The Art of Cuisine Cooking is in the Rice.

Rice has been a staple in our diet for a long time. After my daughter bought a Panasonic rice cooker we started looking for one that would serve our needs. We wanted one big enough to steam veggies but not so big we couldn’t put it on our counter in our travel trailer. We decided on the Cuisinart Rice Cooker CRC-800. This is an 8-cup rice cooker.

You might wonder why two people need eight cups. The truth is we don’t but we love to steam vegetables and found that the steaming basket in other brands and the one in the smaller Cuisinart was just too small.

I was very concerned about what the housing was made of. I did not want anything with Teflon. I didn’t want anything that was aluminum. However after doing lots of research I came to the conclusion that this is much more of a concern in frying pans rather than rice cookers. My daughter also did a lot of research. I called her from the store and she concurred with me.

We bought it at a retail store for $79.99.

Details:

The Cuisinart 8-cup rice cooker is very modern and sleek looking. Although the picture shows a white rice cooker it is not white. It’s the prettiest appliance on my counter. It has a smooth, brushed stainless steel outside.

It is square measuring 8 inches across which doesn’t include the two easy to use handles on each side. It is 8 inches deep by 7 3/4 inches high without the steaming unit which sits on top. With the steamer on it measures 11 3/4 inches high. We store it on the counter with the steamer on top. It is taken off to cook rice and the other grains.

The handles are chrome plated cool touch handles which don’t get hot so I can move the ricer if I want after the grain is done.

It comes with:

~ a hard plastic measuring cup with markers showing how much to fill up.

~ a rice paddle which is really nice. It is textured and does a nice job of fluffing up our rice. The paddle is designed so that the rice doesn’t stick to it and I have found that to be true.

~ a cook and warm indicator switch. All I do is press down on the switch on the front of the unit and the word cook lights up. When it automatically determines when the grain is done it switches over to a light up word that says warm.

~ a cooking pot. This pot has a non stick coating to prevent the rice from sticking. However the directions suggest spraying the bottom. The first time I used the rice cooker I thought the rice did stick a bit. My husband wasn’t concerned. He washed it and the rice came right off. Still I now spray a little Pam on the bottom. Having said that before I posted this I wanted to comment on this morning's breakfast. I made cream of rice cereal. I forgot to spray Pam and had no problem with the cereal sticking or washing the basket.

The cooking pot is marked inside from 2 cups to 8 cups.

~ a streaming tray. This is why we purchased this unit. It allows me to steam a variety of foods while the rice is cooking. So far other than veggies I have steamed salmon. The instruction and recipe booklet which it comes with suggests putting down lettuce on the bottom. This is because the tray has holes in it. I have found that if I am steaming something like salmon which are fairly large pieces I don’t have to put anything under it. The lettuce is just so nothing falls through the holes. The tray is 7 inches in diameter and 2 ½ inches deep.

~ a glass lid with a stainless steel rim and steam vent. The steam vent should always be toward the back of the machine when in use. I can look through the glass lid and see what’s cooking. The vent helps prevent splattering. I have not made 8 cups of rice or any grain and probably never will. Perhaps the splattering becomes an issue with that much rice. With 2 or 4 of the Cuisinart measuring cups and 4 to 8 cups using a regular measuring cup of water I have had no splattering.

Using my rice cooker:

Compared to some this is a no frills rice cooker. It couldn’t be easier to use. In addition to rice I cook Quinoa almost every morning. I tried Quinoa flakes but was concerned that it wouldn’t work because it is more mushy than granular but it worked perfectly. I must say that other than having coffee waiting for you in the morning this is the next best thing. My husband is delighted to find his breakfast all cooked and on warm after I’ve left the house. It is so simple even I am now cooking breakfast!

The rice will stay warm for up to 12 hours but I wouldn't suggest it. The most I've kept it on warm for is 4 hours.

It can be used to cook legumes as well.

Instead of water I have used vegetable broth which is fine to do and makes my rice really tasty.

We can steam veggies and food without having any rice in the basket which we often do.

Reheating in it works well. Since we are moving as much toward health as possible we are avoiding the microwave as much as possible. Our Cuisinart Rice Cooker comes in handy for that reason.

The removable parts are dishwasher safe and the cord is retractable.

To clean the rice cooker either put the cooking pot, steaming tray and lid in the dishwasher or most often I just wash it with warm soapy water.

The booklet has two pages of cooking charts to help you with your meals. There are 12 pages of recipes.

The ricer has a 3-year limited warranty.

Jo's final thoughts:

I have never owned a rice cooker before so I can't make comparisons. I do know this is simpler than many but at $80 it's a great buy. I am not going with 5 stars because perhaps I would have found one with more features for perhaps $20 more. However I am very happy with this purchase and won't hesitate to recommend it.

Please feel free to leave me a comment or question. Thanks for reading. jo