For those of you who don't have a rice cooker I would highly recommend it. I got mine as a wedding gift. My Mom never had one, so I thought...that's silly, who needs a separate appliance to cook rice? Just use a pan.
I was unable to find the store where it was purchased to return it, so I ended up keeping it and trying it. Now I love it. I never do rice any other way!
Mine is about the size of a 5 qt crock pot. It has an insert that slides in (like a crock pot does). You measure the rice and water, stir, and press the cook button. It takes about 20-25 minutes to cook. It senses when it is done and switches from cook to warm. Mine suggests letting it sit on warm for 5 minutes before serving.
It cooks the rice perfectly every time. You can also do brown rice or other varieties. Although I usually do my brown rice in a pressure cooker because it is so much faster. (brown rice seems to take a lot longer to cook than white).
My rice cooker is an Aroma brand. But I'm sure other brands are just as great. Mine also came with 2 trays I can fit on top to steam things. So I could cook the rice and have veggies steaming on top. But I have never used them.
When the rice is done cooking you pull the insert out and clean it in soap and water. Easy Peasy!
The one complaint I have is that the very bottom layer of rice does seem to scorch a bit, so I just scoop right above it and leave a layer of rice in the bottom each time.
I always make extra rice and either refrigerate or freeze the extra.
To freeze it I just put the extra in a ziploc, then throw it in the freezer. Sometimes I do individual portion sizes, and sometimes I do family size portions. When I am ready to use it I pull it out push the frozen blob out of the baggie into a bowl. Start microwaving, stirring every few minutes. Within a few minutes I have hot cooked rice. I find it especially helpful for brown rice.
