Which is the better rice cooker brand? Let’s look at Tiger vs Zojirushi vs Cuckoo — three popular brands of rice cookers today.
Electric rice cookers vs a pot on the stove
Rice compliments that healthy meal you’ve made in your slow cooker, that pot on the stovetop, or the dish in the oven. It also extends the meal, which has an economical advantage.
Basically what rice needs to cook is simply heat and water. You just need to get the right water to rice ratio and those cooking times, for that perfect rice.
Cooking rice on the stove
Cooking rice in a pot on the stove is preferred by some cooks who have perfected this art or just don’t see the advantage of a separate appliance for cooking rice.
The advantage is that you can adjust the cooking and rest times. You can’t do this with an electric rice cooker once it is running (but you vary the amount of water you add next time, e.g., for sticky rice).
Comparison chart of best sellers*
 Zojirushi NHS-06 | **Best for simple on/off** Made in Thailand Simple on/off $ | |
Zojirushi NS-LGC05 | Made in China Delay timer Quick rice $$ | |
Zojirushi NP-NWC10 | **Best for ‘sweeter’ tasting rice** Made in Japan Delay timer Quick rice 3 pressure levels Induction heating $$$$ | |
Tiger JAX-T10U-K | **Best for 2 meals at once** Made in Japan Cook 2 meals at once Delay timer + steamer + slow cooker $$ | |
TIGER JBV-A10U | Made in China Cook 2 Meals At Once Quick rice + steamer + slow cooker $ | |
Cuckoo CR-0632F | Made in Korea Delay timer Quick rice + slow cooker $ | |
Cuckoo CR-0655F | **Best for auto cleaning** Made in Korea Delay timer Quick rice + baby food $ | |
Cuckoo CRP-P0609S | **Best for extra uses** Made in Korea Quick rice + pressure cooker + fermenting + bread making $$$ |
Read on for the details and other merchants from which to purchase these. Or, if short on time, go to my quick reference guide to compare features.
Cooking rice with electric rice cookers
The thing to love about electric rice cookers is that there’s virtually no thinking involved to get that perfectly cooked rice. You just add the required amount of rice and water and ‘push the button’. Compared this to an air fryer — yes you can cook rice in an air fryer.
Measuring cups come with the cooker, so you easily know the right amount of ingredients to add to the unit. After you add these you simply set and forget.
For those leading busy lives and wanting convenience, a set-and-forget electric rice cooker is magic as you can prepare other parts of the meal or simply enjoy other activities — while confidently cooking perfect rice.
How do electric rice cookers work?
Electric rice cookers work by a push of a button. The unit starts to heat the water and rice you’ve added to the right temperature for menu option. In most modern units an inbuilt thermometer senses the temperature increase once the grains have absorb all the water and switches the unit off or to ‘keep warm’ in response.
As I’ve mentioned above and in my article on why your rice burns at the bottom, electric rice cookers have four parts to them. These are the main body, an inner pot, a heating plate or element at the base, and a thermal sensing device with a spring-loaded thermometer.
These are the basics. You’ll find more advanced technologies of induction heating and pressure cooking in some top-of-the-line rice cooker models.
Best rice cookers – What to know
There are plenty of electric rice cookers on the market to choose from. So much so that it can be overwhelming when it comes to selecting the one that’s right for you. They can vary in price from tens to hundreds of dollars, depending on the brand, capacity, the functions they perform, and the extras.
Typical extras that come with electric rice cookers include the following…
- Measuring cup (some include a rinse-free measuring cup)
- Rice paddle or spatula and holder (some include non-stick rice spatulas)
- Steaming basket
- Instructions with recipes
The best rice cooker for you
You may want to consider your bench space and storage area needed for the electric rice cooker. The more sophisticated ones are larger than the conventional rice cookers.
The best choice in rice cooker for you will depend on what you are looking for. If you’re are short on space, you might want a bench saver. Not fussed about complex controls and menu options? You might opt for a simple on/off rice cooker. Or you might wish for the top of the range, claiming to bring you the best tasting rice ever. I have some best recommended ones for these below.
Then again, at the end of the day your choice come down to your budget, family size (i.e., the quantity of rice you need to cook), preference settings ( e.g., oatmeal, UNAMI, or brown-rice settings), and whether you want added features, such as melody notifications and ‘convenience’ designs. So read on…
Bells and whistles
When looking at model numbers, a “P” in the series generally indicates the unit has pressure cooking technology.
