A rice cooker is an appliance that makes the process of cooking rice simpler and more independent of the cook. It is suitable for preparing rice meals unattended thus, saving the cook time. This is direct plug-in equipment which eliminates the need of a burner. The process involves a few simple steps that involve the cook because the cooker can run without any attendance.

Determine the amount of rice that will be enough for the meal and put it into the cooking pot. Different cooker sizes are designed for specific volumes of specific varieties of rice. It is important to ensure that the amount to be cooked will be accommodated by the available cooker bearing in mind that the result will be three times the volume of uncooked rice.

Rinse the rice in cold water until the water is considerably clean. Run tap water in the bowl while stirring the rice until the pot is full of water. Then drain as much water as you can. This procedure ensures that the rice is cleaned from any contamination before cooking. However, not all varieties of rice need rinsing. Some varieties are coated with nutrients which would dissolve in water if washed which can be avoided by following instructions on the packaging.

Rice that has been soaked in water for sometime before cooking yields better results. This procedure is recommended for preparing sticky rice varieties. It improves the texture of the grains by softening them. The manufacturers recipe can provide information on whether or not to soak a certain variety and for how long. Soaked rice may retain water in amounts that may affect the cooking water proportions therefore, thorough draining is required.

Add water into the cooking pot. The amount of water required to cook the rice fully depends on the variety being cooked and how moist the end result should be. Most cookers have marked out measurements on the sides of the cooking pots indicating the rice volume and the corresponding water volumes. Manual measurements can be taken with the manufacturer's instructions as indicated on the packaging.

Light seasoning additives such as salt, oil or butter can be added now if desired. Stir the rice and let it settle in level. Push in the grains that could be sticking on the walls of the pot into the water.

Close the lid and latch it tightly, place the pot into the cooker and connect it to the power supply. Switch into the cooking mode and leave to cook. Leave the lid in place through out the cooking until the equipment switches itself off, an indication that the rice is ready. The cooker will turn off when the water is evaporated at one 100 degrees Celsius. Different altitudes will require slight adjustments to ensure that the temperature levels are not attained before the rice is ready and to avoid overcooking.

The rice cooker turns into the warm mode automatically and you can leave it in this mode to keep the rice warm. Allow the rice to settle at steam off before serving. This minimizes the amount of rice that remains sticking on the pot. When stirring or serving rice use tool that will not scratch the inside of the pot and preferably a plastic spoon.

John McKain is the owner of several blogs including a rice cooker review blog. He has reviewed many rice cookers from top brands like Zojirushi, Sanyo and Panasonic. The Zojirushi NS ZCC10 rice cooker is the best rice cooker he recommends in his blog.

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