$(@$^ Miracle Exclusives ME81 Stainless Steel Rice Cooker - Steamer

One of the modern marvels - no more watching and waiting for the rice to become perfectly cooked! The ME81 replaces the former model ME8 with new improvements like the all stainless steel bowl and vegetable steamer. All automatic, the stainless steel rice cooker includes a warm mode which automatically kicks in to keep the rice warm. This model will cook 8 cups of rice and yields 12 cups of cooked rice. With the addition of all stainless steel, none of your food ever comes in contact with any chemical or substance (like teflon on some others). Comes featured with indicator lights, different cooking modes and includes a stainless steel vegetable steamer tray. * All stainless steel contact with food * Easy to use * Yields 12 cups cooked rice * Automatic Warm Feature * No Teflon or other chemicals used in coating * Easy-view Glass Lid * Includes Rice paddle, removable stainless steel vegetable steamer tray * 46 inch power cord Model: ME81 - Stainless Steel Rice Cooker Weight: 3 Pounds, 97 Ounces Dimensions: 9.5" Length, 8.67" Width, 7" Height Voltage: 110v Warranty: 1 year Power: 500 W Certifications: UL Approved Made In: China

This rice cooker is great for several reasons:

1) it is stainless steel

2) It can cook ,barley, quinoa, rice , brown rice, lentils , bulgur , just about any grain. (you have to experiment with the amount of water)

3) the genius of the design is that the bowl is shaped so that when the water has been absorbed, the
cooker senses it, and goes into warming mode. If you want the grain to be softer , you need to use more
water. you can add water and push the button down again if necessary (after waiting a couple minutes)

4) it has no electronics to break down...the shape of the bowl takes care of knowing when the water is absorbed.
It's an inherently intelligent design.

5) with the steamer, you can cook rice in the bottom and vegetables , tofu etc in the top simultaneously. Just start it , and it will shut off
when done , and go into the warm mode. Good if you can't watch it .. You just have to make sure you use the right proportion of water...

I like this cooker. I've had it for nearly two years with no trouble until just recently. It is a reasonably dependable, no frills aka "cheapie" rice cooker that people pay a premium for, to get the stainless steel cooking bowl. My complaints are:

o The cooker is too small at "8" Asian measure rice cups. I like to use the rice cooker as a smart pot, and make whole one pot meals in it, with plenty of left-overs. Along with brown rice, split peas, lentils and pre-cooked beans a batch will include tons of diced vegetables, like cut carrots, sweet and regular potatoes, onions, mushrooms, herbs and especially tons of chopped kale, mustard greens and spinach -- and it's basically stuffed to get that all in to cook an efficient batch. I had a "10" cup micom cooker before and it was a better size, more towards adequate.

o The engineering and assembly quality are OK, but I'd like to have seen better for the price. After less than two years of normal but careful duty, the cooking bottom stopped working. Of course there is only one year's warranty. I took it apart and fooled with the switch a bit, a stamped steel arm that raises a spring collar in the center of the pot ... and got it to work again (surprisingly) as well as ever, which is good. But you're not going to be overcome by the build quality.

While the cooker was down, I noticed there is another stainless steel cooker now, a model of Aroma that is larger and comes in 14 and 20 cup versions for $40 and $50 respectively. I might try one of those.

But what I would really like would be a LARGE Zojirushi quality Micom (timeable, programmable) rice cooker that has a high quality stainless steel bowl.

I usually do this to make my rice:

Use a mix of medium or long grain brown rice with split peas and lentils. You can mix and match the dry rice, split peas and lentils in whatever proportion you like, they all cook the same. Usually I soak the batch for at least an hour before cooking, but it's easier to just keep a couple of batches soaking over night (for up to 3-4 days) in the fridge. I measure by weight the grains+legumes to water at 1 part grains+legumes to 1.33 part water, e.g. 500 grams brown rice/lentils to 667 grams water, soak it overnight. It just takes an inexpensive kitchen gram scale and you can precisely measure the ratio to get just the texture of the rice you want.

I let the batch go through it's cooking cycle and typically let it set for 1/2 hour on warm, so the texture is just how I like it.

I eat every grain of rice and every lentil in the pot; there is no burning or sticking, and use no oil in cooking. There are some very thin darkened streaks & spots of starch at the bottom of the stainless steel bowl. And using lentils, chopped carrots-sweet-potatoes & greens cooked with the mix -- there are some colored marks also left on the bottom of the bowl. I use a stainless-steel pad to remove these usually each time to leave the bowl shining. Cleanup takes about two minutes, and no waste of food.

