Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsCooks Consistently Good Pots of Rice, Easy to Operate, Attractive Unit
Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2016
After over a decade of rice service from our trusty Zojirushi Fuzzy Logic Rice Cooker, the cooker finally broke down and I had to search for a new rice cooker to replace the old. After hearing many great things about Tiger Rice Cookers and the effectiveness of Induction Heating, we decided to throw down for the $300 rice cooker. I'm very pleased with the purchase - the Tiger IH Rice Cooker works fantastically at cooking various varieties of rice, porridge, breads, and main dishes. The unit operates quietly, the inner pot is very thick and durable, and the unit cooks with great consistency. In terms of overall functionality, it's very similar to the Fuzzy Logic Zo, but the Tiger cooks a bit more effectively and efficiently. The rice from the Tiger is a bit better in terms of texture, and the cook time is just a bit shorter.
The features on the Tiger are great. The lid is completely removable for easy cleaning of both the lid, and the inner rim of the electronic part of the rice cooking pot. There are three parts to the lid: the venting cap, the cooking cover, and the lid itself. On the Zo, the venting cap would often get filled with gunk, and since it wasn't removable, it was difficult to clean. The Tiger's removable venting cap and lid allows you to easily clean the entire top of the rice cooker. These two components don't need to be cleaned as often as the inner cooking cover. The inner cooking cover is also removable and can be cleaned individually after each individual cook. One thing I like in particular about the removable lid is that I can access the area directly under the lid where the main body of the rice cooker is. This section often gets filled with water and food debris when the lid is opened. Unlike the Zo, I'm able to get this area completely clean. To remove the upper lid, simply remove the inner lid cover, the venting cap, then pull the lid straight up. There will be an orange section that will stay on the rice cooker - this section doesn't get dirty, and does not need to be removed to clean.
The inner cooking pot is very thick and durable. Unlike the Zo cooking pot, this pot is not easily scratched, and feels much more heavyweight. The cooking pot can cook up to (uncooked) 5.5 c of plain white rice, 5 c ultra rice, 3.5 c of brown rice, 3 c of sweet rice, 5.5 c of Jasmine rice, as well as porridge and bread. You can also slow cook main dishes in the unit with or without rice - there is a small orange steam basket that can be used in conjunction with the rice cooker to make small main dishes while the rice cooks. I've tested out various rices with this unit including sweet rice, brown rice, white sushi rice, Jasmine rice, and Basmati rice with all great results. The rice cooker soaks and cooks the rices at the appropriate temperature, and the result is always consistent: soft fluffy rice with no crust on the bottom of the pan. Because the pot is heated all over as opposed to just the bottom like most standard rice cookers, the rice is cooked very evenly, and doesn't have that brown crust on the bottom. This unit does take much longer than standard one button rice cookers (due to soak time), but cooks a bit faster than most Micom and Fuzzy Logic Cookers. For those who like to bake bread, there is also a ferment (a rise) function as well as a bake function. I've used the rice cooker to help rise my breads, and it does a fine job. As for baking, it's okay, but not nearly as good as baking bread in the oven.
The controls of the rice cooker are straight forward, and the unit is very simple to use. If you've set the rice cooker to a particular setting (such as brown rice), it will stay on that setting until you change it. It will not reset after each cook. The screen is large and easy to see, and while in operation, the unit makes a soft fan sound. The outside of the rice cooker heats up a bit while in operation, but not so hot where it would burn fingers. One thing I wasn't happy to see about this unit is that there is no retractable cord. Having enjoyed hiding the cord on my Zo, I would've liked to see the cord hidden on the Tiger unit, but because I don't deal with the cord often, it isn't a huge deal to me. This unit comes with a specially designed rice paddle that fits on the side of this cooker, an orange steamer basket, a small sturdy plastic ladle, and a standard rice measuring cup as well.
Overall, this rice cooker may be expensive, but it cooks fantastic rice. Considering we eat rice every day, this unit is worth the cost for consistently good rice. It's sturdy, durable, and we're looking forward to make many rice meals for years to come.