When the sales pitch says Micom, it means micro computer.
Among the choices are induction rice cookers.
Some best sellers – Cuckoo vs Zojirushi vs Tiger
Three leading brands and major competitors in this market are Zojirushi, Tiger, and Cuckoo. I compare and review these three here as a guide to helping you make a sound choice.
Which is the best brand of rice cookers?
Fuzzy logic or computerization is in all the brands, Zojirushi, Tiger, and Cuckoo. Which brand of rice cooker is the best?
Zojirushi and Tiger are Japanese multinational manufacturers of electronics including rice cookers. Both have subsidiaries in the US.
Cuckoo is a South Korean multinational manufacturing company, founded in 1978, with products sold in the US since 2002.
So it’s Tiger vs Zojirushi if you’re wanting Japanese rice cooker brands, while Cuckoo is still a popular choice.
Let’s explore their electric rice cookers…
Zojirushi electric rice cookers
Zojirushi offers the Micom rice cookers. What’s good about this feature is that it auto-adjusts the cooking temperature and time. The newer models feature pressure induction heating technology that allows precise heating control and other advantages.
Not sure if you’re looking to bake cakes in a rice cooker, but check out the swag of possible menu settings you might find on a Zojirushi rice cooker:
- UMAMI Setting
- GABA Brown Setting
- Long Grain White Setting
- Jasmine Setting
- Quinoa Setting
- Steel Cut Oatmeal Setting
- Cake Setting
- Slow Cook Setting
- Sushi Rice Setting
- Porridge Setting
- Mixed Setting
- Steam Setting
In their rice cookers, Zojirushi’s design offers convenience. For easy cleaning, their units include an inner pot with a nonstick interior. So you can easily read control setting, they offer an ‘Easy-Read‘ high contrast water measurement markings (white on black). Other convenience advantages include a delay timer to schedule cooking and a ‘melody’ notification.
In most models, you have a choice of 5.5 (1 liter) or 10 cups (1.8 liters) of uncooked-rice capacity.
Zojirushi rice cooker comparison
Use the following to quickly compare Zojirushi rice cookers by the brand’s own star rating, the number of cups, brown rice cooking, where made, and the expected price range of five popular models.
Table to compare Zojirushi rice cookers in price vs features
Jojirushi 5-star rating rice cooker
Zojirushi rates the NP-NWC10 model, made in Japan, as their 5-star electric rice cooker.
Zojirushi Induction rice cooker NP-NWQ10 in black available at Amazon
Its high ranking stems from taste testing and is attributed to the platinum infused nonstick inner cooking pan that the company claims improves water quality and absorption to give you ‘sweeter’ tasting rice.
This 5.5 cup model features pressure induction heating (helps with getting the precise temperature) technology, which places it in that high-end price bracket for rice cookers.
Where to buy NP-NWC10
- Check out the latest price at Amazon — See details.
- See the best price at Best Buy.
- Get the best deal at Bed Bath & Beyond
Zojirushi conventional rice cooker
**Best for simple straight-forward on/off cooking of rice**
If you’re just wanting a simple straight-forward rice cooker, consider the Zojirushi NHS-06/10/18, an economical buy. Although you won’t have the special grain settings.
Zojirushi simple 3 cups (uncooked) rice cooker available at Amazon
This model is made in Thailand. It’s fairly compact if you are short on space as it takes up 0.62 square feet, relatively less bench space than the others.
It has a nonstick pot for easy cleaning and a keep warm setting but no special settings for quick rice, delay starting, or other such functions.
But it is an economical buy…and simple to use.
Looking for a conventional rice cooker with a simple on/off switch? Then consider the NHS-06, which comes in either 6 or 10 cup capacity models.
Where to buy
- Check out the price at Amazon — See details.
- See it at the Zojirushi company
- You might like to shop at Walmart
Tiger rice cooker review
A worthy design feature of the Tiger electric cookers is tacook – a synchronized cooking feature where you can cook two meals at once.
There are 4-in-1 functions where you can choose rice cooking, synchro-cooking, slow cooking, or steaming. Most models have an automatic warm where once cooking is completed, the automatic keep-warm function kicks in.
You’ll also find an induction heating system in some models.
Other design advantages include a removable upper lid and a non-stick inner pot.
