Sanyo ECJ-F50S Micro-Computerized 5-Cup Rice Cooker and Steamer

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I work for a Japanese owned company, so I did a little survey prior to purchasing a rice cooker. Of the many Japanese nationals working in my office the majority said that Sanyo was the preferred rice cooker for their families. They specifically recommended the ECJ-F50S model, by and large they all preferred Sanyo over Zojirushi. I look forward to using my new rice cooker, knowing that persons who eat rice three times a day (per their description, not mine) prefer this machine.

Sanyo ECJ-PX50S 5-Cup Micro-Computerized Pressure Rice Cooker and Steamer

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We are a three-person East Asian household: My mother and I are Japanese, and my other half is Korean. Needless to say, we use this rice cooker at least five times a week, and have had it for about a year.

We've decided that eating brown rice instead of white rice about twice a week would be a healthy choice. The pressure cooker feature makes delicious brown rice (we use 2.5 cups regular Japonica brown rice mixed with 1.5 cups of sweet "mochi" brown rice nowadays). For the remainder of the week, we cook white rice, and it does a beautiful job. Once in a while, we make porridge -- the traditional Japanese remedy for when someone is sick -- which can be made excellently by this rice cooker. In that sense, we like all the features that this rice cooker offers, and it is really easy to operate.

I believe the titanium-coated thick inner pot is key to making this such a strong product; it seems to distribute heat evenly inside the pot. So, the problems that one might experience with cheaper or older pots -- like the bottom being slightly burnt ("okoge" in Japanese) -- or areas near the top being slightly undercooked -- does not happen. Rice from every part of the pot -- top, bottom, side and middle -- is cooked perfectly.

Sanyo ECJ-HC55S 5-1/2-Cup Micro-Computerized Rice Cooker and Slow Cooker, White

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This cooker replaced the National fuzzy logic that I had used at least 3-4 times a week for 5 years. With all the new rice cookers on the market it was hard to find one that had the features that I wanted, without a bunch that I didn't need. I really don't need to bake a cake in my rice cooker!! What I use the most are the slow cooker options and the rice options. I mostly make short grain brown rice and this model cooks it much faster than my old National. I also loved that this cooker came with an extra pan and lid for the slow cooker...which makes it a great value.

If it is important for you to know the length of the cook cycles, I suggest that you time them the first time you use them because the instruction booklet does not give the times for the cycles. My old National would show the length of the cycle when you started each cycle, i.e. when using the regular cycle it would show 43 minutes on the clock. This cooker only shows the time left when it gets down around 15 minutes. The brown rice cycle cooks in 75 minutes. I cooked quinoa on the quick cycle the other day and it was done in approximately 30 minutes.

Another option I like on this model compared to the National is that, so far, the lid is easier to clean. The national used to bubble up through the steam vent and make a mess that was not easy to clean from the rubber gasket, but the Sanyo doesn't do that and the lid barely needs to be washed after cooking a batch of rice. I wish these types of cookers would make removable upper lids so that they could be kept cleaner.

I also love that this model has the slow cooker and that there is both high and low slow cook cycles.

This cooker is just right for a small family or couple, but if you generally cook for more than 3 people, I would recommend the larger model. I can make enough soup for 4 people if bread and salad were served, but it may only serve several people if they had large appetites. It definitely does not have enough room in the slow cooker to do large roasts.

Great value, great cooker, I highly recommend it.