fuzzy logic rice cookers

[Brook]

I am curious what experience people have had with fuzzy logc rice cookers. Can they accomodate any amount of raw rice, from half a cup on up to the capacity mentioned in instructions? How long do they take to cook rice? (Someone said they take an unusually long time). How is the final product? Some fuzzy logic cookers claim to be able to cook rice to all kinds of doneness -- is it true? Are they worth the extra price? What makes do you recommend? Thank you!

[Nicko]

I have never heard of a "Fuzzy Logic" rice cooker, are they new to the market?

[m brown]

I don't know much about them but you can get them thru William Sonoma, or any catalog these days. They are pricy but if you do lots of rice, they're a great bet.

[Brook]

As I understand it, "fuzzy logic" is a new kind of technology that mimics the human brain. Rather than having the furnace give a concerted blast of warm air when the room became too cold, for instance, a fuzzy logic furnace would precisely monitor the temperature of the room and emit air as needed so that the temperature was kept constant. Although invented in the United States, Asian countries have been incorporating it into their machinery to a far greater degree than American companies have. Fuzzy logic has thus been included in some washing machines, computers, brakes of cars, etc.

[Nicko]

I was thinking about your question and remembered that my step-mom has a rice cooker that she bought from the Asian market and all she does is put the rice in, the water and turn it on. It shuts off when the rice is done and just keeps it warm. I remember that the rice was a fairly decent consistency.

[Ruthy]

I have a fuzzy rice cooker and I like it but I am not sure that the difference in price between that and the regular Asian electric cookers is worth it. The fuzzy has several options. In the regular cooking mode it will soak the rice for about 50 minutes before actually starting to cook. There is also a quick cooking mode in which it will start to
cook immediately. It will keep the rice warm after it is cooked. There is also a reheat setting. If you do not like any of these settings you can set the time yourself. You can also program it for Asian style rice porridge (congee). You can use any amount of rice up to the maximum but rice always seems to come out better if the pot is more full than empty, that applies even to the regular rice cookers. I would suggest a minimum of two cups of rice in a three cup cooker. You can use the extra for fried rice. Hope this is of some help.

[Nicko]

Ruthy,

Just out of curiosity, would you mind if I asked how much you paide for your fuzzy cooker? Also what brand did you go with?

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Best Regards,

Nicko
nicko@cheftalk.com

[Ruthy]

Sorry to be so late replying to Nicko's question. Just returned from a wonderful month in Northern Spain which, somewhat to my suprise, turned out to be a gastronomic and 'oenological' paradise.
I have had my fuzzy cooker for some time. It is a small one -3 cup- which is what I needed and at that time the only brand I found was National. In the large sizes there was a big choice of brands.They are all Japanese. The larger ones often have a greater number of features. I think I paid in the high $50s - a lot for a small cooker but I bought it on impulse and still enjoy using it.