JS Oryza rice cooker contents

Cooking rice is something people have been doing for thousands of years, and in modern times, rice cookers like the JS Oryza rice cooker and steamer have become a popular way to accomplish the task. They are simple to use and deliver flawless results every time.

As someone who still cooks rice the old-fashioned way in a pot on the stove, I was eager to try this model. I have friends and family members who swear by their rice cookers. But I have never felt I needed one. With that said, I will admit that there are times when my rice doesn’t come out exactly as I want it. Either the heat is too high or there isn’t enough water and it burns and sticks to the bottom. Sometimes, the water or broth is absorbed but the rice is still undercooked. Can the JS Oryza eliminate the chances of that happening?

JS Oryza rice cooker design and functions

JS Oryza rice cooker

The JS Oryza rice cooker from JS Innovation is a cylindrical-shaped rice cooker and steamer. It fits nicely on the countertop but can also tuck away in the cupboard when not in use. It’s smaller than a traditional rice cooker at 22 x 24 x 21.5 cm and weighs 4.6 lbs.

It has a simple, one-click cook function. This is for not only plain and mixed rice but also soup, porridge, congee, and other similar dishes. It also has a special function for cooking low sugar rice, extracting the starch for a healthier option. This is something diabetics and others might especially appreciate.

Inner potThe two-litre volume can accommodate up to four cups of rice for feeding up to four people (or 5-6 portions). Once done, the machine switches to auto-warm to keep the rice warm until it’s ready to eat.

You can also add the water and rice and preset a cook time up to 24 hours in advance. This means the rice is ready for you when you get home from work. There’s also an auto shut-off feature.

Offering 350 watts of power and with built-in digital control and LED display, the unit comes with a manual, starch remover, and power cable.

How to use the JS Oryza rice cooker

The first thing I did after unboxing the JS Oryza rice cooker was wash the stainless steel inner pot, starch remover, and measuring cup. The appliance is much smaller than I expected, which is nice since it doesn’t take up much room on a countertop.

JS Oryza rice cooker uncooked riceMeasure your rice in the measuring cup and place it inside the inner pot. It’s advised to wash the rice first to remove dust, debris, and residual starch. The measuring markings on the cup are very faint and difficult to see. I wish they were black or made easier to read.

Add twice the amount of water as the rice. I added one cup of rice and thus poured in two cups of water. (Note that if you’re making porridge, the ratio would be higher). The manual suggests giving the inner pot a little shake to make sure all the rice is submerged. Don’t forget to add salt! You can add other seasoning to the rice before cooking as well.

JS Oryza top panel

Place the inner pot into the cooker and plug it in. Close the lid and select which option you want from Rice, Low Sugar Rice, and Mixed Rice.

Making rice in the JS Oryza rice cooker

I first tried standard rice. The manual says it will begin cooking after about five seconds and you’ll see a countdown timer when there is 10 minutes left. When you press Rice, you see three lines moving up and down on the screen, so you know it’s doing something. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to press the “Cooking/Cancel” button as well, or if pressing that would cancel the cook. I left it to see what would happen. Indeed, the 10-minute timer eventually popped up.

For what it’s worth, the instructions for other types of rice note that you can press the Cooking button right away or wait the five seconds for auto-cook to kick in. I suspect this is the case with regular rice as well. However, I wish there was a countdown timer for the entire duration.

The entire cook took 30 – 35 minutes, which is longer than the usual 18-minute cook time on a pot on the stove, so keep this in mind when timing your meals.

JS Oryza rice cooker fluffed rice

Once your rice is ready, the machine will beep. The function light will also turn off. But the best part is that the Keep Warm mode kicks in. This means you can cook your rice in advance and have it kept warm while you work on the protein. It’s suggested that you at least fluff the rice within 30 minutes, even if you’re going to leave it in there for longer. The default Keep Warm function is for up to 12 hours. Once you’re ready to eat, press the Keep Warm button again to turn it off. You can scoop out the rice using the included rice paddle. If you can’t find it, look on the side of the Styrofoam packaging: it’s hidden in a groove there, so it’s easy to miss!

Keep Warm buttonYou can also make low sugar rice and mixed rice in this small appliance. There are different ratios of rice to water depending on what you are using, ranging anywhere from 1:1.5 to 1:3. Check the manual or go by the instructions on the package of rice and do a test batch first. (I was not able to find low-sugar rice in my local grocery store to test this option.) For soup or porridge, it will take about an hour to cook.

There’s also a preset button if you want to prep the rice and water (or porridge or soup) ahead. The default time is four hours but you can change this by pressing the button to increase in 30 minute intervals. It’s a useful feature if you’re entertaining, for example. You can get the rice prepped ahead before you get involved with more laborious tasks and forget to do it.

