According to the Zojirushi website, they have just brought out a new type of rice cooker. Its name is the Umami™ Micom Rice Cooker. The NS-YAC10 is a 5 1/2 cup unit and it also comes in a larger 10 cup size, the Zojirushi NS-YAC18. These are the only two Zojirushi devices that currently come with the Umami setting. This works by soaking and steaming the rice for longer which apparently ensures an enhanced flavor. The machine also has has a Slow Cook function which simply means that this unit is a bit more versatile than most other Zojirushi rice cookers.

This model was released in  March 2011. Just looking at the features that this machine has, it seems like a cross between the Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 and their more expensive Induction Heating range of rice cookers. That said, the NS-YAC10 does not have an Induction Heating component so this machine will likely fall in the $200 to $250 price range. It will not cost as much as the Zojirushi NP-HBC10 but it will be more expensive than the NS-ZCC10.

As with the NS-ZCC10 unit, the NS-YAC10 also makes use of Advanced Micom Fuzzy logic technology. It is also the only non-Induction Heating model to offer a GABA brown rice option. So for this setting alone, it may be an attractive purchase for you, particularly if you are wanting to feed your family the most nutritious brown rice.

The umami option may see like a bit of a gimmick but in actual fact, this is a one of the five basic tastes. You can read more about it on Wikipedia. To be honest, I am not so keen on the fact that Zojirushi have trademarked a word, originally from Japanese, but now part of the English language.

In addition to the umami and GABA brown cooking cycles, there is also the slow cooker setting. These three options on top of all the standard options make this particular rice cooker one of the most versatile units in the entire Zojirushi range. As far as value for money goes, it looks like this unit will supersede the Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 as the best rice cooker without Induction Heating technology.

When it is officially released, you should be able to find the best price Zojirushi NS-YAC10 on Amazon. This is the best place to look for discount rice cookers in the United States.

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Zojirushi NP-KAC10 Review

The Zojirushi NP-KAC10 is the cheapest Induction Heating rice cooker that is currently sold in the United States. This machine, while being more expensive than other Micom machines is not actually all that much more expensive than the Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 Neuro Fuzzy rice cooker. The benefits of a machine with the Induction Heating function is that the quality of the rice that it makes is that little bit better.

Machines with this Induction Heating function cook the rice by the use of a magnetic field instead of a heating element under the cooking bowl. The current makes the whole metal cooking pot heat up evenly which ensures that your rice will be cooked to perfection every time.

The Zojirushi brand is the most well respected company in all of Japan. The specialize in the design and production of top quality rice cookers. This particular model is the right size for family cooking. Its capacity is 5.5 cups of uncooked rice which is enough to be able to feed up to ten people.

Best Price Zojirushi NP-KAC10

As usual, the you are able to find the best price for this product if you take the time to do some online research. The lowest price that I have discovered has been on the Amazon website. Of course, it is worth spending the time to do your own research but this is a good place to get a benchmark price. If you can find a lower price than on Amazon, you can be pretty certain that you have found the best deal on the web.

Zojirushi NP-KAC10 vs Zojirushi NP-HBC10

You can save yourself round about $50 by purchasing the Zojirushi NP-KAC10 rather than the NP-HBC10. Both machines are the same size and can do pretty much the same things. The reason for the lower price includes the following points.

Savings have been made in the production of the NP-KAC10 because its body is not the attractive stainless steel design but is made out of hard white plastic. That said, it may well be that a white machine would be more suitable for the color scheme of your kitchen. It also does not have the option to cook GABA brown rice. This is the special cooking setting that takes about 3 hours but produces the most nutritional brown rice possible. Finally it just has a regular LCD display rather than the color display that you get with the Zojirushi NP-HBC10.

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Zojirushi rice cookers are very easy to use. The best kind to get is a Micom rice cooker. Prices for these models start at not much over $100. You can find the best price on Zojirushi appliances on Amazon. There are a wide range of different models. The cheapest machines such as the NS-LAC05 are very good. But if you want to get an amazing rice cooker you have to spend over $250. This is quite a price jump. Models like the Zojirushi NP-HBC10 feature their Induction Heating system which helps to make the highest quality rice.

In this article I shall be posting videos and photos of exactly how I use my Zojirushi NP-GD05 rice cooker which is a model sold in Japan. This machine is very similar to the NP-GBC05 which is available in the United States. The NP-GBC05 actually has a sushi rice setting which my machine does not.

