Black & Decker RC3406 6-Cup Rice Cooker

I have the Black & Decker RC3406 6-Cup Rice Cooker. The main reason I bought this was to cook rice for my dog who has special health considerations. I didn't like having to monitor the cooking process so I purchased this more hands-off unit to save me the trouble. It cooks rice so well and is so fool-proof that I have begun using it to cook for myself and not just for my dog! I like the rice it makes very much and it does not turn out like mush like it did back when I cooked it on the stovetop. I haven't had any issues with scorched rice but with a rice cooker in this price range I think you could if you left the warmer function running too long. The way I do it is to leave it on warmer for fifteen minutes after it finishes cooking, then unplug it. This will easily keep it warm for about an hour.

The cooker is quite durable and well-made. I was impressed from the moment I began unloading it from the box. Some people complain that this rice cooker prepares less rice than they were led to believe. But everyone needs to understand that rice cookers normally use "rice cooker" standards of measurement. That means not only this unit, but every rice cooker I have looked at uses a "2/3 cup measuring scoop" rather than a standard 1-cup measurement like you might expect. So the truth is that this only takes "2 1/3 cups" of dry rice and produces approximately "6 cooked cups". This is the norm and not misleading.

In my opinion this 6-cup unit is the ideal size for making rice or steaming food for 2 people for a single meal. It isn't big enough for familes, or for making lots of leftovers you can eat for or give to your dog like I do. Another great thing great about this rice cooker is if you do have some leftovers you can simply remove the liner and lid and place it in the fridge. You do not need to move the rice into a different container.

One thing that Black and Decker forgot to write in the manual is that you can cook rice and steam other food simultaneously. You use just one - one and a half "measuring cups" of rice and place the steaming basket on the top. It may require a few attemps to get the quantity of rice lower so it doesn't grow over into the steaming basket but it's doable. I multitask like this when I prepare meals for myself often, and when I'm finished the preparation I have a full meal of fresh rice, meat and vegetables.

Black and Decker Rice Cookers are generaly great, and the Black & Decker RC3406 6-Cup Rice Cooker is a great little unit for this budet price range. Just be aware of the size of this unit and that it is best for couples and individuals. Also be aware that there is also a 3-cup version of this same model, which holds one half te capacity of rice.