The most effective rice cooker for 2026

Capability (cups): 6 cups (raw) / 12 cups (cooked) | Options: Twin strain cooking (excessive and gentle); 14 menu choices together with GABA rice, porridge, and scorched rice; nonstick internal pot; auto-clean operate; voice navigation in English, Korean, and Chinese language | Guarantee: 1 12 months restricted | Weight: 12.6 kilos

This higher-end Cuckoo model delivered the perfect batches for all three grains of rice. Not solely did it make rattling good rice, it delivered in document time because of its pressurized cooking choice. The Japanese-style white rice took a mere 29 minutes. The brown rice had a superbly agency texture, a superbly nutty taste and no hint of stickiness — all cooked in simply 43 minutes. I used the non-pressurized mode for the basmati spherical and that also solely took 37 minutes. And that was simply the presets; you can too customise to your tastes.

However I will be trustworthy, I’ve some reservations about recommending this mannequin. Each the white and brown rice had some crisping on the underside throughout my testing. It’s not clear if that is the “melanoizing” impact described within the guide, or only a issue of the excessive strain mode. For a half-hour prepare dinner time, I can overlook that. For a $260 price ticket, I am much less forgiving.

I additionally bumped into some problems with practicality. Just like the pink Cuckoo Micom mannequin, the lid springs open exhausting sufficient to rock the complete unit, and this one was additionally essentially the most tough to wash. There are additional rubber gaskets within the lid that need to be totally cleaned and dried earlier than the subsequent use. And the rubber deal with for detaching the primary lid floor was ineffective; I needed to pry the factor off by the perimeters. I would not thoughts that with a cheaper equipment, however for one thing this high-end, these little touches make a distinction.

Lastly, I do not counsel this mannequin for a mean prepare dinner as a result of this equipment is downright intimidating. Cuckoo had essentially the most tough to parse manuals, with some particulars probably misplaced in translation, and its menu settings had been oddly convoluted. As an illustration, I managed to modify the voice alerts to English (sure, there are very chipper and barely obnoxious voice alerts), however I needed to watch a YouTube video to determine turning them off fully.

So whereas this was certainly my best-performing mannequin purely when it comes to meals, it calls for loads of its proprietor. Until you’ve got critical expectations of your rice, anticipate to make use of the machine on a near-daily foundation and are keen to sort out the training curve, this equipment might be not value the fee. However in case you are that particular person, you will be thrilled together with your funding.