There are lots of different rice cooking recipes that you can make if you buy a Micom device. They are great for cooking all sorts of plain rice including white, brown, rice porridge and so on. However a high quality rice cooker can be used to make so much more. To add some flavor, all that you have to do is use some stock instead of plain water and you can also add any other ingredients such as vegetables or meats that you want. You can take a look at my list of rice cooker recipes here.

Washing rice, particularly if you are cooking Japonica, Japanese short grain white rice, is a hugely important step. It is fairly easy. Typically the Japanese will give their rice three washes and rinses before they consider it ready for cooking. It is important not to treat your rice too roughly because it is easy to break some of the grains.

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Where to buy a Zojirushi NP-HBC10

There are a few different places where you can purchase this rice cooker. The biggest difference in retail location is whether you buy it from a store or an online retailer. At an electronics store you will have to pay a bit of a premium but the benefit is that you get to see and touch the machine. Whereas if you get it from an online store such as Amazon you are likely to get a lower price but you will not get to actually see the real machine until it arrives.

Zojirushi NP-HBC10 Review

This is one of Zojirushi’s top of the range rice cookers. Of course it is a Micom rice cooker. All their best machines have this technology. But not only this, it uses their Induction Heating system as the way to cook the rice. This is a completely different technique than standard Micom machines. For a start, in the NP-HBC10, there is no heating element. How then does it heat the rice? This rice cooker has electrical coils that generate a magnetic field when the device is turned on. This has an effect on the metal heating bowl which becomes instantly hot and the whole inner pot becomes the source of heat within the machine. The result of this is the most even heat distribution possible which means perfectly cooked rice.

The inner cooking bowl of this machine is spherical and is covered in a non-stick coating. On the inside it has markings that make it clear how much water must be added for certain amounts of rice. There are a host of different programmable options to cook many different types of rice. One option that is unique to Induction Heating models is the ability to make GABA brown rice. This takes close to 3 hours because it includes a pre-heating phase that helps to release more nutrients from the rice. For the health conscious this may be an important function.

The NP-HBC10 is Zojirushi’s latest Induction Heating System rice cooker. It can also be used to keep rice warm and includes induction heating and micro-computer technology. There are a variety of features and settings on this Japanese rice cooker. These include superior induction heating technology when you compare the machine to other manufacturers.

The NP-HBC10 has a range of healthy cooking options which include brown rice, GABA brown rice and germinated brown rice. There are also a variety of multi-menu cooking functions. These include options for making white rice, mixed rice, sushi rice, rice porridge, sweet rice as well as quick cooking. The NP-HBC10 is a 5.5 cup Zojirushi rice cooker. If you require a rice cooker with a larger capacity you may want to buy a Zojirushi NP-HBC18. This is the big brother of the device featured on this page. This makes is perfect for many different sorts of households. It is small enough not to take up too much space. Deciding to buy a Zojirushi NP-HBC10 will suit those living alone as well as families. It is a well designed piece of kitchen equipment and has an easy to clean clear coated stainless steel exterior. The cooking pan is thick and hard wearing. Fortunately there is a detachable and washable inner lid. This is useful because it means it is easy to get all parts of the rice cooker clean. The machine also has an easily readable LCD control panel incorporating both clock and timer functionality. Induction heating is a special type of technology that Zojirushi employ. It involves the use of magnetic heating coils that produce a magnetic field that allows for instant heating of the contents of the non-stick inner cooking bowl. This heating method that the NP-HBC10 uses means that rice simply will not burn while it is cooking.

Zojirushi NP-HBC10 Best Price

To find the best deal for this Zojirushi rice cooker it is a good idea to compare prices from as many different vendors as you can find. The best place that I have found is Amazon. They offer the lowest price online for the Zojirushi NP-HBC10 as well as many other rice cookers. They are a good place to start your search so you can see what price you have to beat if you are to get it from somewhere else.

Zojirushi NP-HBC10 vs NS-ZCC10

The Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 is probably the best rice cooker that does not have Induction Heating so it makes a very good choice if you want to save some money [EDIT: Since early 2011, the Zojirushi NS-YAc10 Umami has become their premium non-IH model]. In fact, it is almost $100 to get the NS-ZCC10 instead of the NP-HBC10 so it may well may economical sense to choose the cheaper model. The NS-ZCC10 does not have the GABA brown cooking option but it does have a re-heat cycle that the more expensive machine does not have. Both have spherical cooking bowls and removable inner lids so they both make very user friendly cooking appliances.

