Next, either add water to the cooking pan with the measuring cup included or add water to the indicated fill level inside the pan, depending on your model cooker. For Indian style rices like Basmati or Jasmine, less water is needed as a drier rice is desired, use no more than 1 1/2 cups of water per 1 cup of rice. Hearst UK is the trading name of the National Magazine Company Ltd, 30 Panton Street, Leicester Square, London, SW1Y 4AJ. Some of the cooking pots and lids are, but even then, on the ones we tested, it wasn't recommended that you clean them in the dishwasher as it will dull the non-stick material over time. Pricier rice cookers can handle other types – notably short-grain rice, the type used in risotto as well as Thai and Japanese dishes, and more unusual rice-based dishes using presets chosen from a control panel on the front of the rice cooker.

The various settings work well, and although the rice cooking performance isn’t up to the standards of the Sage, and far less refined more expensive models, it puts in a solid performance across the board. Drain water through a sieve or tip the bowl slowly while catching fallen rice grains with your hand. With a generous 800ml capacity, this rice cooker is ideal for a dinner party as it can cook four cups of rice at once. The most advanced rice cookers use fuzzy logic to work out optimal cooking times and can make automatic adjustments for the best results.Set your slow cooker to high and set the timer for 2 hours (or check after around 2 hours if your model doesn’t have a built-in timer). Short grain rice, on the other hand, should stick together and be fluffy and soft too – much more so than long grain rice. It can make up to ten cups of rice and features fuss-free controls, an auto-switch-off after cooking and a keep-warm function – great for big family dinners, entertaining or weekend batch cooking.

The ingenious little tub means there’s no more watching over your saucepan, worrying about whether your rice is too wet or too dry. Many rice cookers we tried struggled to cook brown rice thoroughly and evenly, but this model surpassed itself. Its casing is a breeze to wipe clean but the rim of the lid traps dirt and the pot isn’t dishwasher-safe.

You can also steam, bake cakes and slow cook in the Bamboo Induction, making it a truly multifunctional cooker. The risotto was a touch on the dry side at first but we added a little more liquid the second time around and that helped.