No more rock hard rice (Cookworks Rice Cooker)

Name: fooyoo

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Product:	Cookworks Rice Cooker
Date:	17/10/04 (4116 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, quick, easy to use

Disadvantages: I now cook all of the time!!!

Pasta and rice are probably the basis of most of the meals in our house. I have never found pasta a problem to cook, but when it comes to rice, I alternate between cooking the rice for what seems like an eternity and still nearly cracking the enamel on my teeth when I eat it, to boiling it too quickly and being left with a sticky clump of grains. Never ever do I get the fluffy rice that I see on so many television adverts, and even boil in the bag isn’t foolproof I assure you!!

One day, whilst waiting in Argos to collect something, I spotted a display of various kitchen items, one of which was a rice cooker priced at £9.99. I did not give it much thought, and probably more down to boredom than anything else, I bought it there and then, thinking if it was rubbish, at least I had spent less than a tenner. The model I bought was the RCG-1500 which is in the current Argos catalogue for £17.99 (catalogue number 422/0790).

The cooker needs to be plugged into the mains, however the cord is detachable to make the cooker easy to move about, and also much easier to store. The cooker itself is made of a ceramic style material, and then the inner section is a removable metal dish, and this is all covered with a glass lid so you can keep an eye on what is being cooked at anytime. It is very simple to use. First off you choose how much rice you want to make, and remember that whatever quantity you start with will be doubled by the end of the cooking process. Each cup of rice must be matched with 1.25 cups of warm water. You place it all in the metal pan, and then slightly twist it to ensure that the heating element at the bottom of the cooker is in contact with the pan.

Switch the cooker on at the mains, and the indicator light will show yellow. Flick the cook switch and this will immediately change to red to indicate that the cooker is working. It is here that the rice cooker really becomes a winner for me. There are no timers to listen out for, or guide times that you have to follow, the cooker simply cooks the rice and switches off automatically when it is ready. This of course minimizes the chance of over/undercooking.

The indicator light then returns to yellow, and at this point you should leave the lid on for at least another 10 minutes, or until you are ready to eat, and this ensures that the rice is completely cooked. Once the rice is cooked, as I have said you don’t even have to eat it there and then as the cooker will keep it warm for at least 1-2 hours after cooking at a steady 60 – 80 degreees Celsius, although the longer you leave it, the less moist the rice becomes, and it does have a tendency to stick to the bottom of the pan a little.

It is easy to clean, and I find that simply putting the pan into some warm soapy water takes off any residue, and leaves the pan ready to go into action again. I also cook pasta in here if I am making a lot and don’t have the time to keep checking on it, and the results have been just as impressive. I would highly recommend this to you all, but be careful your other half will start to take liberties and leave you to do all of the cooking because you have a new toy!!!

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