of time.
- 3-Layered metal inner cooking pan: They usually have high quality 1.5mm thick inner pan which can heat rice up to 265° F and steam at a temperature of about 240° F. This ensures that each and every grain of rice is well cooked in a tasty and fluffy texture.
- Custom Cooking Timer: A Japanese rice cooker creates perfect meal every single time. Unlike the regular rice cookers, these cookers usually contain 2 preset cooking timers. So, you can get the rice cooked whenever you want without having to worry about pressing the button. Timer can be set to start cooking after a particular time. You can wake up in the morning and have the rice ready to eat.
- Warm Time: Unlike regular rice cookers, Japanese rice cooker has a longer warm time. Some of them can keep your meal warm up to 12 hours.
- Computerised menu settings: There are different settings for the particular meal you want. These options can help you make the rice of maximum sweetness and stickiness and they can help you cook rice in the shortest time possible as well. For different types of rice there are different functions.
Final Thought
You would probably be thinking even after all these features it is still a rice cooker, right? Well if you think these Japanese cookers can only cook rice then you’re wrong. They can cook more than just rice. These cookers are capable of cooking Sushi, Chocolate cakes, Rice cakes, Crispy Rice, Oatmeal, Eggs, Cinnamon Apples, Hardboiled eggs and many more.