Zojirushi NP-HBC10 vs NP-GBC05

When you compare the Zojirushi NP-GBC05 and the NP-HBC10, you can see that there model numbers are slightly different. The “05″ and “10″ at the end are easily explained. The lower number means that machine is a 3 cup rice cooker and can feed up to five persons while the higher number means that the NP-HBC10 is a 5 1/2 cup rice cooker than can make enough for ten people. The difference in the lettering is probably to do with the slight difference in functionality. For example the larger machine has the option of making hard, regular or soft white rice but the NP-GBC05 just has one white rice setting. In addition, the bigger device has an extended keep warm setting but the 3 cup device just has one keep warm temperature. Both these rice cookers have Micom and Induction Heating technology. Their primary difference is their size. Price does not vary much at all.

Zojirushi NP-HBC10 vs NP-HBC18

In the same way that the NP-GBC05 is smaller than the NP-HBC10, the NP-HBC18 is just a bigger version. In fact it is even closer in specification. Literally the only difference is the capacity of these two rice cookers. There is very little difference in the price either. I would say that if you are going to regularly make rice for more than six or seven people then you may want to think about getting the larger unit.

Zojirushi NP-HBC10 vs NP-HTC10

These are two of the top of the range Zojirushi rice cookers. As far as their settings are concerned, they have the same menus for cooking rice. The one main difference between these rice cookers, other than their coloring, is that the Zojirushi NP-HTC10 has a Variable Pressure control feature. So when you choose your rice cooking setting the cooker will automatically select one of three pressure levels. This is a nice feature to have but it adds more than $100 to the price tag. For me, there is more of a difference between Micom and Micom plus Induction Heating than there is between Micom plus Induction Heating and Micom with Induction Heating plus Variable Pressure control. How much you are willing to spend will obviously play an important role in whether you buy a Zojirushi NP-HTC10 or the more reasonably priced NP-HBC10 rice cooker.

Zojirushi NP-HBC10 vs Sanyo ECJ-JG10W

Both of these machines are 5 1/2 cup rice cookers. The Sanyo machine is more expensive but it also has a Variable Pressure control as well as a few other cooking options that make it quite an attractive choice. For example it is only about $50 more expensive than the Zojirushi. However for your money you get the pressure cooking feature, a steaming rack to steam vegetables and seafood and also a slow cooker setting which is great for soups and stews. The Sanyo however does not have the setting to make GABA brown rice. Also Zojirushi rice cookers have the reputation as being the best. Perhaps this accounts to a certain extent for the relatively high cost. Now that I own the Sanyo ECJ-JG10W rice cooker, I have to say that I’m a little bit disappointed with it. Knowing what I know now, I can safely say that, for me, the Zojirushi NP-HBC10 is the better option.

Low Cost Zojirushi NP-HBC10?

This is really a question that only you can answer for yourself. It costs well over $200 for this kitchen appliance so it is quite expensive. That said, it is one of the best Japanese rice cookers that money can buy so you are sure to get many years of use and great tasting rice from this device.

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The rice cooker on the left is the Zojirushi NS-TGC10 which is a Micom device. The one on the right is the NP-HBC10 which is also a Micom machine but this one features Zojirushi’s Induction Heating system. So if you generalize this principal we can see that all Induction Heating (IH) rice cookers also have the Micom component. Micom units have a micro computer that controls the way they cook the rice. Induction Heating is a specific way of generating heat within the rice cooker. Both types of machines are very similar in most respects but the way they create heat is completely different. Standard Zojirushi Micom rice cookers have a heating element that warms up when the appliance is turned on. The Micom controller can then adjust the temperature as your rice cooks. Induction Heating style machines on the other hand do not actually have a heating element inside. Instead when this type of unit is switched on, the electrical current creates a magnetic field within the rice cooker which acts upon the metallic inner cooking bowl. This magnetic force turns the cooking pot into the heat source for the machine.

Having owned two regular Zojirushi Micom rice cookers and now an Induction Heating NP-GD05 which is the Japanese version of the Zojirushi NP-GBC05, I can safely say that in my own experience the rice from an IH machine is noticeably better. Rice from regular Micom units is great but using an IH cooker, it is really great! The thing is though, to get the IH functionality, the cost doubles. If you check out Amazon you will find the best deals for Zojirushi rice cookers online. So it really comes down to what size of budget you have available for your new rice cooker as to which machine you should purchase. If you have never owned a Micom machine before then I am sure you will be happy with the quality of rice that it makes. It is really good. However if you have previously owned a Zojirushi rice cooker you will know what good rice is supposed to taste like. Therefore it might be time to consider the top of the range IH models.

