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Best Small Rice Cookers: Comparison Table
When doing rice cooker shopping it is obvious that you will come across a lot of brands that offer a good quality cooker that have admirable features that you desire. However, choosing just one that will handle all your rice cooking needs is difficult that is why we have highlighted the 5 best small rice cooker reviews that should help you in getting exactly what you want.
Best Overall: Best Price - Aroma ARC-753SG Simply Stainless Steel Rice Cooker Review
The Aroma ARC-753SG can cook both white rice and brown rice yet it doesn't tackle the same amount of cups for each type. There is no non-stick Teflon or aluminium to worry about. There is also a glass lid to check how the rice is being cooked inside. The machine also boasts useful lights that help you know how the process is going.
This is a very easy to use rice cooker with simple controls that allows you to end up with perfectly cooked rice. You need not keep checking the cooking since it is automatic and the keep warm ensures that your rice will stay warm till you serve.
When you no longer need the keep warm feature all you need to do is unplug the device.
Why We Like It
- Up to six cups of cooked rice
- One-touch setting for cooking, steaming and keeping warm
- Serving spatula and measuring cup
- It has stainless steel cooking pot that is very easy to clean
- Multifunction feature allows you to prepare stews and soups
- Very solid and well made
Compact And Easy To Use: Most Reliable - Zojirushi NS-LAC05XT Micom 3-Cup Rice Cooker and Warmer Review
The Zojirushi NS-LAC05XT has stood the test of time. It flew off shelves at major retail warehouses for quite some time. It is an astonishing piece of kitchen appliance that cooks rice perfectly. It uses a 450-watt motor and it's also affordable. This product can easily be used by both seasoned cooks and beginners as well.
This rice cooker allows you to cook different kinds of rice and even steam vegetables due to its effective and easy controls. It is automatic thus it handles everything for you depending on what you are cooking which is important if you don’t want to end up with burnt rice.
If you're looking for quality, you've found it!
Why We Like It
- It makes about 6 cups of rice meaning it is small that is suitable for small kitchens
- Thick black pan that allows even cooking
- Automatic keep warm that sets in after cooking
- Stainless steel exterior that makes it easy to clean
Perfect For One/Two Servings: Panasonic SR-3NA Automatic 1.5 Cup Rice Cooker Review
The Panasonic SR-3NA is a must have. If you're thinking that you don't need a rice cooker and believe it's an unnecessary kitchen gadget you'd better think again. This product makes perfectly cooked rice and actually elevates the standards in the industry.
Achieve perfect rice with this multifunctional rice cooker that you can also use for cooking much more than just rice. The automation allows it to know how much time it would take to cook rice to perfection thus you do not need to worry if you are a bit busy.
The Panasonic SR-3NA boasts a beautiful glass lid, many accessories and the one-step automatic cooking option. It's very easy to use and it's perfect for anyone who wants to switch from manual to automatic rice cooking.
Why We Like It
- It offers a number of options for cooking different types of rice
- They come in a variety of sizes to suit each and every need
- Nonstick inner pan for easy cleaning and to prevent burning of rice
- Fully automatic cooking
Buyer’s Guide: All You Need to Know About the best small rice cooker
The Benefits Of Small Rice Cookers
In order to be able to wisely decide on the rice cooker that is perfect for your needs, you need to identify the benefits that it offers, otherwise you will not enjoy it. These benefits of small rice cookers are what sets them apart from the other rice cookers that are on the market. The benefits also help you in determining any additions that you may need to make sure that your rice cooker is performing optimally.
Multi-functional cooker
These cookers have the ability of cooking different kinds of rice such as brown rice or the white one. They are also useful in that they can be used to prepare a number of different dishes such as porridge, soups and even steam vegetables.
They are relatively small
Their small size makes them perfect for a small family or for individual use. It is also a good thing since this assures you that it will not consume a lot of your kitchen space especially if you have limited space available.
Keep warm feature
This allows you to keep your rice warm in case you do not need it immediately done. This feature also allows you to reheat the rice when you are ready to serve it which ensures that you have fresh and hot rice hours after you have it ready.
Non-stick pan
These rice cookers come with a non-stick pan that ensures that the rice does not stick on to the pan while cooking, also making your cleaning much easier since you will be saved the burden of scrapping food off it.
