Those who have a humble and versatile rice cooker in their kitchen know how helpful it is. It allows you to cook rice by the press of a button. You might be wondering as to why we call them rice cookers when they are so versatile. It is probably because rice is possibly the most versatile meal base across cuisines.
A taco plate is incomplete without Spanish rice, so is risotto without Arborio or a hand roll without sushi rice. Thus, we see rice is the foundation for everyday meals from all across the globe and it’s probably because it’s healthy, economical and delicious irrespective of whether it is plain or with accompaniment. So, it makes perfect sense to have an appliance solely dedicated to cook this powerful food staple.
Let’s see few of the contemporary features of electric rice cooker that adds the convenience factor.
1. Pre-Program Settings: The advanced models come with pre-program settings and you don’t need to guess the time taken for cooking a particular food. Just put everything in it and press the desired setting. Now relax or complete some other chore as the rice cooker cooks the dish to perfection and you don’t need to check it in between.
2. Keep Warm: This is an extremely useful feature. Once the dish cooks, the rice cooker setting automatically shifts to this ‘keep warm’ mode. It keeps the food warm for extended hours and there is no hassle whatsoever of reheating the stuff.
3. Delay Start: This feature is a boon for those who are hard pressed for time or comes late and hungry from work. When you leave home, just put everything in the cooker, set the time and leave. At the designated time set by you, the rice cooker will start automatically and keep steaming hot food ready for you when you come.
4. Proper Cooking: Rice cookers come with a casing with a coil or heating pad. When you switch on the power supply, it is this heating element that heats up the liquid, which in turn forms the steam and the food gets cooked. It ensures that the food is evenly cooked throughout without the chances of being under cooked or overcooked.
5. Dessert Maker: This versatile appliance is not only for savoury dishes, but you can dole out great desserts too. You can use it to make banana pudding, chocolate lava cake, banana bread, kheer or even caramel sauce. So, it basically works as your conventional oven and much more.
By investing in a single appliance and utilising it fully, you can not only cook vast varieties of rice, but also use in many ways. You can use it for cooking dalia, khichdi, soups or even for steaming vegetables or momos. You can also use it to make some amazing desserts. Owning any appliance and utilising it to its full potential are two different things. Most of the people just utilise a fraction of it and for them it is only a rice cooker but you will reap the benefit of a very versatile appliance utilising it fully.
