first-off : there is no substitute for good ol’water-on-pan rice cooked by your grand-mother .
it’s just that in the hype of modern days’ life, you wanna cook faster and want it to stay warm longer .
but still it would not work for Middle-Eastern ways of buttering and oiling .
and second : the older pure-mechanical models last longer (ideally over 10 years) for they have only basic operations in cooking just over 30 minutes.
while post-Millennium models will last 2 ~ 6 years depending on how you use and maintain it – meaning : sustaining all the electronical capability it was supposed to at on-set, verbally announcing cooked in less than 15 minutes.
*this Post contains some trial-and-error so You might proceed directly towards the bottom, where more correct solutions are noted .
[ Rice Cooker Maintenance ] updated November 2014
- the foremost care should be given to wiping any water formed when opening the top,
- then periodically water residues on the inner top and boundaries,
- after a year-or-so when you feel the rice especially on the rice clump corners hardening faster, which you will notice immediately – this is your first sign your rice machine is detioriating –
- first solution is to take the rubber ring from the inner top-cover of the cooker, and clean it well
- this may do for a while but soon you will want to order extra of that rubber ring, that covers the inner top of the cooker
– usually around W10,000 : those for popular models can be bought at larger independent On-Line Shopping Malls like interPark, 11st, GMarket and Auction (in the order of sellers that make receipts available conveniently and for years) – and because they are sellers : they advise you replace to a new on every year .. which I kinda agree, but can push it to two if you can clean well in-between as explained on previous paragraph . for others you will have to call-in their customer support centers, where there is no automatic payment method thus will have to call-in, then transfer payment On-Line, with the extra parts shipped-out the next day for delivery the after . - if that doesn’t do it you may bring it in for electronic check-up,
[ UseFul Tip on Maintaining Fresh-Cooked Rice ]
this is the golden rule among local house-wives to keep your electric-cooked rice stay moisty longer :
- within 3 minutes after your rice is cooked
(this won’t be effective if done after 5 minutes of cooking) - scramble and mix the whole cooked-rice over
especially turning inside-to-out and bottom-to-top - then gather the whole onto a bunch
away from corners and forming a small hill in the center
.
.
– Korea Tech BLog, January 2012 –
( April 2013 Wrap-Up ) on How Many Years it will Last
you have reached here searching for clues to eternal Life, Oh I mean which version of the two stories told in the Academy Award-winning movie ‘Story of Pi’ is most likely true (implying it depends whether you accept the existence of God – but to give you MY version of definite hint : this is one cruel, horrifying movie) Why here ? for rice is Life in the Orient, preciously reflected in classic Vietnam War movies .
but search all you like, and you still won’t come up with a definite number like three, five and fourteen . Oops I have given you MY answer : as in 1.seems have to, 2.should and 3.definitely . so here I will give you a general expectancy of Korean populace (whose meal consist of rice from BreakFast to Lunch and Dinner – differing from neighboring Japan where noodles may come in place for Lunch and/or Dinner) and mine who juggle rice with pasta and bread, while casually eating-out .
in Korean consensus :
- the new-age young change rice cookers in two or three years while,
- the general populace 7~8 years
- and the old-timers even 14 years
[ after trial : next two paragraph is the wrong way, so head-on below ]
– exchanging the rubber cap rim every year or two (in my experience it does make a slight difference but NOT re-juvinate your machine all-over). unfortunately : the less electronic twinkling the cooker’s specification has, the longer usage . and in my case of burning around every four days, the rice corners start to harden from its third day in almost 2~3 years, then eventually have to dispose in five, ONLY because the corners will harden in 2~3 days -_- but again, here the argument is futile : for manufacturers for example Cuckoo recommend on their brief manual, to consume cooked rice within 12 hours (?!) so it is un-heard of where you will change a rice cooker because it stopped working – much like as you will discard a computer CPU because it has become out-of-date than malfunction .
from my own experience as a rice-person : I feel the need to swipe model on the third year, only because I am lazy to leave the rice for days after cooking, as sudden eat-out comes-up often, while exchanging the top rubber rim doesn’t do much good .. but it is *definitely time to change if your cooked rice start to harden /before/ you finish your bowl .
[ the right-way ] latest high-tech cookers are more sensitive to the slightest leaks, to the point of being dangerous to explosion so : although most manufacturers recommend changing the rubber rim every 1~3 years – it is too late when you realize rice lump corners hardening after a couple of days, where the metal top would have been dis-figured that you will now have to change the whole metal cover for a whopping W120,000 (you have to pay as it will probably be over local manufacturers’ warranty period of a Year). you’d better exchange it after about 8-Months of use . this don’t matter if you follow most manufacturers’ advice to finish the rice within 12 Hours from initial cooking (although advanced models even have “re-cook” features), but does when you keep it heated for 4 days or more . *also know your electric rice cooker will use more electricity energy than your refrigerator 0o0
one helpful pointer : vendors in a small independent store has to make the sale, while those in a larger chain or super-mart is really there to help you make a wise decision, because they want to make you happy, so will come back for more purchase . it is amazing even I, who could differentiate specifications Seasonally, ask a guide and NOT a sales representative, standing in the middle of a wide arrange of similar models .
on that note, I will recommend all visitors and temporary residents to put aside burgers and pizzas, for the wonderful variety of fresh rice shipping from all corners of South Korea . add to this : different choice of grains sold to mix-in with rice when cooking, makes you a healthier person when returning home 😉
[ RELATED LINKS ]
12.1.8 Rice Cooker http://koreatechblog.com/rice-cooker/
12.1.8 Zojirushi vs Cuckoo vs Bubang Cuchen Lihom
http://koreatechblog.com/home-appliance/zojirushi-vs-cuckoo-vs-bubang-cuchen-lihom/
