Rice has been a staple in diets for centuries. Rice cookers have been around since at least 1250, and most likely long before that. Rice cooking technology, however, has changed quite a bit since the dark ages.
Now there are some rice cookers which do everything except go out to the field to pick the rice. We’re not talking timers and water marks on the containers; there are some rice cookers which will even rinse off the rice in the process of making it.
There are three main advantages to having a commercial rice cooker in your restaurant.
- Leaves room for more stuff to be cooked on the stove.
- Cooks rice perfectly, and keeps it warm afterward.
- Don’t have to worry about a cook forgetting the pot and having it burn.
When you’re looking for the perfect commercial rice cooker, you’re going to be faced with a lot of choices:
Capacity
The capacity of your commercial rice cooker determines how much rice that you can cook at a time. Without going custom, the largest capacity seems to be 55 cups of rice. This is suitable for an Asian restaurant that offers rice at every meal. Some of the mid-range ones can be used for buffets.
Power
You have a choice between electric and gas. Gas rice cookers are great for those places which do not have a lot of readily available space, where plugs are at a premium, and constantly cook rice. The electric ones are usually a little cheaper than the gas ones and more portable.
Features
Some commercial rice cookers have an auto warming function, one that kicks in after the completion of the rice cycle. Others simply shut off so that the rice must be transferred to another pot to be kept warm. Some wash the rice. Some can handle multiple types of rice.
Finding the perfect commercial rice cooker for your needs can be a challenge, but it is one which is easily overcome with a little bit of research. Find the capacity and features that you need, then study the reviews to get a clearer picture of each model. Armed with this knowledge, you can’t go wrong in your selection.
Many thanks go to Eva the Weaver on Flickr for the Creative Commons use of her picture.
