HomeCookbooksGreek CookbooksThe Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook : 250 No-Fail Recipes for Pilafs, Risottos, Polenta, Chilis, Soups, Porridges, Puddings and More, from Start to Finish in Your Rice Cooker (Non) |
|  | | | Customer Reviews: | | | Average Customer Review: ( 152 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
283 of 286 found the following review helpful:
 We use this cookbook at least 3 times a week (usually more) Nov 21, 2002
By K. Corn
"reviewer"
I bought a rice cooker, learned the basics of preparing rice and then wanted to expand my skills. So I bought a few cookbooks but this is the ONLY one that has recipes my whole family loves, so much so that we use it at least 3-5 times a week and never feel like we're eating the same thing.
The recipes aren't just for rice but for all sorts of grains and vegetables and fruits as well. In fact, I'm ready to throw out my crockpot because the meals prepared in the rice cooker are much better, don't have that overcooked, stewed taste you can get with a crockpot and have all the convenience and ease that I need with my busy schedule. The directions are clear and the recipes range from the simple (plain cooked grains) to the more complex (rice with coconut and currants... or grits with cheese and spices )
The ultimate test of a good cookbook, of course, is getting compliments and raves about the food. Every time I've made a recipe from this book, the food has been devoured quickly. We rarely have leftovers and my son's friends even make a point of looking in the kitchen to see if the rice cooker is turned on ( yes, the recipes in this cookbook are THAT good).
509 of 521 found the following review helpful:
One thing to consider...SMELLS Mar 25, 2005
By Scott Collard
I have owned rice cookers for many years. My latest, the Zojirushi NS-ZAC10, is the best I have ever used. I figured it would be a good idea to branch out from using the rice cooker to cook only rice, so I purchased this highly recommended book.
While the book is very good, and the recipes I have tried so far have all been quite tasty, there is a major consideration that you should be aware of when making many of the recipes in this book: residual odors.
Yes, when you use your rice cooker to make the delicious "creamy breakfast oatmeal" with steel-cut oats, bear in mind that your steamed white rice will smell of cinnamon for at least three or four batches afterwards. My 11-year old (a steamed rice 'purist') noticed the cinnamon 'essence' immediately and complained that 'something was wrong with the rice.'
Similarly with any of the dishes which call for sauteing onions in the rice cooker, or adding other strongly aromatic ingredients. If you use your rice cooker primarily for preparing perfect (and I mean PERFECT) steamed rice, you may not want any other flavors mingling in there.
Just something to keep in mind.
Otherwise, the book is a great resource. There are a few minor inconsistencies (try finding 'congee' in the index), and the resource materials can be a bit confusing (to be fair, the number of rice varieties is quite daunting). And if you are an experienced cook you may get tired of being told the exact procedure for washing rice in every recipe, but all in all, the sheer variety alone is easily worth the price. Also, it is worth noting that if you have a fuzzy logic rice cooker, you will not be able to use it for any of the recipes that employ steaming (which is a fair number of dishes), but you can easily adapt these recipes to any another stovetop steaming setup you may have.
Just remember to plan your rice cooker experiments around your need for 'un-tainted' steamed rice, and you will enjoy "The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook"
198 of 201 found the following review helpful:
turns a rice cooker into a major kitchen appliance Apr 29, 2003
By P. Crowe
I used to use my rice cooker several times a week. With this cook book and my new fuzzy logic rice cooker, I use it several times a day. It will appeal to cooks of all levels. For cooks experienced with rice and whole grains, the most important part of the book will probably be recipes for the porridge cycle of a fuzzy logic cooker: rice porridge, puddings, custards, and hot cereals. Even for experienced rice cooks, however, this book has excellent information on different varieties of rice and different types of dishes. In addition to many styles of rice dishes, it includes recipes for other grains such as couscous, bulgur and grits. It is well laid out and has commentaries on grains and dishes that will enable creative cooks to invent their own recipes as well as using the very tasty recipes included in the book. Although the recipes suggest the size of the cooker to be used, you need to use some common sense. I have a small cooker and have successfully made recipes suggested for other size cookers. This book is utterly clear and easy to follow. All the recipes work, and all taste wonderful. If you have a rice cooker, especially a fuzzy logic cooker, you need this book.
215 of 227 found the following review helpful:
 Don't buy unless your cooker is a "fuzzy logic" one Mar 02, 2006
By Anonymous5555
After reading all the reviews of this cookbook, I decided to purchase it. I've been looking for a good rice pudding recipe to be made in a rice cooker.
However, the book is nearly useless to me. Every single recipe in the pudding section calls for using a "fuzzy logic only" cooker. I checked the oatmeal and porridge section as well -- and found the same.
So, it might be a good cookbook for people who own $200 rice cookers, but for the majority of us, the book is just not worth it. There are too few recipes for regular old rice cookers.
(And I find it disingenuous that, when the authors talk about the differences in cookers in the beginning, they fail to note that the majority of their recipes only work in the expensive machine.)
64 of 64 found the following review helpful:
Just Plain Comprehensive Oct 07, 2002
I got this book as a gift after debating whether to buy it for about six months. I have a fuzzy logic cooker and wasn't sure if the recipes in the book were for regular rice cookers or the fuzzy logic type. Turns out its for all kinds of rice cookers. In fact the book basically is a reference guide to rice, rice cookers, rice recipes and anything else eatable the authors attempted to cook in the appliance. The only thing that fuzzy logic cookers get left out of is steamed items. Each recipe tells you if it is appropriate for the rice cooker you have. Most of the recipes seem to work for all cookers. Comprehensive is the word that came to mind the first time I sat down with this cook book. The first section deals with rice cookers and describes each kind in detail and how to use it. That takes 16 pages. Then they move on to every type of rice you are might encounter in the whole rice loving world. That's another 16 pages. Included in that section is a page devoted to how to make packaged rice mixes in the cooker; things like rice-a-roni or some of the new orleans red beans and rice mixes or casbah brand. The recipes start appearing on page 34 and one thing to know is that THERE ARE NO ILLUSTRATIONS. The recipes are separated into chapters like pilafs, risottos, deserts, and other unlikely items, like little meals, dim sum and grains. What is convenient is that at the start of each chapter is a little table of contents for that chapter listing the name and page of each recipe. What a great idea. In each chapter if there is any step of a recipe that can't be done in a cooker that gets its own little recipe. The recipes are laid out well; the ingredients are listed in a different color type than the directions. There are some things they want you to do that seem weird, like melting butter and sauteing things in the cooker using the quick cook cycle with the lid open. I haven't tried that yet. One day, but not today. Making different breakfast oatmeals and porridges seems like high adventure to me. There are lots of side items about rice or other ingredients, including a list of useful items found in asian markets. Things like that are printed on different colored paper. Even a amall history of rice. ...
See all 152 customer reviews on Amazon.com
|
| |
|
|
* Estimated shipping rate for US 48 states. Final rate calculated at checkout. |
