~ "By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; Through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures." ~ "Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing" ~ "But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy." ~ "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."~

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Product Review...Zojirushi Rice Cooker(Model-NS-VGC05)

Product Review...Zojirushi Rice Cooker(Model-NS-VGC05)
My first product review! I was so excited when the generous folks at Zojirushi America Corporation sent me a rice cooker to test and share my review with you. I received the Zojirushi Rice Cooker(Model-NS-VGC05). The ZOJIRUSHI company has quite a few products and many rice cookers of various capacities, but it was the NS-VGC05 Model that I tested.
Now for the review...
This specific rice cooker has a 3 cup rice capacity. It is one of the smaller versions, but is quite ideal for college students or couples. Actually, even a couple with smaller children can effectively use this.
First of all, I was impressed with the design of the rice cooker. It is sleek and attractive. The control panel is easy to read and simple to use. The inner cooking pan is well marked for proper measurements. Very well designed. The rice cooker also has a built in digital clock that stays on all the time, even when unplugged. It plays a nice little melody for you when it starts the cooking process and when it is finished. You can change the melody to make a "beep" sound instead. But I liked the little melody...it was cheerful and pleasant. The rice takes about 45 minutes to cook, but it is well worth the wait. While the rice cooker is super simple to use, it also cooks the rice perfectly. The rice does not stick on the bottom, neither does it form a brown crust. Actually, the rice doesn't dry out, but stays quite moist. I really liked that.
This rice cooker is no ordinary rice cooker. It can make porridge, sushi rice, a quick rice version, and even rinse-free rice. It has the ability to keep the rice warm until you need it without drying it out. Plus, it has a timer that allows you to preset your rice to cook at a specific time. But among all those features, the rice cooker can also bake a cake. Yes, that's right....it bakes cakes! Incredible! So, you guessed it. I took the challenge to see for myself how well a rice cooker can bake a cake. Since the rice cooker comes with a sponge cake recipe, I followed the directions as written.
I was blown away with the final cake product! The rice cooker produced a wonderful sponge cake with a fluffy, tender, and perfect crumb texture.
The cake takes the form of the inside container and comes out in a dome shape.
Perfect for pouring a chocolate ganache over the cake. I really, really liked the size of the cake. Not too big and neither was it too small. It will probably give you about 6 decent sized slices. This cake was so simple to make and who would have thought it could be made in a rice cooker! It would be wonderful for college students who want to bake a cake but don't have an oven. But the home cook can use it as well, especially during the warmer summer months when you want to limit the oven usage.
Overall, a great little rice cooker that cooks rice perfectly and bakes cakes! Ideal.
By the way, the rice cooker is really easy to clean and maintain.
Would I recommend this rice cooker? Wholeheartedly....5*****!

11 comments:

Sailaja Damodaran said...

Thanks for sharing with us.....

Fred said...

I had been considering the zojirushi rice cooker for some time. I had no idea you could bake in it as well! Thanks for the great review!

Ellie said...

Fred,
Thanks for stopping by...I really love this rice cooker. It is amazing what it can do...I didn't know that it could bake either! What a cool feature...~Ellie

Anonymous said...

I ordered one of these bad boys yesterday. I am so excited to see your cake review! I am going to try to make healthy cakes / breads in it, i.e. carrot cake with agave and spelt flour. I will report back my results.

Thanks for the detailed review. Very helpful.

Ellie said...

Anon, Would love to hear how your recipes for bread and cake work...I have to admit I never thought of making bread in it. Maybe Asian steamed buns would work...Hope you like your new rice cooker:)

Anonymous said...

Could anybody tell me what is the rice cooker make of inside. I'm interested in the material. I'm looking for more healthy ways to cook my food in.
Thank you

Ellie said...

Anon, The inner pot of the rice cooker is made from a non-stick material.... don't have specifics on it, though. You might contact the manufacturer for exact details. Hope this helps a bit. Thanks for stopping by...

Anonymous said...

Thank you Ellie. I will take your advise. I'm actually using your site very much. I enjoy cooking all the wonderful meals you posted.Great job and many blessings.
Veronica :-)

Ellie said...

Thank YOU, Veronica for your kind words! Glad you are cooking some of the meals from the blog... I appreciate you letting me know:). It means a lot that I could be helpful through the recipes I'm sharing... I try to post as many healthy recipes as possible, so I'm really glad you are enjoying them!
Have a great day... and thanks for stopping by!

Unknown said...

Do you have the recipe for the chocolate sponge cake you showed in the rice cooker review? It looks yummy.

Ellie said...

Kevin, You know I don't... sorry about that. But thanks!

I just ended up making the sponge cake and whipped some cream and added some chocolate to it along with some sort of flavoring( coffee, rum?). ... and that was the filling. Then I soaked the sponge cake layers with some espresso and made a simple ganache which I covered the cake with...

Hope that helps, a bit:). But thanks for stopping by...