Breville RC 3

...I don't own any other breville appliances - bar a 20 year old sandwich toasters, but I would buy one in future.

You can of course stick to using a boiling a pan full of water - but actually a rice cooker has been more useful than I thought it would be, I don't think I could do without one.

So is that rice as good as that I remember - yes it is - but I like to think my chilli is a big improvement on the 70's experience ... more

When I was a child my Hong Kong-living cousins came to visit for a while and my auntie brought a rice cooker with her.
Back in the 70's boil in the bag rice with a sloppy chilli con carne was as exotic as it got in our house - but with the arrival of my cousins there was a whole new world of delicious Cantonese dinners, a mince dish for breakfast and the most memorable fluffy white rice.

Now I cook a lot, but over the years even rinsing the rice, letting it stand or using a microwave I have never quite recreated the delicious rice I remember from my childhood.

I had long hankered after a rice cooker, but it was one of those things I had never got round to buying. At a little under £30 (Jan 2009 £25 at Amazon) this kind of gadget is still a bit of an outlay if it is going to gather dust in a cupboard.

I must admit that I got this rice cooker a little by accident. It was offered by a freecycler (www.freecycle.org) so wasn't something I had shopped around for. I feel qualified to review it as when I acquired the rice cooker it was as new and came complete with the handbook, scooper, measuring scoop and steaming tray that accompany the rice cooker.

The lady had passed this item on as it was too big for her use - it is advertised as a family rice cooker, and this is the use to which it has been put in this house.

So how does it cook the rice, and more importantly does it do the job well?

The cooker comes in two parts - there is an outer cool wall shell and an inner non stick and removable bowl with a 1.8 litre capacity. You plug the machine in, add rice and water and press the button.
The cooker cooks the rice and then keeps it warm ready for use, a buzzer lets you know when it is done.

The accompanying booklet gives you cooking times and quantities which I won't list here, but for a family of 4 it takes about 20 minutes for the rice to be ready. You cannot use "easy cook" rice in the cooker (well you can but it won't get good results), and wholegrain takes about 10 minutes more.

You use exactly the same amount of water as rice - so you could in fact use any measuring cup to get the quantity correct. It is pretty fool-proof.

So far the results have been fantastic and we use it at least once a week. The rice is always perfectly cooked and fluffy, not sticky. I add a splash more water than they say as otherwise I find the rice can stick to the bottom and get a little crispy if you are not eating it straight away.

This proved a great feature at a buffet where we used the cooker to full capacity to cook for a large number of people.

You can also use the cooker to steam vegetables - a great way to cook vegetables quickly whilst retaining vitamins and minerals - I have yet to try this as I have to admit I prefer the conveniance of my microwave, again the booklet provides full deatils.

The bowl cleans easily - my only criticism would be that the cooker is a little heavy to lift. I couldn't find any technical information as to how heavy exactly but my kitchen scales reckon a little under 6 kilos for the whole thing, the outer shell by itself being about3 and a bit kilos. It would be nice it they had thought how to store the cord when not in use.

Talking of the cord it is a little short - the cooker produces a little steam in use and I am always worried about the steam getting into the spotlights under my kitchen cupboards so a little more of a generous cord would have been nice.

The stainless steel walls of the cooker seem to dint easily after use, when e.g storing with other small appliances but the build quality is good in general.

I don't own any other breville appliances - bar a 20 year old sandwich toasters, but I would buy one in future.

You can of course stick to using a boiling a pan full of water - but actually a rice cooker has been more useful than I thought it would be, I don't think I could do without one.

So is that rice as good as that I remember - yes it is - but I like to think my chilli is a big improvement on the 70's experience - sorry mum!

(this review is also posted on dooyo under same user name) 

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