I am tired of making rice in my Costco-bought Instant Pot. So I went to Yodobashi Akiba today to get a rice cooker and was amazed by just how many options are there. The section for rice cookers is huge! There are dozens of models from different brands, each boasting their cooking technology, different construction of cooking pots and so on. There was even a model with an LCD touch screen with a bunch of controls… on a rice cooker! When I was in student I was pretty happy by 3000 yen cooker bought in nearest home center so I was shocked to see models like that that go beyond 10man yen.
But my question is. Are these more expensive models worth it in your opinion? If you happen to own one, do you honestly think there is a significant difference in the taste and texture of the finished product? Maybe I won’t pay >10man yen for a rice cooker, but if there really is different in the end result I’m happy to pay maybe up to around 50k yen for a good, reliable unit that I hope will last my family for years.
If it matters, I am planning to cook plain Japanese rice to use in Japanese dishes, sushi, bento, etc. Maybe occasionally I will also cook long rice.
EDIT: Please feel free throw in your recommendations on models that you think are worth getting.
by vadibur