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List Price: $350.00
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I've had this rice maker for about 7 months. I vacillated for over a year before making my purchase--not only was the price scaring me off, but this model had been on the market for a while and I wanted to see if anything new and even better came out. However, when I read the mediocre reviews of the newest Zojirushi models--and prices nearing $450!--I thought it was about time I bit the bullet and shelled out for this rice cooker.
This was possibly THE best purchase I've made in the past five years. I ended up getting it for about $30 less via the auction site that everyone's familiar with, but Amazon's price is pretty darn competitive. I opted for the 3-cup model because I'm by myself most of the year and wanted something that could handle smaller batches (as little as 1/2 cup in this case!) for when I'm just cooking for myself, but had the flexibility to handle larger quantities. This size is perfect for a 1-4 person household (3 cups of cooked rice is closer to 6 servings). Ease of use is amazing. I've made short-grain Japanese rice, short-grain brown rice, rice and azuki beans, and mixed-grain rice (a blend of brown and wild rices, in various combinations over the months I've had it). I use it pretty much every night for rice, and almost every morning for my favorite use of this machine: the most perfect steel-cut oatmeal you could possibly ask for. I did get a rice-cooker cookbook to help me fine-tune my ratios, but I find that the best oatmeal is if you use 1.5:1 water/oatmeal ratio, then stir in 1/2 c. whole milk once it's done cooking and let it "warm" for another 5 min. I have had rave reviews about my oatmeal and it's so. darn. easy.
Like another reviewer mentioned, if you add in flavors (in my case, cinnamon/vanilla for the oatmeal, I haven't played around much with savory fare save for plain rice) there's a bit of a ghost of that flavor the next time you make plain rice. I think it might be because of the silicone seal to the steamer lid. I don't mind it much, and I suppose if you're VERY sensitive to any sort of flavor (it only lasts the one batch) you could run a small (1/2 c.) batch first to "steam" out the flavors--this seems wasteful to me, but it's an idea to try if this is an issue for you.
The rice itself comes out absolutely perfect. You'll be amazed at how much flavor this little machine draws out of white rice and brown rice. I was never a huge fan of brown rice (too mealy/chewy) but when I make it in this bad boy, it's so, so good. You'll be a convert!
My favorite part of this machine is the cleanup. If an appliance is too fiddly to clean, I know it'll end up gathering dust--but this machine couldn't be easier. There's a detachable inner lid that catches the splash from the cooking rice that I wash right away, and I remove the steam cover in the back (this sounds arcane, but it's snapping two things off and takes about 3 seconds; the manual is great for explaining it). Then I let the actual nonstick bowl dry out. You heard me--I let it dry on there. Then, it's as easy as wiping out the rice "paper" film you've made with a paper towel. Seriously. Even with oatmeal that would normally cake on there: don't soak, don't scrub, just wait for it to dry. The couple times it's stuck, I just fill it with warm water in the sink for 15min and it washes right off. The nonstick on this bowl is absolutely fantastic. I'm very careful never to bring anything metallic in contact with it, but I hear through the grapevine that Zojirushi is excellent about shipping out replacement parts if you ever need them.
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I recently purchased this product from an Amazon merchant and love it! Since I've started incorporating more whole grains into my diet, and being a rice-lover, this item appealed to me from all I'd read, and the GABA rice setting is what really sold me. I've successfully used it to cook Lundberg short grain brown rice on the GABA setting, hulled barley on the GABA setting, organic millet, and whole oats on the GABA setting. There aren't instructions that specifically direct you as to how to cook these particular grains using this product, and the barley I cooked needs to have the amount of water I used the first time tweaked for perfection, but I'm really excited about having the use of this rice cooker for other whole grains. I intend to try whole buckwheat next. One thing that is very nice about using this gadget is that there is no wasting of water lost to steam from over-boiling in order to thoroughly cook these grains. I highly recommend this product for people, like me, who dedicate a large portion of their dietary needs to whole grain consumption... just experiment with the amount of water until you get it just the way you like it, and remember that less water than you'd ordinarily use will probably work with this machine. You just add the grains and water, set it appropriately, and let it do its thing! It shuts itself off automatically at the end of its cooking cycle, and keeps the grains warm, moist and unburnt, until you're ready to eat them.
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I don't leave comments or reviews for many of the products I buy. But when I do.. the product is exceptional...
The Zojirushi NP-GBC05 has simplified my life greatly!!! If you desire/want to make brown/wild rice and steel-cut oats on a regular basis, this thing will save you DAYS of cooking in just a years time. Once you start eating steel-cut oats, you will never go back to the soupy, mush that is rolled oats. Why don't people eat more steel-cut oats? Well they take almost 3 times or longer to cook. Enter.... Zojirushi Magic!!!!
For breakfast... the night before... I load it up with steel cut oats and water(3:1) and have hot, perfectly cooked oats at 8 am the next day. Toss in some dried/fresh fruit and some almonds and honey ... and...BAM! A breakfast for elitist champions!
After wiping down the non-stick container, I fill it up with white/brown/wild rice before leaving for work. Again, always ready(and again perfectly cooked) 7pm for dinner.
I'm not sure how many hours I wasted before this magnificent piece of machinery. And now.. I'm not sure I could ever go without.
Balk at the price if you want, but after INCREDIBLE 50-cent breakfasts (oats and fruit) this thing pays for itself in no time. Not to mention the HOURS regained by not babysitting a pot of rice/oats. YOU CANT EVEN GET A ILLEGAL HOUSEKEEP FOR A WEEK at this price!!
Honest reviews on Zojirushi NP-GBC05 3-Cup (Uncooked) Rice Cooker and Warmer
NOT all rice cookers are made same. Not even within japanese brands!. This model is made in japan. and the rice comes out PERFECT. TASTY. YUMMY.
just figure out the rice water ratios, according to the rice you select:short/med grain, polished/unpolished, newcrop/oldcrop has different ratios nuiances.
This machine is beautiful and when ur done cooking there is NEVER any residue or nasty clean up. I always had that issue with my sanyo and LG rice cookers~ :(
I thought that was the norm, and i had to live with it. I DONT!
I am very particular about my rice, so i even got into a habit of stove top cooking it. but its work intensive :D and if u mess up, u mess up the whole batch ;p.
This IH system of cooking rice is incredible. INCREDIBLE! Every grain of rice on the sides or even at the bottom is evenly cooked with whatever is in the middle.
Even though there is 100 $ difference between the non IH model... its worth it if u eat rice everyday,
and im japanese so i DO!. I taste the difference in every bowl of rice, and i've had MANY!
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Zojirushi NP-GBC05 3-Cup (Uncooked) Rice Cooker and Warmer
I've had this product since it came out and I bought it on Amazon. I love it! Using fresh whole grains bought in bulk, I use this item as the mainstay of my meal preparation. The price is high, but it is comparable to having a good convection oven, which I don't use. The Zojirushi, Soyabella soymilk maker, propane stove, Bravetti, and a deydrator is all I use for meal prep. We pulled the oven out of the wall and use it to store whole foods.
I make quinoa, millet, and GABA brown rice in it. The beauty is that I can put the ingredients into it in the morning, then have the grains ready for meal prepp later in the day. I also take the time for GABA brown rice to reset the timer in order to allow more time for activation. That is the only thing on my wish list: a timer setting to increase the GABA activation time. Other than that, it is a setup and walk away type of appliance. I don't have to supervise the cooking process.
