The digital interface is both stylish and incredibly easy to use, making it ideal for keen cookers who are trying out pressure cooking for the first time. Another important point is that it does not cause clutter in the kitchen, which is another way to save time.

Russell Hobbs 19750 Rice Cooker and Steamer, 1.8L, Silver

All you have to do is put your hard rice and water in the cooker and wait for the perfectly fluffy rice to emerge. There's an LED timer display as well as beep that will let you know when it's ready, but the automatic keep-warm function will ensure your food stays ready to serve for hours. Though a rice cooker may not be a staple kitchen gadget, for anyone who eats rice regularly – or wants to try cooking a wider range of Asian dishes – it’s an essential item.The keep-warm function is ideal if you're not great at getting everything ready at the same time, or for any latecomers. Some cookers, such as the ​​ Yum Asia Bamboo Induction, use computer chips to sense the progression of cooking, constantly adjusting the timings for the best results. This is an advanced rice cooker, and for the money, you get four multicooker features including cake baking and making porridge. If you’ve never used a rice cooker before or you’re looking to put the one you have to better use, we’ve put together this helpful guide to teach you all the basics so you can be confident you’ll produce perfect rice every time. Most manufacturers recommend a wait time of five minutes, but you can experiment with rest times to find what works for you.

RUSSELL HOBBS 19750 RICE COOKER INSTRUCTIONS MANUAL | ManualsLib RUSSELL HOBBS 19750 RICE COOKER INSTRUCTIONS MANUAL | ManualsLib

They will all cook and keep your rice warm, and some have a digital display timer so you can see how much cooking time is left. Even if cooking times are long, this isn’t necessarily a disadvantage – some of the models with the longest cooking times also produced the best quality rice.

From a colourful, fragrant paella to a rich and crispy Katsu curry, it's the key ingredient in many of our favourite dishes. It’s therefore equally as useful for a solo weeknight dinner as it is for serving guests at the weekend.