To find out more information about how to download these Zojirushi instructions, go to the manuals page of their website.

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My own personal opinion is that the Zojirushi NP-GBC05 is the best 3 cup rice cooker that is sold in North America. Now I must admit, I am biased. I actually own this device myself. However, since I live in Japan it is called a NP-GD05. You can read more about my rice cooker by following that link. Briefly, if you buy a Zojirushi NP-GBC05, the only difference between it and my machine is that the Japanese version has a retractable power cord while the American model has a detachable cable. And of course, the U.S. and Canadian machine has English buttons while mine are Japanese. So in this Zojirushi NP-GBC05 review I will discuss why it is the best rice cooker I have ever owned. Currently I am on to my third Zojirushi.

Firstly, if you have a family or will be regularly making rice for more than three people then perhaps this model will be a bit to small. You could read a Zojirushi NP-HBC10 review for details of a comparable 5 1/2 cup machine. The NP-GBC05 is the perfect size of you live alone or with your partner. Admittedly, it can actually prepare rice for up to five people but I like to make more than I need so that there will be left overs that I can freeze or take to work for lunch the following day. One of my current favorites is Jambalaya which I discovered on the Zojirushi website. I just half all the measurements and this makes enough for a very large dinner or two meals. The NP-GBC05 can be used for much more than cooking plain rice. But it has to be said that it makes great tasting white and brown rice. The white rice is succulent and the brown is much more palatable than any brown rice I have ever eaten before.

Technically, this is the highest quality 3 cup rice cooker in the Zojirushi range and I would argue, the best 3 cup rice cooker available outside of Japan. Of course it features Micom technology. However, this is not all. It also has their Induction Heating system. My previous two rice cookers were Micom but just had a standard heating element. So although the rice was good quality, the Induction Heating makes a noticable difference to the taste and texture of the rice. It is hard to describe. The rice comes out soft but still has bite to it. Simply put, it makes the best rice I have ever eaten. To be honest, living in Japan, eating out is economical and delicious. But now with my new Zojirushi NP-GD05, I am quite happy to cook for myself. And indeed this is actually saving me money on my food costs. This is an important point to consider. Yes, if you buy a Zojirushi NP-GBC05 it will be quite expensive. This unit costs well over $200. But over time you are likely to make savings on your food bill. So if you look at it as an investment rather than an expenditure, it becomes a more attractive purchase.

If you are interested in the NP-GBC05 or simply want to compare it against other machines then you can check out their prices on Amazon. They are known for having the best prices available online. This is definitely the best rice cooker for those of you who live alone and want to make your own great tasting rice based meals.

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The NS-ZCC range of rice cookers are advanced Micom rice cookers. They have Zojirushi’s Neuro Fuzzy technology. This produces even higher quality cooked rice than standard Micom rice cookers. It is quite easy to compare the NS-ZCC10 and NS-ZCC18 because they are almost identical, their main difference being size. They cost a bit more than models such as the NS-TGC10 but they have more than just Fuzzy Logic to offer so represent good value for money. They both have a huge range of settings regarding different sorts of rice that they can make.

To purchase a Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 or NS-ZCC18 the best place to look online is Amazon. They are well known for having the best prices for a whole range of household appliances and electronics. Both sizes are available for under $200 so they are very good value machines.

The only real difference between these two rice cookers is their size and capacity. The Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 is a 5 1/2 cup rice cooker while the NS-ZCC18 is a ten cup rice cooker. For most families, the 5 1/2 cup machine is perfectly adequate. It is able to prepare enough rice for up to ten people, while the larger model can make enough for eighteen. There is not much point buying a rice cooker that is too big for your needs. Reasons that you may want the bigger size include having a huge family to feed. Or possibly that you want to make enough rice to save some for the next day. One of the best ways to do this is to move your rice from the cooker once it has finished cooking to containers and store them in the fridge. Then all you have to do is microwave them for perfectly fresh rice in minutes. I sometimes freeze rice but it keeps perfectly well for at least 24 hours in the fridge.

