A well designed, well made rice cooker

The Zojirushi NS-LAC05 is a competent rice cooker. It’s easy to use, just fill with water, drop in the rice, select the type of rice you’re cooking and hit the ‘cooking’ button. Timed cooking, the type we do most often here, is just as easy and only requires one more step.

The front panel is laid out well with settings for ‘sushi’, ‘porridge’, ‘brown’, ‘white/mixed’ and ‘quick cooking’. There is also a ‘timer’ function and ‘keep warm’ button.
The display is not complex but I don’t like it, unless you are in just the right spot the contrast is poor and I find myself standing back to see it clearly. Our inexpensive kitchen timer is easier to read.
The Zojirushi has an internal lithium battery that keeps the display on even when the machine is unplugged, the problem is that there is no way to change it short of dismantling the rice cooker and I don’t see the battery listed with the other replacement parts. Judging from experience I would say the battery will last several years or possibly longer if it is a rechargeable one. The plus side is that you can lose power for up to ten minutes and still maintain the cooking cycle. Also the rice cooker may work fine once it is plugged in even without the battery functioning.

The bowl is a heavy, well made cast aluminum one with a thick coating of Teflon, both inside and out, that will most likely last for years. The level markings inside the bowl are in contrasting white, labeled for different types of rice and raised making it easy to read and fill.

The instructions are well written for basic rice but cooks who don’t like experimenting might find them vague for porridge or rice plus other ingredients. The hints and recipes do help when you stray off the basic rice settings though.

I thought the retracting cord and spoon holder were just gimmicks but they are both handy additions to the cooker.

The rice cooker cleans easily. The top just pops out for washing and the bowl is a cinch to wash too, no different then any small Teflon pot. Another plus is that there is no external steam cup to be emptied and cleaned like on many other cookers.
The outside housing includes stainless steel not aluminum and cleans quickly with a damp cloth.

We buy grains and rice in bulk and like organic short grain brown rice. It cooks perfectly but I did have to play with the water to rice ratio just a bit which I think is normal. It only took about two or three tries to get rice just the way we like it.

The warmer is a great function especially for busy people and I recommend it regardless which rice cooker you decide on. Set the timer for about a half or full hour before you want to eat and perfect rice will be ready and kept warm for you at the meal time you choose.

Most rice takes a long time to cook, over an hour and a half for some types. We rarely eat white rice and I haven’t cooked it in this cooker yet, you may find that you can use the ‘quick cooking’ setting and a much shorter cooking time for white rice if it is your preference.
I don’t have another cooker to compare the fuzzy logic to so I can’t say how effective it is over a non fuzzy logic cooker but this machine does make very good rice consistently.

I did buy the 3 cup cooker because I felt it would cook smaller quantities (1/2 to 1 cup) better and have less of a foot print on our already packed counter. If you think you will be adding a lot of ingredients to your rice then you may want to go with a larger cooker.

The price is comparatively high but the quality is there. The cooker is made in China but I’d say under strict supervision from Zojirushi as the fit and finish are excellent and the cooker has a quality look to it, aside from the display.

I expect the Zojirushi to work very well for years to come and find it well worth its extra cost.