ZojirushiNP-NWC10XB 5.5-Cup Pressure Induction Heating Rice Cooker and Warmer (Stainless Black)

I had to replace my old zojirushi fuzzy neuro rice cooker and I tried their competitors from a prominent korean company and another japanese company since this rice cooker hurts my wallet. The biggest feature about this rice cooker is the induction heating and pressure cooking which seemed like buzzwords but it makes a huge difference. If you have an instant pot, you know what I mean when you have that juicy pressure cooked rice. Imagine that quality rice but more homogenous and in a nonstick container so you don't have to scrape at the pot after you're done with your rice. The rice here blows the rice from my old zojirushi fuzzy neuro out of the water.With the korean competitor, on paper it looks better. It's half the price of a comparable zojirushi with the same induction heating and pressure cooking. It cooks rice at half the time 25 - 30 minutes vs 50-55 minutes. There's a lot more functions such as scorched rice and what not. I've tried it and it's incredibly temperamental. It tries to do everything and is the master of none. The rice from this korean competitor is subpar compared to the zojirushi. This zojirushi takes a bit longer to make rice, it has less settings, but it does everything perfectly. But what really stood out is the price of the parts. It's actually cheaper and easier to get replacement parts for this zojirushi if anything were to happen in the future. That is something else you're paying for, the availability of OEM parts 5 - 6 years from now.If money is an issue, I'd still get the induction heated version of this rice cooker, but I would highly suggest splurging ever so slightly for the pressure cooking version instead. Over the span of the lifetime of the product, it's pennies.

What can a very expensive rice maker do that less expensive ones can't? I would argue this has less features out of the box than less expensive rice makers.But what you buy this for is the quality and precise cooking of your rice. You buy this because "good enough" isn't!This rice maker makes rice, grains, oats and that is it! (Unless you buy a steam tray separately and then experiment so that you can still make your steam buns...)But the rice and oats come out marvelously, the texture is perfect and I didn't realize you could get different flavors out of rice with a pressure boil method or however this works. Truly a revolution in my mouth.The first use smelled like burning plastic, and I did remove all of the plastic prior. So maybe run it first time with just water.It looks pretty nice, but is definitely out of place on my counter; everything else is black or stainless. With that said, I find it to be an attractive device.It is easy to use, and it makes more than I know what to do with it. It has congee presets, steel cut oats, different styles of rice. Only thing missing is a steam tray, but I ordered a steel one off of eBay, and that filled it's role nicely.For the price, it is hard to recommend; but if you are well off this is the single best grain making appliance that I have encountered. I think you could find a better value lower down the line if you are ok buying made in China though.

I live and die by my Zojirushi rice cooker. When the inner pot of my 10 year old NP-HBC10 finally started to give up its coating, I went to get a replacement pot. Out of Stock. OH NO. Yeah, no living without my rice cooker. So I did what any rational person would do and blew $525 schmackos on the flagship pressure cooker model. Like, really...who wouldn't? ;)Now, in truth, I had been eyeballing this one for a long time, but really couldn't see my way to paying prime dollars for a new rice cooker when my existing one was working just fine. But, inner pot out of stock was all the excuse I needed. Even then, I hesitated over the price a bit. Then I did it anyway.I AM NOT SORRY. At all. I'd buy it again.This thing is great. I use it mainly for regular ole rice and steel cut oats. I cook A LOT of rice. The occasional foray into mixed rice. Multiple times a week. It's hard for me to explain, but the results are better than ever. Texture, taste. Amazing. I made some saffron turmeric curried rice in it that was to die for. Sort of a riff on Sri Lankan yellow rice. It was awesome.I almost knocked a star off because the price is steep. It does feel a little overpriced to me, despite Zojirushi quality and all. But if it lasts at least 10 years, like my previous one, which is still fine aside from temporary unavailability of a new inner pot, it will be worth the sticker shock, imho. Again, I use mine almost daily.I knocked one star off for ease of cleaning because it is a little bit more fiddly on that score. Stuff gets up behind the removable plate in the lid, and it can be a little troublesome to get cooked on funk off the non-removable portion of the lid. Particularly oatmeal starch. Rice, not so much of a struggle. This is not a showstopper. It's still pretty easy to clean, but I did not have that issue with my older, non-pressure cooker model. If that portion of the lid was a little easier to clean, I'd have given it 5 stars. It's more of a half-star than a full star off, but alas, no option for that.All in all, I am delighted with this cooker.If you can justify/afford the $$$ for this unit, you'll love it. The Amazon payment plan that is available for this is a nice perk if you can't or don't want to shell out the whole wad at once. Something to consider.