Cuisinart Rice Cooker

For modern rice cookers healthy cooking and design seem to be at opposite ends.

But with the Cuisinart rice cooker they have been brought together nicely. With the same form and function if its eight cup big brother the Cuisinart CRC-400 four cup rice cooker performs just as well. It has chrome-plated handles, glass lid with a brushed stainless steel exterior and square shape. The glass lid comes with a vent hole and a chrome knob.

The non-stick bowl can cook from 4 to 7 cups of rice and there is a stainless steel steaming basket included. You can steam veggies and thin cuts of meat at the same time for a healthy meal. Other things you can cook in this Cuisinart rice cooker is oatmeal, boiled eggs, shrimp, couscous and polenta. Gourmet recipes can be found in the included booklet such as Cranberry Wild Rice.

Don’t let the compact size of this mighty Cuisinart rice cooker fool you. It’s very attractive and cooks rice perfectly ever time. Keep in mind that when cooking the rice the rice cooker gets along the rim and lid but not so much on the side. You can expect some spits form the steam hole in the lid but that is to be expected and the lid is easy to clean. The recipe booklet has some rice to water ratios to help making the rice cooking process a little easier and helpful hints for steaming food while the rice is cooking.

To help reduce the amount of water coming from the steam hole use a little oil or butter. Olive oil spray works well also and it makes clean up easy. To help your jasmine rice cook its best rinse the rice once and evenly spread it around the rice cooker bowl. Use cold water when you rinse the rice and then use cold water to cook in it. When the rice is done let it stand a few minutes to let the flavors mix and mingle. If you are cooking long grain rice use 1 1/2 cups of water per cup of rice.

The biggest thing you will like about this Cuisinart rice cooker is its ability to make one dish meals. For example you can sauté rice pilaf ingredients and add rice. Let it cook for the specified time and enjoy. Just remember to follow the directions in the booklet so your meals come out perfect. Too much or too little water can make your one dish meal a mess. Overall this Cuisinart rice cooker delivers on heart healthy meals and a sleek design to match.