Best Small Rice Cooker Pros And Cons
Pros of Best Small Rice Cooker
- Best small rice cookers are multifunctional, allowing you to cook any type of rice you want or other dishes such as chili or soups.
- The keep warm function best small rice cooker the food allowing it to remain warm long after you are done with the cooking. Since they are small in size, they occupy very little counter space and are thus suitable for small kitchens.
- Best small rice cookers are fully automated which requires you simply push a button and everything will be taken care of.
- Convenience. Best small rice cookers are easy to clean and easy to store.
- The removable non-stick pans allow for easy cleaning.
- Best small rice cookers come with handy accessories such as a spatula, steaming tray and measuring cups for precise measuring of rice.
Cons of Best Small Rice Cooker
- Best small rice cookers are not suitable for large families since they have limited capacity.
- Best small rice cookers voltage differences in different areas may cause it to malfunction.
- Some models can be very expensive, even though they are small.
How To Choose Best Small Rice Cooker?
Size
It is important to look at the size of the rice cooker that you are buying in comparison to the amount of rice that you will approximately be cooking each time. This will help you to purchase what is just right for you and not end up with a cooker that cannot meet your needs. In addition to this, size is essential as it can take much counter space. Always evaluate your needs and check if you really need a small or big rice cooker.
Since rice cookers measure the capacity by the cup, this is a very important factor to take into account.
Heating technology
Different rice cookers use different means of heating such as fuzzy logic or pressure cooking. These ways all play a huge part in the quality of rice that you will get and this is why it should be one of the things that you look out for when you are buying your rice cooker.
You won’t find many small rice cookers that use induction heating, but you’ll probably not need something sophisticated if you’re cooking for 1-2 persons.
Design
You should make sure that the best rice cooker that you buy matches with the design of your kitchen and of course your personal preferences. The rice cooker should fit in perfectly in your kitchen.
Small rice cookers, as bigger ones do, fit into three design patterns: cool-touch style, egg-shaped or pot style. Go for a small pot-style rice cooker if it’s your first one. This is based on the original Japanese design, but the cool-touch machines reduce the risk of injury as they are completely cool on the outside. The egg-shaped products boast a futuristic and sleek design. This allows for a complex or simple panel of digital programming in front of the pot. Go for the latter if you want restaurant quality rice.
Usage
There are some people who eat ice on a daily basis while others only do so once in a while therefore their requirements will be a bit different. If you’re an avid rice lover go for a fuzzy logic device which doesn’t have a steep learning curve. The same goes for small rice cookers, too.
Make sure it’s easy to use. A personal rice cooker should be your best friend in this case.
Clean up
No one likes to spend a long time in cleaning just one piece of an appliance or not being able to clean out the entire food residue. This is why you should make sure that the rice cooker you pick is easy to disassemble so as to clean effectively. A one cup rice cooker will be easier to clean than six cup machine.
Price
The prices of rice cookers range from very affordable to equally expensive so make sure that you buy a rice cooker that is within your budget so as not to overspend or underspend if you can afford much more. For instance, a travel rice cooker, which obviously aims to save space, will not be as efficient as a high-end small rice cooker.
Warranty
While it is true that different brands give different warranty periods, you should not purchase a rice cooker that has less than one year warranty since this will expose you to many risks if it breaks down.
Add-Ons
These are not found in every brand, however, they are important since they make your cooking experience much more pleasant. They include spatula, measuring cup, steam tray and sometimes a cook book. Make sure you get what you need included in that package. However, a mini rice cooker (1 cup) will not have too many add ons, so you’ll probably not be able to use it as a food processor.
Verdict and our recommendation for 2020
Small rice cookers are essential appliances that you need to have in your kitchen since they help in ensuring that you end up with well-cooked rice each and every time. They also allow you to explore different types of cooking while giving you the chance to carry on with other activities as they handle all the cooking. We at mykitchenadvisor believe that keeping in mind the above factors will help you choose the perfect rice cooker for your needs. Aroma ARC-753SG Simply Stainless Steel Rice Cooker is number one for our experts: it is compact, versatile and easy-to-use. Its quality and look will fit every kitchen.
Know that it is essential to assess your needs before buying the best small rice cooker. We’ve filtered and read hundreds of reviews to obtain the absolute best information out there, so we hope this article will help you in your journey to finding the best rice cooker.