Experimenting with different rice dishes

Salmon with plain rice

The rice looked great when I opened the lid. It fluffed beautifully when I scooped it out to plate. But my favourite part? It lifted nicely from the non-stick inner pot, not leaving any residue behind. Clean-up truly is a breeze!

Rice dishThe first time, I left the rice to keep warm for a few hours until my son got home from school. The next time, I fluffed it immediately then let it sit for about 40 minutes until dinner—salmon with rice and broccoli—was ready. The rice was still hot, with the inside steaming as soon as I opened it. The third time, I added butter, cumin, turmeric, and a few bay leaves before the cook. The rice came out perfectly both in taste and texture, with my son requesting a second helping.

For a curry dish, I made coconut rice with half coconut milk and half water with a pinch of salt and it was to die for.

Making porridge/oatmeal

Porridge spilledNext, I tried porridge and the results were not so great. I thought the recommended 8:1 ratio of water to oats was a bit much and I was right. I end up with a soupy mess after an hour of cooking rolled oats with water. Plus, some of it leaked out of the steam vents onto the top of the pot. The manual does suggest that overflow can happen if the voltage is not stable. But I did not have any indication that this is the case in my kitchen where it was plugged in.

Oatmeal with peachesI tried again using a 2.5:1 ratio of oat milk to oats this time, similar to when cooking rice. This would be the typical ratio I use when making oats on the stove, in the microwave, or even in my Instant Pot. It came out OK though the texture was slightly gummy.

Bottom line: this rice cooker is great for rice. But depending on the type of oats you use and how you like your oatmeal/porridge, there’s some trial and error to get it right. For traditional oatmeal, stick to the stovetop or microwave, or consider using denser oats, like steel cut oats, in this machine.

Is the JS Oryza rice cooker and steamer for you?

JS Oryza rice cooker with contents

If you make rice dishes at least once a week, the JS Oryza rice cooker and steamer is a good investment. You can truly “set and forget.” Add the water and rice and leave it for hours. It will be ready for dinner time once you make your protein. I love that I can cook the rice with my favourite seasoning as well. It’s simple to use and easy to clean. Plus, it doesn’t take up much room on the counter.

It’s smaller than other rice cookers so you’re limited in how much you can make. But for a family of 2-4 people, and even small gatherings, it’s a handy small appliance for the kitchen.

Find the JS Oryza rice cooker and steamer at bestbuy.ca

Christine Persaud
With 20+ years of experience in trade and consumer tech journalism, I have covered the tech space since before social media was a "thing" and the smartphone as we know it was even invented. Writing for various technology, lifestyle, and entertainment sites, I have covered and reviewed hundreds of tech products, from home appliances to wearables, fitness tech to headphones, TV entertainment products and services, and more. I'm also a passionate foodie who loves to cook and bake, a TV show fanatic (happy to give what to watch recommendations!), and proud mother to a 12-year-old son.

179 COMMENTS

  1. I think greatest feature would be Keep Warm function, my current rice cooker doesn’t have that option so this’ll be an upgrade for sure!

  2. I like the long preset option times available on the JS Oryza rice cooker and steamer. Set and forget type cooking devices are most convenient for busy souls.

  3. I really like the non-stick feature of this rice cooker & steamer – sometimes when I make rice in my usual device, it’s a pain to clean because of the rice being stuck onto the pot.

  4. I like the steamer function on this rice cooker. It has never occurred to me before to use a ricer cooker as a steamer.

  5. The keep warm feature would be awesome because my current rice cooker does not have that feature she we are constantly re-warming the rice

  6. JS Oryza rice cooker’s feature that will be most useful to me would be the auto warm feature 🙂

  7. I can usually get good results stovetop or steamer, so would try this to see if it can beat that. My experience with rice cookers never seem to get it right, and leave a leathery crust on the bottom (apparently some people like that but not me). 6 cups dry of rice is a lot of rice, I usually cook no more than 1 cup but this unit should handle that easily. I was interested in the porridge feature but the author had little success with that setting, I guess I will stick to the stovetop or microwave.

  8. I like the keep warm feature so that I can make my rice before dinner and it will stay warm until we are ready to eat.

  9. I like the keep warm function. 12 hours may be a little much, but always nice to know there’s more warm rice! (PS. Christine: Why are you using a metal fork in a non-stick pot???)

  10. You can truly “set and forget.” Add the water and rice and leave it for hours.
    I have the best intentions but sometimes I forget what I started so this is a great feature for forgetful me.

  11. Well people have been cooking it for thousands of years I hope they do a better job then me as it’s eith mushy, over cooked, dry, burnt the list goes on. So I really like the simple, one-click cook function and keep warm.

  12. I like the keep warm function. Sometimes the rest of our meal is complete way later then the rice.

  13. It has a simple, one-click cook function which is great since I’m busy and don’t know what I’m doing. LOL

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