One of the best rice cooker for 2026

Capability (cups): 6 cups (raw) / 12 cups (cooked) | Options: Twin strain cooking (excessive and tender); 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 yr restricted | Weight: 12.6 kilos

This higher-end Cuckoo model delivered the most effective batches for all three grains of rice. Not solely did it make rattling good rice, it delivered in report time due to its pressurized cooking possibility. The Japanese-style white rice took a mere 29 minutes. The brown rice had a wonderfully agency texture, a fantastically 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 may as well customise to your tastes.

However I will be sincere, 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 handbook, 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 crimson Cuckoo Micom mannequin, the lid springs open exhausting sufficient to rock your complete unit, and this one was additionally essentially the most troublesome to scrub. There are additional rubber gaskets within the lid that must be totally cleaned and dried earlier than the subsequent use. And the rubber deal with for detaching the principle lid floor was ineffective; I needed to pry the factor off by the perimeters. I would not thoughts that with a inexpensive equipment, however for one thing this high-end, these little touches make a distinction.

Lastly, I do not recommend this mannequin for a median prepare dinner as a result of this equipment is downright intimidating. Cuckoo had essentially the most troublesome to parse manuals, with some particulars probably misplaced in translation, and its menu settings had been oddly convoluted. For example, 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 for sure my best-performing mannequin purely when it comes to meals, it calls for a number of its proprietor. Except you could have critical expectations of your rice, anticipate to make use of the machine on a near-daily foundation and are prepared to deal with the educational curve, this equipment might be not value the price. However in case you are that individual, you will be thrilled along with your funding.