Zojirushi NS-LAC05 3-Cup Rice Cooker

After my husband bought me a $12 rice cooker that burned rice each and every time, I told him I would be in charge of buying rice cookers from now on. HA.

I got the best one I could find based on reviews: The Zojirushi NS-LAC05.  It has yet to disappoint me. Even my rice-burning husband can make perfectly cooked rice every time.

This is a Japanese, high-tech rice cooker that uses fuzzy logic (whatever that means.)  It is really very simple.  Using the measuring cup that comes with it, you add the number cups of rice that you want and then fill the (included) pot with water up the line indicating the number of cups of rice that were added.  Close lid.  Hit the menu button to select the type of rice you are cooking (Sushi Rice, Brown, White/Quick or Porridge).   The quick cook setting will get you ready-to-eat rice in 20 minutes!  A cool melody plays  to indicate that the cooking process has started.  When your rice is ready it'll alert you with another cool melody.

The rice cooker keeps the rice at the perfect temperature so you can eat it over several days. We can keep hot rice, ready to eat, for 3 or 4 days.

This is a quality-made product.  I can see how the heavy guage steel, non-stick coated pot that comes with it should last virtually forever.  It also comes with a measuring cup and rice paddle. 

The biggest qualm I have about this is that the included measuring cup is not exactly a one cup measure.  It's actually less than 1 cup.  They could have marked the measurements (scored inside the pot) based on 1-cup measurement for those models sold in the US just in case we lose the cup that came with it.

The 3-cup size is perfect for our family of 2 adults and 2 kids under the age of 2. If you have a larger family, 4 or more adults, consider the 5.5- or 10-cup model.