Which Tiger Brand rice cooker is the best?
The chart below shows how 3 popular Tiger units compared in terms of cup size, if it is a brown rice cooker, where made, and expected price range. This includes the tiger JAX-T10U, JBV-A10U, and the JNP-S10U-HU.
Tiger JAX-T10U review
The Tiger JAX-T10U-K has eight grain-settings, with one of these settings making it an ideal brown rice cooker. Not only is it a rice cooker, but a steamer and has quick-rice and keep warm settings.
Tiger JAX 5.5 cup uncooked available at Amazon
A delay timer and being able to cook two meals at the same time are some of its features that provide huge advantages of convenience for busy people.
It has a nonstick inner metal pot (which being nonstick you’ll need to take care to avoid scratching the nonstick surface) – so use non-metal utensils rather than metal spoons and definitely avoid sharp knives.
For cleaning, you can remove the lid and steam cap, which is useful.
At 10.1 by 13.7 inches, it takes up just under one square foot of bench space. So. it’s relatively compact.
It is also Japanese made.
Where to buy
- See the price direct from the Tiger company
- Check out the latest price at Amazon.
- See the deal at Overstock
- You can also get it at Walmart
Tiger JNP-S10U-HU
**Best Rice Cooker for Small Areas – Bench Space Saver**
If you are worried about bench space, the Tiger JNP-S10U-HU rice cooker takes up just over half a square foot of bench space. It covers the least bench space of all the units covered in this Tiger vs Cuckoo vs Zojirushi review.
Tiger JNP 5.5 cup rice cooker available at Amazon
Where to buy:
Cuckoo rice cooker Models
With Cuckoo rice cookers you’ll find features such as twin pressure, which offers you a choice of using pressure or non-pressure cooking (CRP models).
You’ll find full stainless detachable covers and stainless steel pots in the Cuckoo range of electric rice cookers. They have a simple on/off switch at the base. The energy ‘eye’ sensor senses darkness and switches to an energy saver mode.
A convenience design in these is the automatic steam cleaning to thoroughly and automatically clean the cooker. As well, the Xwall coating makes it dishwasher safe.
The units have a water drainage system to collect and separate water created during cooking.
Cuckoo rice cookers have safety systems incorporated to control heat, pressure, and the functioning of the unit so you can feel confident in using the product.
Cuckoo CRP multi-function rice cooker
**Best rice cooker for additional functions**
Cuckoo CRP 6 cup available at Amazon
The Cuckoo CRP-P0609S is a 6 cup pressure rice cooker with 12 menu options for cooking not only normal rice, but also Quinoa, GABA/Brown Rice and more. This unit is made in Korea.
The unit with multifunctions worth looking at is the Cuckoo CRP- Check it out the deals at Overstock. Or get it at Amazon – see the latest price here.
Cuckoo CR-0665F rice cooker
**Best rice cooker for auto cleaning**
Cuckoo Micom 6 cup available at Amazon
Just like Zojirushi, Cuckoo markets Micom rice cookers – Micom simply meaning microcomputer.
This rice cooker has 16 settings including one for baby food. It has a turbo setting for quick rice. It has a keep warm setting and a delay timer, which are great for convenience. The inner pot is nonstick metal.
What to love is the auto steam cleaning feature.