Link Info : Miracle Exclusives ME81 Stainless Steel Rice Cooker - Steamer

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#*)@ Stainless Steel Rice Cooker Model ME81 (Formerly ME8)

We've had this rice cooker for several months now and are delighted with it! In my experience, 8 cups of dry rice is way too much to cook, at least for the kind of rice we use that requires a lot of water. I do no more than 3 1/2 dry cups at a time or it overflows. You also want to be sure, when the unit is on, to place it so that it isn't directly beneath anything (it produces a lot of steam that escapes through the hole in the lid and can give your cabinets a sauna), but if you follow those instructions, it works perfectly. Some rice sticks to the bottom, of course, but brief soaking gets it right off. It produces excellent rice and keeps it warm and delicious. It makes us feel so good to be using stainless steel instead of a nonstick or aluminum pot.

When we decided to buy a rice cooker - we knew that we were going to purchase one without an aluminum or teflon pan. That narrowed the field of options quite a bit. Our new Miracle Stainless Steel Rice Cooker is the best! The rice came out perfectly, the pan was not difficult to clean up, and it was simple to operate.

Automatic Rice Cooker - All Stainless Steel! Features & SpecificationsStainless Steel Rice Cooker / Steamer - by Miracle ExclusivesOne of the modern marvels - no more watching and waiting for the rice to become perfectly cooked! The ME81 replaces the former model ME8 with new improvements like the all stainless steel bowl and vegetable steamer.All automatic, the unit includes a warm mode which automatically kicks in to keep the rice warm. This model will cook 8 cups of rice and yields 12 cups of cooked rice. With the addition of all stainless steel, none of your food ever comes in contact with any chemical or substance (like teflon on some others). Comes featured with indicator lights, different cooking modes and includes a stainless steel vegetable steamer tray.Features:All stainless steel contact with foodEasy to useYields 12 cups cooked riceAutomatic Warm FeatureNo Teflon or other chemicals used in coatingEasy-view Glass LidIncludes Rice paddle, removable stainless steel vegetable steamer tray46 inch power cordSpecifications: ModelME81 - Stainless Steel Rice CookerWeight3.97 PoundsDimensionsDepth9.5"Width:8.67"Height:7"ListedUL ApprovedVoltage110 V / AC / 60HzPower500 WMade inChinaWarranty1 Year Warranty

Poor directions, need to unplug to turn off, and rice sticks to the bowl. The need to use butter or oil in the rice was unexpected and unwelcome. We have cooked basmati white rice, short and long grain brown rice, and have not had a successful outcome yet!

So far great!!! I like that you can walk off and leave it cooking away. Also, I like that you can remove the lid in about 30 minutes and check the rice by taste without causing it to shut down. You must do this quickly, however. I found that white grain rice cooks more quickly than recipe calls for. I would not recommend leaving it alone for time where it cuts to warm. I think it overcooked a tad/too soft/and dry as far as liquid called for not enough to leave alone until goes to warm. I would actually time and maybe taste in about 15 to 20 minutes to get an idea of how it is progressing as far as softness. I used a recipe that called for 1 1/4 cup rice using measure device and can seasoned (14ounce) tomatoes, 1 and 1/2 cup water, red pepper chopped and onion, salt, chili powder. Next time I will cook in less time, use less rice such as one measure cup full (measure cup provided with cooker) and brown the rice in another pan and then use that same pan to sauté onions and peppers gently before throwing all in Miracle Rice Cooker. The browning of rice was hard as it cut to warm too quickly before browning was accomplished. So, what I am saying, this is great and you can do more than simple recipes as you can see and love how it did not burn etc. I did not leave it in the container over 5 minutes which I think cuts down on the burned area and maybe leaves a little tiny dark brown on metal only here and there. I think leaving all in cooker dries out the rice and contents and produces the little bit of dark brown on metal. I would buy one of these units again but in a few months I will come back and let all of you know if it is still working. I know it is under warranty a year if bought new so that helps. And remember, you must use caution until you get the feel of using one of these and always mark your recipes so that the next time you will know just exactly what measurements, times to allow etc and changes that are for the better with great success in the end.

Once I found the ratio or water to rice that I like. For small amounts of rice or large; the rice comes out cooked the same. The clean up is easy. There is some rice left on the bottom of the cooking bowl. However I fill the bowl with water and let it soak while I eat and afterwards the "stuck" on rice wipes out easily. No scrubbing and no scratching the stainless steel bowl. After one year and using it 2 to 3 times a week....I like it so well I decided to buy a backup. Yes this is my SECOND one. The first still is working, but was concerned when it does eventually need replaced it might not be available. I have to much cupboard space so decided to use some of that space a second rice cooker because I don't ever want to be without this cooker. It might seem extreme, but rice is a main component of most of my meals. Can I give it a couple more stars?

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