Test Kitchen Versus: Rice Cooker vs Stovetop

Hmm, I already know.

[laughs]

Is rice cooker rice actually that much better

than rice made on the stove?

[rice cooker beeping]

There's only one way to find out.

I've been testing rice cookers for years,

which means I've tested this guy

against dozens of other models.

And it always comes out on top.

But I've actually never tested it

against a simple pot of stove top top rice.

This is the white rice that we use

for all of our rice cooker testing.

And to give each of these methods a fair shot,

I'm gonna test this rice

according to manufacturer's instructions

for the rice cooker.

And then I'm gonna use the stove top cooking ratios

and instructions for the stove.

And then I just let it cook.

[rice cooker beeping]

It's been about an hour, and the rice cooker is now done.

Which I'm not worried about

because it's got an automatic keep warm setting

that keeps the rice fresh and warm for hours and hours.

So I'm gonna get started on the stove top rice.

This cooked for 20 minutes, sat for 10,

and now it's time to see how it turned out.

It looks like some of the grains are like not fully intact,

which is something that we really look for

when we're testing rice cookers.

Time for the big reveal.

This rice is looking pretty perfect, I'm not gonna lie.

The grains are super intact.

Let's bring in Hannah, our expert taster,

to see if she can tell the difference.

I heard her chime earlier.

Ah, yes. [Hannah laughs]

Let's start with A. Okay.

Ooh, fluffy.

The rice cooker really preserves the grains

in a beautiful way,

like kind of traps all the moisture in.

Whereas this, it's like it's starting to erode the...

[Chef] The outside of the grain.

[Hannah] The outside of the grain.

[Chef] Yes, exactly.

This is just...

Far better.

There you have it.

Debate settled. [Hannah laughs]