The GABA setting is another unique cooking option that supposedly releases additional nutrients from brown rice by germinating the grain. We couldn’t ascertain whether the rice was more nutrient-dense during testing, but its texture was noticeably softer and it certainly had a slightly different taste. There’s also a porridge setting, which can be used to make congee and a crust setting for Persian Tahdig. You can also steam, bake cakes and slow cook in the Bamboo Induction, making it a truly multifunctional cooker. That depends on which rice cooker you're using. All should at least be able to cook white, basmati and brown/wholegrain rice; however, some can also cook other types, such as risotto or sushi rice. Useful indicator lights for when the rice cooker is cooking or on the keep-warm setting are a plus, and the more straightforward it is to switch on, the better. Portions and cups are not the same Rice cookers always measure rice in cups, as it's a more straightforward way to work out rice-to-water ratios (eg one cup of white rice usually needs one cup of water). But cups are often much bigger than portions – one cup is 150-180g of rice, and Bupa recommends that 75g of rice is one portion.

The keep-warm setting will impact the quality of your rice Although the drop in quality was slight with the best models we tested, we found that after being left for an hour on the keep-warm setting at least a slight drop in the quality of the rice was inevitable. The rice will likely be drier and need some fluffing before you serve it. We assess how simple each rice cooker is to set up for the first time, how helpful the instructions are for assembling it, and the advice it gives on capacities and water-to-rice ratios. Advice on cooking times is also a plus. One feature that every rice cooker has – as everyone will use it – is the “keep warm” feature. Once your rice has finished cooking, the rice cooker will keep it warm for you so you can top up your plate or have a hot dinner on standby for anyone coming home late.A rice cooker allows you to leave the rice cooking unattended and also keep your rice warm, meaning you can leave it covered for a little while without the worry it will go cold or need reheating. If you're unsure about what to expect from using a rice cooker, we've listed some handy tips below that we discovered during our testing to help you cook your rice the way you like it: Your cooking options in a rice cooker can really be expanded if you're able to set it to cook for specific times, though. There are plenty of recipes online on how to cook rice pudding in a rice cooker, for example, but you'll need to be able to program it to cook for a set time. If you can't, your rice cooker won't be smart enough to know that there's milk, sugar and other extra ingredients in there, so it won't be likely to cook for the right amount of time.

Some cheap rice cookers will turn off the heating element once the boiling point has been reached and maintained for a set period; others will cease boiling once the weight of the bowl’s contents has decreased past a certain point, due to the rice absorbing some water with the rest boiled away as excess steam. At this point, your rice should be ready to eat. Some rice cookers can also be used to steam meat and vegetables. Those that can will come with a steamer tray that sits above where your rice and water sits during cooking. Plenty of rice cookers come with recipes for steamed meals you can enjoy with your rice. Other rice cookers can double up as pans or sauté pans. Lots of people search for answers to this question. However, all the rice cookers we tested seemed safe after we used each one four times and followed the instructions. When using a rice cooker, take care to avoid steam vents and avoid touching any part of the cooking pot that might be exposed.We cook supermarket own-brand white basmati rice and wholegrain rice in each rice cooker, always following the rice cooker's instructions on water-to-rice ratios (where given).