The 5-/12 Cup Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker

The Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 5-1/2 Cup Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker is a brilliantly diverse and trustworthy device. Nevertheless, I have some mixed feelings about it.

I grew up on one button rice cookers. The sort I liked the best was one that required you to put water outside of the rice pot as well as in the inside of the pot where the rice is and press the button. I don't think they sell those anymore. In this day and age you must keep the outside of the pot dry. Somewhat of a hassle after getting it wet washing the rice.

Back when I was growing up we made luscious rice, rice-porridge, sausage steamed over rice, steamed chicken with vegetables in broth, bean soup, and others. with the help of this basic 1-button rice cooker. The secret for most such dishes is to repeat the cook cycle a second time, cooking it for a longer time.

I point out all this to describe that a rice cooker that makes a selection of dishes does not totally impress me. I'm accustomed to owning one that is easy to handle and adaptable.

Because of my personal history, I was a little bit disappointed in the NSS-ZCC10 rice cooker while I still think it is an excellent rice cooker.

This neuro has an attractive design. It also cooks really tasty oatmeal. It also makes cheaper rice taste better. The warming function works impeccably -- the rice does not get a crust or harden up and get scorched. I make use of the clock feature for oatmeal when I get out of bed - very pleasant to have.

The main problem is that this rice cooker is slow. I'm accustomed to the rice cooker working faster than the stove top method but this Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 5-1/2-Cup Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker is just as slow if not slower. For a single cup of rice it eats up around forty minutes. The machine I was raised with would take just 20 min. Even the "quick cook" function on this model takes 30 minutes.

This pretty much boils down to the fact that this is a high-quality Japanese appliance, and Japanese people live for rice. They pick up on delicate differences in quality that most of Westerners would never notice, which is the reason for all the advanced features on this rice cooker along with the extended cooking time. The features offer control to the person cooking, and the length of the cooking cycle provides superior quality. The question is, as someone who probably doesn't eat, breath, and sleep rice, are those things meaningful enough it to you? Are you prepared to make the effort to learn how to operate this machine, and are you ready to patiently endure long cooking times, just to improve slightly from excellent quality rice to superior quality rice? If you are zealous about rice and fancy yourself a connoisseur, this is a marvelous rice cooker. Just be aware that if you are accustomed to a quick, one-button rice cooker then you may be in for a bit of a surprise.

The regular retail price of the Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 5-1/2-Cup Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker is $233, but major discounts are common from online stores.