Zojirushi and Tiger rice cookers review

A rice cooker is an invaluable small appliance, especially when that rice cooker is multi-purpose. I tested three rice cookers, two Tiger rice cookers and one Zojirushi rice cooker, and I was impressed with how perfectly they cooked rice. I was even more impressed with how easily they can go beyond rice and cook other foods.

I tested out the Tiger JBV-S10U Micom multifunctional rice cooker, the Tiger JAX-R10U Micom multifunctional rice cooker, and the Zojirushi NL-BAC05 3-cup Micom Rice Cooker & Warmer.  Here’s my look at why all three of these rice cookers would be a great choice for anyone looking for a versatile small appliance.

Appearance and features of Zojirushi Rice Cooker and Warmer

The Zojirushi Rice Cooker and Warmer is a multi-functional rice cooker that has settings for white/sushi rice, brown rice, long-grain rice, oatmeal, quinoa, and more.

• Automatic Keep Warm keeps your food warm until you’re ready to eat it
• The non-stick bowl is scratch-resistant
• 3 cup size is perfect or singles or small families
• BPA-free surfaces
• 2 memory timer setting

Appearance and features of Tiger JBV-S10U and Tiger JAX-R10U rice cookers with Tacook plate

Both Tiger rice cookers are unique in that they have a synchro-cooking function. They can definitely cook a great bowl of rice, but if you’d like you can cook another dish at the same time using the Tacook plate.

• four functions in one including rice cooking, Tacook, slow cook, and steaming
• 10 cooking menus including slow cook, quick rice cooking, sweet, porridge, brown rice, and multigrain
• 5.5 cup capacity
• Automatic Keep Warm function keeps your food warm until you’re ready to eat it
• Tacook plate lets you use synchro-cooking to cook two dishes at once
• Tiger JBV-S10U has a built-in steam vent while the Tiger JAX-R10U has an attachment for venting
• two preset timers so you can set your finish time

Testing the Zojirushi Rice Cooker

I realize you can easily make rice in a pot on the stove, but I’ve found that the absolute best rice is made in a rice cooker. While the Zojirushi Rice Cooker is a multi-functional cooker that can also make oatmeal and quinoa, it excels at making perfect rice.

To test the Zojirushi Rice Cooker I made long-grain rice and brown rice. The cooker comes with a measuring cup and plastic ladle you can use to measure rice and water and scoop your rice when you’re ready to eat.

Both times I tested it out the rice turned out perfect. It was easy to measure out the right amounts, and all I had to do was press the preset cooking mode and the rice cooker took care of the rest.

I was a bit surprised at how long it took to preheat the cooker and how long the rice had to cook before it was finished. It takes about 5 minutes to preheat and around 60 minutes to cook long grain rice, so to save a bit of time I would recommend tapping the start button as you’re adding your rice and water to the pot. The Keep Warm setting is automatic, so your rice stays hot and ready to eat.

Clean up is easy. All you need to do is pop the pot out and wash it out. It’s also dishwasher safe.

Testing the Tiger JBV-S10U and JAX-R10U rice cookers

Because the Tiger JBV-S10U and the Tiger JAX-R10U have a synchro-cooking function, I wanted to test out how they can make two dishes at once. They can do this as they both have a Tacook plate that sits on top of the cooking rice. That plate utilizes the steam from the rice to cook the food on the plate.

Both of the Tiger rice cookers will make 5.5 cups of rice at one time, and they both have 10 different functions you can use. I tested out the synchro-cooking function by making sweet and sour meatballs to serve over rice.

Tiger rice cookers also come with a measuring cup, paddle, and scoop. There is an instruction booklet that details everything you need to know to use the rice cooker, and there are quite a few different recipes you can try. I improvised and used my Grandma’s sweet and sour meatball recipe, so instead of adding the ingredients for the sauce to the Tacook plate, I made the sauce before-hand and added it to meatballs I placed on the plate.

I was using the Tiger JAX-R10U to cook the food, so after I added the rice, meatballs, and sauce to the Tacook plate, I closed the lid and popped the vent on the top of the cooker. After pressing the start button I waited for a timer to appear on the device to tell me how long the food would cook, but nothing changed on the display.

The thing to keep in mind when using this cooker is that cooking begins without giving you a countdown timer. You won’t know how close the food is to being done until the display changes after a while and it lets you know there are 10 minutes left. After that, Keep Warm kicks in.

When I popped the lid on the cooker the meatballs and sauce were steaming. Upon removing the plate, I could see the rice was done as well. I may have added too much sauce to the meatballs as some of it dripped onto the rice below, but I was serving it all together so I was OK with that.

All in all, the sweet and sour meatballs were amazing. I was so impressed with how easy Tiger rice cookers are to use, how they make multiple dishes at once, and how delicious the rice was. They are easy to clean as well, and you can give the plate and bowl a quick rinse and you’re done.

Which rice cooker should you choose?

It’s a given that everyone should have a rice cooker, if only so you can make rice as easily as putting the food in the bowl and forgetting about it until it is done. There’s no extra work and the rice, unlike the stovetop method where you can burn it or undercook, is always perfect.

With Tiger rice cookers you get a multi-cooker that can make family-sized meals in one small appliance. My sweet and sour meatballs were a hit with the family, and there was no extensive cleanup of multiple pots required. If you just need a rice cooker that’s compact, easy to use, and makes perfect rice, the Zojirushi rice cooker is a great choice.

You can find the Tiger JBV-S10U Micom multifunctional rice cooker, the Tiger JAX-R10U Micom multifunctional rice cooker, and the Zojirushi NL-BAC05 3-cup Micom Rice Cooker & Warmer on Best Buy right now.