Where to buy:
- See the latest price at Amazon
Or choose from your prefered dealer:
- Buy from Bed Bath & Beyond
- Check out Overstock
- Or choose Macy’s
Quick compare – Zojirushi vs Tiger vs Cuckoo brand models
| #Grain Settings | ZOJIRUSHI – NHS-06 – Simple on/off switch – NS-LGC05 – 7 settings – NP-NVC10 – 10+ TIGER – JAX-T10U-K – 8 settings – JBV-A10U – 2 – JNP-S10U-HU – Simple on/off switch CUCKOO – CR-0632F – 16 – CR-0655F – 16 – CRP-P0609S – 8+ |
| Multifunction | ZOJIRUSHI – NHS-06 ✘ – NS-LGC05 ✘ – NP-NVC10: 3 pressure levels TIGER – JAX-T10U-K ✔ + steamer, slow cooker – JBV-A10U ✔ + steamer, slow cooker – JNP-S10U-HU ✘ CUCKOO – CR-0632F ✔ + slow cooker – CR-0655F ✔ + baby food – CRP-P0609S ✔ + pressure cooker, fermenting, bread making |
| Quick-rice Setting | ZOJIRUSHI – NHS-06 ✘ – NS-LGC05 ✔ – NP-NVC10 ✔ TIGER – JAX-T10U-K ✔ – JBV-A10U ✘ – JNP-S10U-HU ✘ CUCKOO – CR-0632F ✔ – CR-0655F: ✔ Turbo setting CRP-P0609S: ✔ Turbo setting |
| Keep-warm Setting | ZOJIRUSHI – NHS-06 ✔ – NS-LGC05 ✔ – NP-NVC10 ✔ TIGER – JAX-T10U-K ✔ – JBV-A10U ✔ – JNP-S10U-HU ✔ CUCKOO – CR-0632F ✔ – CR-0655F ✔ – CRP-P0609S ✔ |
| Delay Timer | ZOJIRUSHI – NHS-06 ✘ – NS-LGC05 ✔ (x2) – NP-NVC10 ✔ TIGER – JAX-T10U-K ✔ – JBV-A10U ✘ – JNP-S10U-HU ✘ CUCKOO – CR-0632F ✔ – CR-0655F ✔ – CRP-P0609S |
| Cook 2 Meals Simultaneously | ZOJIRUSHI – NHS-06 ✘ – NS-LGC05 ✘ – NP-NVC10 ✘ TIGER – JAX-T10U-K ✔ – JBV-A10U ✔ – JNP-S10U-HU ✘ – CUCKOO – CR-0632F ✘ – CR-0655F ✘ – CRP-P0609S ✘ |
| Inner Pot | ZOJIRUSHI – NHS-06: nonstick pan – NS-LGC05: nonstick metal pan – NP-NVC10: Platinum infused nonstick metal TIGER – JAX-T10U-K: nonstick metal pan – JBV-A10U: nonstick metal pan – JNP-S10U-HU: nonstick metal pan CUCKOO – CR-0632F: nonstick metal pan – CR-0655F: nonstick metal pan – CRP-P0609S: nonstick metal pan |
| Cleaning | – ZOJIRUSHI – NHS-06: nonstick pot – NS-LGC05: Removable inner lid – NP-NVC10: Removable s/steel inner lid TIGER – JAX-T10U-K: removable lid/steam cap – JBV-A10U: removable inner steam cap – JNP-S10U-HU: nonstick pot CUCKOO – CR-0632F: removable inner lid – CR-0655F: auto steam cleaning – CRP-P0609S: auto steam cleaning |
| Bench Space* | ZOJIRUSHI – NHS-06: 10.1″W x 8.9″L (0.62 sq. ft.) ✔✔ – NS-LGC05XB: 9.1″W x 11.9″L (0.75 sq. ft.) ✔ – NP-NVC10: 10.1″W x 15.4″L (1.08 sq. ft.) TIGER – JAX-T10U-K: 10.1″W x 13.7″L (0.96 sq. ft.) – JBV-A10U: 10.6″W x 13.9″L (1.02 sq. ft.) – JNP-S10U-HU: 9.1″W x 8.7″L (0.55 sq. ft.) ✔✔✔ CUCKOO – CR-0632F: 9.25″W x 12.5″L (0.80 sq. ft.) – CR-0655F: 9.4″W x 13″L (0.85 sq. ft.) – CRP-P0609S: 11.6″W x 14.2″L (1.14 sq. ft.) |
| Where Made | ZOJIRUSHI – NHS-06: Thailand – NS-LGC05: China – NP-NVC10: Japan TIGER – JAX-T10U-K: Japan – JBV-A10U: China – JNP-S10U-HU: Japan CUCKOO – CR-0632F: South Korea – CR-0655F: South Korea – CRP-P0609S: South Korea |
I hope this wad of information helps you with your choice and that you now are in a better place to buy what’s best for you whether its Tiger vs Zojirush or Cuckoo that’s for you.
>>Scroll Back To Comparison Table Of Best Rice Cookers
Other features
Non essential features offered by some…
Induction heating, mobile app, and voice navigation.
Things we don’t want in cooked rice…
Rice that’s squishy and clumpy, too wet, scorched on the bottom, stuck and starchy on the bottom — see my article on the joys of smart cookers for cooking brown rice.
Sources
Tejal Ras: How To Make Rice |