Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 5-1/2-Cup Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker and Warmer, Premium White

I've also cooked pre-packaged, pre-seasoned brown rice. This took a bit of tweeking as the package requires X amount of water. I use a little less water in the cooker.


Great machine but Understand the Capacity   August 5, 2003
 245 out of 248 found this review helpful

I finally convinced my wife to replace the old but still functional single switch rice cooker I'd owned for about 10 years. I have longed for something with an off switch so rice doesn't burn to the bottom when I forget to unplug it. This guy was the ticket.

It seems like a fairly complex machine but its really easy to use once you understand the setup. Its well designed. The pot is easy to clean and the inner lid snaps off for easy cleaning as well.

I have to say the rice it produces is some of the best I have had. I did a side by side cookoff with the old and the new rice cookers. The same rice just seemed to have more consistant texture and better strong flavor. Definatley worth the upgrade since we do lots of rice.

The one drawback I found is with the somewhat misleading specifications. They say this is a "5 cup" rice cooker. So I'm thinking 5 cups=40oz. Plenty big enough for a family of 4. Well its not quite that much. It seems in Asia (on the metric system) their idea of a cup is a teacup. If you look at the picture and see the two little cups next to the machine, it will hold 5 of THOSE cups. Those cups are approximatley 6oz each. So really it is a 4 (American) cup rice cooker, not 5. Of course 3/4 of a cup is about how much rice you'll eat in a meal so one run of this machine should be able to produce rice for 5. If you need more that that consider the NS-ZAC18 10 cup (8 cup) model.

The trick to the machine is to use the little cups that come with it. You measure out a few "cups" of rice and dump it into the pot. Then you add water and fill it up to the graduated mark on the inside of the pot. So if you toss in 2 cups you add water until you hit the 2 cup mark. It has different markings for Brown, White and Sushi rice.

Before discovering the proper way of using the smaller "cups" I used a regular 8oz cup on some Jasmine rice (then filled it to the designated level). It still came out way better than my rice cooker. It was firm but not hard and full of flavor. So if you screw up or loose your little "cup" you can still get great rice as long as the stickness is not absolutely critical to the receipe.

The manual makes a huge deal out of its ability to handle some "no rinse" rice who's milling technology was proudly developed in Japan. They devote pages to the setting and cooking it, but actually its pretty similar to the regular rice, you just use the green cup instead of the clear cup.

All in all this is a great little machine. If you want the best and are willing to pay the bucks this is the one to get. You will not feel your money is wasted.


Simply Amazing!   July 6, 2003
 371 out of 380 found this review helpful

This rice cooker makes the best rice we have ever had - at least since our travels to Southeast Asia. And despite the fact that this machine *seems* smarter than it's user, it is remarkably simple to operate. The instruction book lacks a little bit in terms of recipes and creativity - but it does a good job giving you the basic idea of how to use this machine. This space age looking rice cooker is a little pricey, so it may be overkill for some - but I love all the features this offers and consider it well worth the price (which is a hundred less than what it is offered for here at Amazon). We eat a lot of brown rice, which is not something that other rice cookers handle well. This one has a setting for brown rice, and cooks it to perfection. Also has a setting for semi-brown rice, sushi rice, porridge & more. You get to pick how soft or hard you want the rice to turn out by using the control panel. Being able to set a timer for having rice ready when we get home from work is handy. This thing also cooks complete meals - definitely get a good cookbook for rice cooker cooking :-) We are expirimenting with many varieties of rice that I normally would have shyed away from, since I could not seem to cook even plain old brown rice properly until now.

It took me 6 months to decide to buy this thing. We were originally contemplating the MYC10 series, but the specific settings for brown rice became important to us. And this one takes up less space on the countertop than the MYC10. We will be eating rice nearly every day now thanks to this machine! I am definitely glad we chose the ZAC10, and would recommend this product. It's a keeper!

UPDATED JUNE 12, 2004: We have now had this rice cooker for nearly a year, and have used it at least 3 times a week. It has held up to regular use quite well, we have not had a single problem with it. If anything, we are eating at home more than ever because of the simplicity of planning meals ahead of time. One thing that we have learned is that the 5 cup capacity is for using the cooker for white rice. Brown rice capacity is about 3 cups. So if you anticipate using this for more than 3 6 oz. cups of dry brown rice, you might consider steppig up to the 10 cup capacity model ZAC18. One tip for making very tasty rice, use a broth instead of water (or 1/2 and 1/2). If you are on fence about this cooker go ahead and take the leap - it is fantastic! No regrets!

UPDATED April 18, 2008: Well, the "Brown Rice" setting finally died this week after nearly five (yes FIVE!) faithful years of weekly use. We remain very pleased with this product, and plan to upgrade to the newest model in a 10 cup capacity.


A Great Product----UPDATE   May 11, 2003
 18 out of 21 found this review helpful

We have been using this product for sometime now, makes fantastic rice. Would suggest; THE ULTIMATE RICE COOKER COOKBOOK, as this product is capable of so much more than rice. You can do pudding, soups, deserts and the book that comes with it is lacking. Would check around for price, available most other e-tailers for a hundered dollars less than here!-----Highly recommend this product.
UPDATE!
Amazon has lowered their price. When I wrote the review they were out of line by a hundred bucks. We have had the rice cooker for about a year now. With all the use of this unit, and the excellent results every time, I would now rate the ZO FIVE STARS!


Set and forget - excellent product   April 22, 2003
 4 out of 9 found this review helpful

If you're tired of burned rice in a pot or concerned about the nutritional value of "pre-cooked" par-boiled rice (btw it has none) you should get a rice cooker. You cook the rice only with the amount of water that it needs to become soft. You dont waste any vitamins and minerals, which make rice healthy and tasty.

This model rice cooker features ease of use and great quality rice, no matter which type of rice you prefer. It's high end!
It pays even for the occasional rice eater!