Do I need a rice cooker?

Nothing. Waste of materials, manufacturing and money.

Waste a load of space in your kitchen.

I like mine a lot, and use it all the time. The main reason is that you can just throw the rice in and forget about it while you prepare everything else, and when you are ready to eat the rice is there, always perfectly cooked, warm and ready.

Rice cookers simplify the process by automatically controlling the heat and timing, while at the same time freeing up a heating element on the range. Although the rice cooker does not necessarily speed up the cooking process, the cook’s involvement in cooking rice with a rice cooker is reduced to simply using the correct amount of water. Once the rice cooker is set to cook, the rice will be cooked with no further attention.
Basically, it’s like owning a coffee machine. But with rice instead of coffee. Obviously, if you don’t eat rice everyday, then it will be useless to own.

Rice cookers are neat, but if you’re not eating rice all the time totally not worth it

Here in Louisiana, if you do not own a rice cooker of any size, you are considered a “yankee” and snickered at behind your back. :)

We got a rice cooker recently. My husband (a chef) hates working on electric stoves, which is what we have now..he kept ruining the rice, so we had to get one.

I have to say: do you eat rice a lot? My family eats a lot of rice and can’t imagine life without a rice cooker (we have a nice Japanese one…got it in Japantown). It cooks it for you and has different settings for different types of rice; you don’t have to keep an eye on it on the stove, most rice cookers can also steam vegetables, and it keeps the rice warm while not using up a pot.

The reason I enjoy my rice cooker is because it makes perfect rice every time and automatically stops cooking when the rice is done/keeps it warm until I unplug the machine. I fail miserably at making rice in a pot on my electric stove, I can never get it consistent and it requires all my attention to not over or undercook it. Plus doing my rice in the rice cooker leaves me with a pot to cook with. Thus a rice cooker is perfect for me.

I also recently bought a tortilla press, which some may consider a silly gadget to have, but for us who make tortillas and other flatbreads regularly, it will save tons of time and effort versus rolling them out on the countertop.

If you feel you do fine with a pot, then by all means stick with it. But for those of us who don’t do fine with a pot, or those who eat tons of rice, that’s why the rice cooker exists :)

I tried cooking rice in a wok. Wow that was horrible

One thing you don’t mention is cleanup. Have you ever tried to clean a pot after you have cooked rice in it? I’m lucky enough to be able to make great rice in a pot but I just bought a rice cooker. Of course, being from South Carolina, we will use it enough to justify it.

Rice is wonderful. So YES, get one. Unless you disagree with the first statement, then don’t get one.

I’ve been thinking about getting a rice cooker myself because I eat a lot of brown rice. However, when I cook rice in a pot, I flavor it with powdered chicken consomme and onion seasoning. Can you add seasoning into a rice cooker or is it a strictly rice-and-water affair?

I add small frozen veggies and other things to my rice cooker to save time in cooking, @drdoombot, so I think you’d be fine putting other things in as well.

My roommate last year bought a rice cooker. It was a fantastic addition to the kitchen. Perfect rice, every time. I miss that rice cooker.

Reasons to get a rice cooker:
1. Cheap
2. Delicious rice
3. Easy cleanup
4. Extra stovetop to use
5. Tasty, tasty rice
6. Keeps rice warm
7. Did I mention the rice tastes really good?

Reasons not to get a rice cooker:
1. Takes up some space
2. You don’t like tasty rice

who doesn’t like tasty rice ;)

@drdoombot Yes, you can add seasonings, herbs, and even veges. If you have rice at least once a week, yes. As you have read above, they cook perfect rice everytime, with a quick clean up after, and also steam vegetables.

ABSOLUTELY.
I have a fairly cheap one. I put the rice in with water, wait 45 minutes and it’s ready to eat.
That’s literally all I have to do to cook the rice.
No boiling water, no checking on the rice, no making sure it doesn’t spill out of the pot, no worries about burning the rice (Cook function turns off and just stays to a “keep warm” mode).
A few months ago I forgot about my rice and let it cook for an hour or two extra, it was just fine when I ate it. Don’t do that on a stove.

I cook my rice a roni in there as well (Microwave the rice with the butter as instructed for 2 minutes, and then just pour that into the rice cooker with 2 cups of water, wait 45 minutes, done).

I can’t recommend a rice cooker enough.

I have a Rice Cooker… her name is Yuuka, she cleans too.

I agree—if you eat a lot of rice (or you just enjoy rice), a rice cooker is the way to go, especially if your stove is persnickety and doesn’t like to go low enough to steam rice correctly. Also, if you eat brown rice, it’s easier to just put the rice in the cooker and walk away than to hover over it for 30–45 minutes.

Rice is good. (You can make onigiri a lot easier with a rice cooker, too.)