4 ms·

I thought that was all marketing nonsense and they actually work by detecting when the temperature spikes because the water has been consumed. If I head to hea

I thought that was all marketing nonsense and they actually work by detecting when the temperature spikes because the water has been consumed. If I head to head my zojirushi vs a bargain rice cooker with temperature detector, would I be able to tell the difference?

MisterTea 3y ago
The cheap cookers use a mechanical setup as there are no electronics. I have the cheapest Zojirushi 3-cup cooker where you just push down a lever. That lever mechanically latches a spring loaded mechanism that closes the heating element switch. The temperature will stay relatively stable as the water absorbs the heat keeping it at around 100 C. Once the water is evaporated from the bottom the temperature rises which trips a bimetallic mechanism releasing the spring loaded lever opening the heater switch. Stupid simple.
- kjellsbells 3y ago
  Tangential, but one reason zojirushi is a buy it for life product is because you can get spare parts for a very long time. I have a 20 year old zj with no fundamental failures beyond the cookpot getting old and dented, and zj part replacements are easy and cheap.
  - yborg 3y ago
    Try replacing the clock battery on a unit that has one :/
    - gomox 3y ago
      Disappointing aspect indeed, but the battery is only relevant to people that use the clock to set cooking times a lot AND ALSO keep their rice cooker unplugged. The intersection of those 2 groups is likely minimal, and the slight inconvenience of setting the time for the aforementioned group is not that bad.
- nosrepa 3y ago
  Or is it [reaching the curie point of a magnet to switch the heat off](https://youtu.be/RSTNhvDGbYI https://youtu.be/RSTNhvDGbYI)?
  - MisterTea 3y ago
    Good point. I haven't looked at mine but perhaps it is.
invalidator 3y ago
Mine consistently produces better rice than my old mechanical one. It's also slower. I think it does a more gentle temperature ramp than the mechanical one did.
gomox 3y ago
I replaced a crummy spring/latch one with a Zoji induction 3 cup and I would never go back to the old one. Rice is always evenly cooked and never stuck/toasted at the bottom, keep warm with tracking of elapsed time, countdown to being done, plus flexibility for lots of different type of rice and grains. Could you do the job with a cheap one? Sure, but you can always make rice on the stovetop as well if savings/space are a big priority. This is a convenience appliance, and the convenience of the fancy ones is a significant improvement over the basic ones.
- orbisvicis 3y ago
  When I cook rice I purposefully take the lid off and add 10 extra minutes to get that delicious crispy bottom.
  - YeGoblynQueenne 3y ago
    Tahdig! You can better control it if you wrap the lid in a towel and boil the rice on a low fire. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorched_rice#Iran https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorched_rice#Iran
- halfnormalform 3y ago
  The Zojirushi 3 cup induction is the highest scoring rice cooker tested by Consumers Union. It was expensive but it makes excellent rice and you don’t have to be precise with the water. I hope to have it for the rest of my life.

MisterTea 3y ago

The cheap cookers use a mechanical setup as there are no electronics. I have the cheapest Zojirushi 3-cup cooker where you just push down a lever. That lever mechanically latches a spring loaded mechanism that closes the heating element switch. The temperature will stay relatively stable as the water absorbs the heat keeping it at around 100 C. Once the water is evaporated from the bottom the temperature rises which trips a bimetallic mechanism releasing the spring loaded lever opening the heater switch. Stupid simple.

kjellsbells 3y ago
Tangential, but one reason zojirushi is a buy it for life product is because you can get spare parts for a very long time. I have a 20 year old zj with no fundamental failures beyond the cookpot getting old and dented, and zj part replacements are easy and cheap.
- yborg 3y ago
  Try replacing the clock battery on a unit that has one :/
  - gomox 3y ago
    Disappointing aspect indeed, but the battery is only relevant to people that use the clock to set cooking times a lot AND ALSO keep their rice cooker unplugged. The intersection of those 2 groups is likely minimal, and the slight inconvenience of setting the time for the aforementioned group is not that bad.
nosrepa 3y ago
Or is it [reaching the curie point of a magnet to switch the heat off](https://youtu.be/RSTNhvDGbYI https://youtu.be/RSTNhvDGbYI)?
- MisterTea 3y ago
  Good point. I haven't looked at mine but perhaps it is.

invalidator 3y ago

Mine consistently produces better rice than my old mechanical one. It's also slower. I think it does a more gentle temperature ramp than the mechanical one did.

gomox 3y ago

I replaced a crummy spring/latch one with a Zoji induction 3 cup and I would never go back to the old one. Rice is always evenly cooked and never stuck/toasted at the bottom, keep warm with tracking of elapsed time, countdown to being done, plus flexibility for lots of different type of rice and grains. Could you do the job with a cheap one? Sure, but you can always make rice on the stovetop as well if savings/space are a big priority. This is a convenience appliance, and the convenience of the fancy ones is a significant improvement over the basic ones.

orbisvicis 3y ago
When I cook rice I purposefully take the lid off and add 10 extra minutes to get that delicious crispy bottom.
- YeGoblynQueenne 3y ago
  Tahdig! You can better control it if you wrap the lid in a towel and boil the rice on a low fire. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorched_rice#Iran https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorched_rice#Iran
halfnormalform 3y ago
The Zojirushi 3 cup induction is the highest scoring rice cooker tested by Consumers Union. It was expensive but it makes excellent rice and you don’t have to be precise with the water. I hope to have it for the rest of my life.