above an example of Cuchen WHQ-CT1004ID Electric Rice Cooker for 10 people introduced October 2011
engulfing the latest technology with multiple diamond coating for a whopping W490,000 at larger discount on-Line stores 0o0 Ouch Pow !Jesus, why dont’ya simply get a pan and boid the rice in water ???
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[ Electric Rice Cooker Brand Names ]
the synonym for electric rice cookers was neighboring Japanese brand name of Zojirushi
meaning “Elephant logo” enjoyed from the days the island nation started making home kitchen appliances counting down to the Tokyo Olympics .
over a decade later in 1978 came local Korean counter parts of Cuckoo and then in 2004 Cuchen and Lihom which is the same company ( note as in the case with Japanese Zojirushi, Korean Cuchen and Lihom had their share of changing company names and brands)
currently a decade post-Millennium in super-advanced South Korean technopian life
(ironic for a ship or island up North still gets bombed suddenly from one of the last-standing dictatorship in the World)
Cuckoo dominates the electric rice cooker market roughly over 80%
the difference in actual cooking ?
well, Zojirushi was supposed to be the softest, and then Cuckoo while Lihom advertised hard-cooking like rock-stoves in the old days .. but it is savoured in the tasted of the consumer : You .
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one stark difference is obvious between Japanese and Korean cookers, for Japan has stayed pure white and calm beige from the start (I should point they have much-advanced color trend research apparatus from the “momozukuri” machine-building days right after the Tokyo Olympics ’64)
while Koreans make the ugliestl color set and combination to-date even in red .
so much so that perhaps reliving the ancient days when gold was noble : it and black adorne the higher expensive models, duh
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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.
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[ Development and Evolution of Modern Rice Cookers ]
Electric Rice Cookers have turned Electronic and Pressurized
while originally heating from the bottom when recent ones put surrounded heat
becoming speaking machines some-where along the way
eventually enabling various cleansing ooptions
and some come with extra rock or titanium pans .. depending on what you feel like having today
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[ Korean Electric Rice Cooker Vocabulary ]
- Rubber Ring : called “Gomoo Ppaking” is the mechanical life of a cooker short of all electronics,
- Energy Efficiency Level : given to all household electronics especially refrigerators and air conditioners showing how much electricity it will use on normal usage,
- MyCom Style : is the Korean catch-phrase for “computer-controlled” that the sensing to operation will be automatic,
- Pressure Cooker : the largest step in cooker technology shortening cooking time from 30 minutes to almost half in 17,
- IH Pressure System : heat is put from all sides onto the inner pan except the top, further shortening cooking time to 13 minutes
- Detacheable Top : this means you can take out the top cover of the inner pan to clean,
- Automatic Cleansing : a life-span of an electric rice cooker depends largely on ridding of liquid and its dried remains . recent models have come to do this for you to some extent .
- Titanium Coating : the latest in pan coating for higher models making it more durable,
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[ Electric Rice Cooker Price Range in South Korea ] as of New Years 2012
- normal for 10 people stays well below W70,000
- pressure cooker for 10 pers. W120,000 ~ 170,000
- IH pressure cooker for 10 p.over W220,000
the old-riche prefered classic Japanese Zojirushi which could be had in South Korea for about 50% more than local counter-parts but now long~ given-in to pizzaz catch-phrase wordings from Korean manufacturers which are nowhere to be found on foreign models .
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[ Rice Cooker Size ]
Electric Rice Cookers come in increments for 3, 4, 6, 8 or 10 people .
and should be chosen for numbers that most nearly represent your actual family and NOT to get ready for that largest party you only have once in a while .
also interesting to note that the above rice cooker sizes reflects family-living trends of that era .
in South Korea it rose for a moment over the Millennium and is again on the down-trend //
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[ Rice Cooker Maintenance ]
- 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 corners hardening faster – this is your first sign your rice machine is detioriating -
you may want to order extra rubber ring that covers the inner top of the cooker
usually just over W10,000 from customer support centers, - if that doesn’t do it you may bring it in for electronic check-up,
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- Korea Tech BLog, January 2012 -