Many people decide to buy a Zojirushi rice cooker because they know they are high quality kitchen appliances. There are rice cooker reviews of most Zojirushi models on this site. So if you are not sure which one to go for, you should read the Zojirushi Rice Cooker post via the link above. The NS-ZCC10/18 machines both have an attractive hard white plastic body. This is very easy to clean if it needs it. As with all Zojirushi Micom rice cookers that are made today they have a detachable inner lid which makes for easy cleaning after use.

One feature that these two rice cookers have that no other Zojirushi machine sold in North America has is “stay cool” handles. These make it very simple to move the rice cooking bowl out of the cooker and on to your dining table. Trying to decide what the best rice cooker is may seem like a tough choice but perhaps you should not get too bogged down in different models until you know what size you should purchase.

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How many people are you regularly going to have for dinner? If you will be cooking for at least five or six people nearly every time then it may be wise to buy a Zojirushi NS-ZCC18 rice cooker. This is a 10 cup machine. What this means is that you can make up to 10 cups of un-cooked white rice in it. The amount of un-cooked brown rice is less but it can still make as much brown rice as it can white, if this makes sense. Brown rice expands more than white so even though the initial amount you prepare is less, it makes enough to feed the same amount of people. The maximum number of people that a 10 cup rice cooker can feed is eighteen. Look at the model number. NS-ZCC18. The “18″ at the end tells you just how many people this machine, when filled to maximum capacity, can feed. If you would prefer a smaller version of this device, please read this Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 review. It is exactly the same apart from being a smaller size. You should be able to work out how many people this appliance can feed just by looking at the model number.

If you decide to buy a Zojirushi NS-ZCC18, you are getting a top quality Zojirushi rice cooker. It is an advance Micom rice cooker with Fuzzy Logic technology. Zojirushi’s particular incarnation is named Neuro Fuzzy. This ensures that each time you use it, you will be treated to great tasting rice. One bit of advice I have is that you should only really consider a rice cooker of this size if you actually require the capacity. So if you will only be cooking for a couple of people then you will get better results with a smaller rice cooker. In my opinion, rice cookers make the best rice when filled to at least 1/3 of their capacity. So in the case of a 10 cup rice cooker, you really want to be making at least 3 cups, enough for five people, each time you cook rice.

This machine has a spherical inner cooking bowl. In my own experience with rice cookers I prefer this style to the flat bottomed variety. The rice seems to cook better and is easier to remove when it has finished cooking. A feature that is unique to the NS-ZCC10 and NS-ZCC18 rice cookers is their “stay cool handles”. This makes it a really nice family rice cooker because it is easy to take the rice from the cooker to the table while remaining inside the cooking bowl. This means you can serve the rice at the dinner table itself.

To find the best price Zojirushi NS-ZCC18, the first place you should look is Amazon. They are well known for their low prices on a whole range of kitchen appliances. As far as rice cookers being sold in the United States and Canada are concerned, this is where the best deals online can be found.

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If you want to buy the cheapest Zojirushi Micom rice cooker in the 5 1/2 cup range then the NS-WAC10 is the machine for you. To find the lowest price, Amazon is a great place to start. They offer many top quality rice cookers at the lowest prices you can find online. The Zojirushi NS-WAC10 is a good combination of economy and quality.

To be honest, choosing to purchase a Micom rice cooker is essential as far as I am concerned. Once you get used to using this type of device, eating the high quality rice that they can produce, there is no way you would want to go back to a standard electrical rice cooker. For those of you thinking “What does Micom mean?” you can read this piece I wrote.

When we look at the features of the NS-WAC10 we can see that it has less functions than other Zojirushi rice cookers in its size class. It has a flat bottomed inner cooking pan which is the same as if you buy a Zojirushi NS-TGC10. More expensive models have the spherical bottomed style which is slightly superior as it provides a more even heat. This model has a detachable power cord while the NS-TGC10 has a retractable one. My rice cooker has a retractable power cord. I am not sure which is better. It really just comes down to personal preference I think.

As far as rice cooking settings go, it has the same number as the NS-TGC10 with one difference. Rather than having a cake cooking option, it has a setting to cook rinse free rice.

For anyone looking for a cheap but high quality family sized Micom rice cooker, the Zojirushi NS-WAC10 is an option well worth considering. You can find the lowest price for this machine on Buy Now and Save

Amazon. If you would prefer a smaller model then you may decide to buy a Zojirushi NS-VGC05 as this is their cheapest 3 cup Micom rice cooker.