The very best rice cooker for 2026

Capability (cups): 6 cups (raw) / 12 cups (cooked) | Options: Twin stress cooking (excessive and delicate); 14 menu choices together with GABA rice, porridge, and scorched rice; nonstick internal pot; auto-clean operate; voice navigation in English, Korean, and Chinese language | Guarantee: 1 12 months restricted | Weight: 12.6 kilos

This higher-end Cuckoo model delivered the very best batches for all three grains of rice. Not solely did it make rattling good rice, it delivered in document time because of its pressurized cooking possibility. The Japanese-style white rice took a mere 29 minutes. The brown rice had a superbly agency texture, a superbly nutty taste and no hint of stickiness — all cooked in simply 43 minutes. I used the non-pressurized mode for the basmati spherical and that also solely took 37 minutes. And that was simply the presets; you too can customise to your tastes.

However I will be sincere, I’ve some reservations about recommending this mannequin. Each the white and brown rice had some crisping on the underside throughout my testing. It’s not clear if that is the “melanoizing” impact described within the handbook, or only a issue of the excessive stress mode. For a half-hour cook dinner time, I can overlook that. For a $260 price ticket, I am much less forgiving.

I additionally bumped into some problems with practicality. Just like the crimson Cuckoo Micom mannequin, the lid springs open arduous sufficient to rock your entire unit, and this one was additionally probably the most troublesome to scrub. There are further rubber gaskets within the lid that must be completely cleaned and dried earlier than the following use. And the rubber deal with for detaching the primary lid floor was ineffective; I needed to pry the factor off by the perimeters. I would not thoughts that with a inexpensive equipment, however for one thing this high-end, these little touches make a distinction.

Lastly, I do not counsel this mannequin for a mean cook dinner as a result of this equipment is downright intimidating. Cuckoo had probably the most troublesome to parse manuals, with some particulars probably misplaced in translation, and its menu settings had been oddly convoluted. As an example, I managed to modify the voice alerts to English (sure, there are very chipper and barely obnoxious voice alerts), however I needed to watch a YouTube video to determine turning them off utterly.

So whereas this was indubitably my best-performing mannequin purely by way of meals, it calls for plenty of its proprietor. Until you have got severe expectations of your rice, count on to make use of the machine on a near-daily foundation and are keen to deal with the educational curve, this equipment might be not price the associated fee. However in case you are that individual, you may be thrilled together with your funding.