I bought a rice cooker, and it easily earns it's permanent space on the countertop. Having the ability to cook 5 (dry) cups of rice and have it stay warm for days is so convenient.
I haven't experienced any mold in mine. It's a sealed unit (outside of it venting during cooking) and I'm no mycologist but I'm sure that mold spores wouldn't be too appreciative of the cooking process.
Some times, also left over rice can be put in the refrigerator and then used for fried rice. Sometimes I'll just make as much as I need on that occasion. Either way it comes out perfectly every time.
Per the CDC: Bacteria can multiply rapidly if left at room temperature or in the “Danger Zone” between 40°F and 140°F. Never leave perishable food out for more than 2 hours (or 1 hour if exposed to temperatures above 90°F).
With mine, the rice is still pretty good after about 48h on the keep warm setting. It's still edible after 72 but starts to get too dried out at that point.
This is one I thoroughly do not understand, maybe because I have not tried it, but cooking rice is already so easy, why would i need a separare appliance for it?
my take is, if you are alone in the kitchen and doing multiple cooking tasks. then you have one less thing to worry about.
it is also good because even children can operate the rice cooker. so you can assign that very easy task to a person with little to no experience and just a minimum of instructions.
I thought the same thing for 20+ years. A nice rice cooker is great though. Ours has a yumcarb setting that my wife likes, which has a separate basket with holes in it. Most of the starch leaks out of the rice and pools below it.
I have a tiny kitchen so I appreciate being able to conveniently cook rice in the corner of one countertop, especially when I'm cooking with two pans on the stove.
An opposing viewpoint here, from a couple of rice snobs -- I've spent 30+ years (my entire life) with a rice cooker so I've never questioned not owning one.
Ours broke (the gasket did, after 10 years), and the company that made it no longer exists (Sanyo), so we tried just cooking rice on the stovetop for a year before we bought a new one. It's now been 2 years without a rice cooker, and we don't plan on buying one of those fancy Korean ones I've been eyeing.
We found the rice tastes better (a bit of burning at the bottom adds flavour), and we don't need another appliance taking up space. The only thing I miss is the keep warm functionality, but now we just freeze the leftover rice and microwave it (or make fried rice with it).
And now we have more counter and cupboard space to buy other gadgets, as we're cooking enthusiasts.
For large amounts of rice we luckily have a pressure cooker.
Otp got it. I have some in it right now that I made two nights ago. Texture wise, if I press down on it, it slowly springs back up. If that gives you a good sense of how it's holding up. & it's a sealed unit water can't escape once it's done cooking (it vents steam during that process)