A Guide to Different Types of Rice

Posted on June 27, 2022 by Zojirushi America Corporation

You might be familiar with white and brown rice, and perhaps even a few others, but did you know there are thousands of types of rice found around all corners of the world? From basmati, wild, long-grain, and short-grain rice, there are countless families of rice that you can explore to broaden your culinary horizons. Today, we’ll be looking at the main families of rice that you should know about, as well as the types of rice you can cook in our Zojirushi rice cookers. So, are you ready to become a rice expert? Then, let’s get to it!

Two Main Families of Rice

Though rice comes in many unique shapes, colors, and flavors, there are two main families of rice that you should familiarize yourself with: Indica and Japonica.

Indica is long-grained and aromatic rice that grows near the equator, so you’ll see them in countries like India, Indonesia, Southern China, and Africa. Japonica rice is short to medium-grained, which, unlike Indica, has little to no aromas. They also tend to stick together, whereas Indica grains will remain separated. You can find this type of rice in East Asia, like Japan, China, Korea, and Vietnam. Fun fact: Indica is more widely consumed than Japonica!

Here are some of the most popular rice varieties that we recommend you try if you haven’t already.

Popular Rice Varieties

Arborio Rice: This short to medium-grain rice from Italy has a high starch content. Arborio rice becomes firm yet creamy when cooked. They are often used for risottos and can be easily identified by their short and round grains.
Basmati Rice: This rice is known for its pandan leaf-like aromatics and soft and fluffy texture.
Black Rice: Commonly referred to as “forbidden rice,” this purple to black-hued rice boasts a wide range of health benefits and antioxidants. It has a mild nutty flavor and is harder to grow than other rice varieties.
GABA Rice: The brown rice version of sushi rice is “GABA,” which means that the rice has been germinated to increase its nutritional value. Look for this labeling on your rice if you are looking for this particular type of rice. Or if your Zojirushi rice cooker has the GABA brown rice setting you can use that instead of buying it!
Jasmine Rice: this rice is widely consumed in Thailand and is beautifully aromatic. It is slightly shorter and plumper than Basmati.
Sweet/Sticky/Glutinous Rice: Also known as “sticky rice,” sweet rice has a sweeter flavor because of its higher starch content. As the name suggests, it also becomes very sticky when cooked. You cannot cook sweet rice like regular white rice and must use less water and controlled temperatures to get it to its ideal texture.
Sushi Rice: polished short to medium-grain Japanese rice that is highly desired for its stickiness and fluffiness. It is almost always consumed as a white rice variety.
Wild Rice: Wild rice is long-grain rice native to North America and is almost always brown or black in color. It is high in nutritional value and has a distinctly earthy and smoky flavor when cooked.

How to Cook Rice in Your Zojirushi Rice Cooker

If you read this month’s Product of the Month blog, you’ll see that the Micom Rice Cooker & Warmer NS-TSC10A/18A can cook up to five different rice categories (white/sushi, mixed, quick, long grain white, and brown). Now that you understand the difference between Indica and Japonica rice, can you guess why these different types of rice cooking settings matter? Here are some Micom Rice Cooker & Warmer NS-TSC10A/18A settings explained:

Mixed – though this setting doesn’t specify a type of rice, it is useful for cooking Takikomi-Gohan, a popular menu item in Japan. These “mixed rice” one-pot meals are made by adding seasonal ingredients and rice into the rice cooker and pressing start.
Long grain white – this rice setting will make sure that your long grain white rice is always loose and fluffy. You can also add a few seasonings to level it up like this “Buttered Lobster Rice” recipe.
Brown rice – we tested tons and tons of brown rice to carefully fine tune the cooking flow for this setting to ensure that the brown rice is always perfectly cooked. Here are some great and easy recipes that you’ll want to try with your brown rice.

Let’s Cook Some Rice!

Do you want to learn more about how to cook different types of rice in your Zojirushi rice cooker? Take a look at our “Know Your Rice” guide. You can also find tips and tricks to cook perfect rice by visiting our “About Rice” page.

Did you learn anything about rice varieties today? Is there a new type of rice you’re looking forward to trying? Let us know on social media by tagging your photos on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram! #Zojirushi #ZoFan

Everything You Need to Know about Rice Flour

Posted on May 14, 2022 by Zojirushi America Corporation

Rice is by far one of the most versatile foods on the planet, feeding over half of the world every day. But did you know that when it’s ground into a fine powder, rice is a gluten-free, silky smooth, and nutrient-rich flour alternative for home bakers? It’s easy to make, easy to use, and easy to incorporate into your favorite Zojirushi breadmaker recipes. Let us show you why.

What is Rice Flour?

Simply put, rice flour is a fine flour made by grinding rice grains of all types. You can buy pre-ground rice flour at the store but grinding rice flour at home gives you more room to experiment with different rice varieties and to find the taste and texture you love most.

Different types of rice flour include:

Glutinous rice flour
Brown rice flour
Black rice flour
White rice flour
Wet-milled rice flour: You can also differentiate your rice flour by determining how it was milled. Rice flour can be made from dry rice grains, or alternatively, wet rice grains that were soaked in water prior to milling. Wet-milled rice is a traditional Korean milling technique and a more expensive process for making rice flour which is almost always stored frozen. Some people prefer wet-milled rice flour for making moist foods, like Korean tteok or Korean rice cakes.

You can easily make rice flour at home in a grain mill, blender, coffee grinder, or even food processor. If you plan on making your own rice flour, make sure to start with small amounts so that the rice can blend into a finer powder consistency. Adding too much rice at once can result in large chunks or an uneven consistency. The finer your rice flour, the better it will be for baking.

Brown rice vs. white rice: Different types of rice will result in different flavors, which adds to the beauty of baking with rice flours. White rice tends to be the most neutral tasting, but brown rice flour will have a more earthy taste. Brown rice also has a higher source of fiber, so it can be easier to digest.

After you’ve made your homemade rice flour, make sure to label and date it and store in in the fridge or freezer for up to a year.

What are the benefits of Rice Flour?

You might be wondering, is rice flour healthy? The short answer is yes! Rice flour made from white or brown rice is naturally gluten-free and a great alternative for anyone with celiac disease or gluten sensitivities. It’s also low in sodium, cholesterol, and saturated fat, and because it is enriched with vitamins and minerals, it gives you more nutritional bang for your buck. Because rice has high amounts of fiber, it’s easy on the stomach as well. Lastly, rice is also affordable and has a long shelf life, so you don’t have to worry about your rice flour going bad anytime soon.

Our Favorite Zojirushi Rice Flour Recipes

Now that you’ve learned all you need to know about rice flour, are you ready to start baking? Here are some of our top rice flour recipe recommendations that you can make in your Zojirushi breadmaker for a sweet or savory snack the whole family will enjoy.

You can make any of these below recipes using the “gluten free course” on your Zojirushi Breadmaker or using the Home Made feature on the Home Bakery Supreme® Breadmaker BB-CEC20. For our friends with the Home Bakery Mini BB-HAC10, find gluten free recipes in the instruction manual or try the Butter Mochi recipe below.

Gluten Free Brown Rice Bread: In this recipe, we mix brown rice flour with eggs to add flavor, protein, and moisture to the bread. Potato starch and xanthan gum are used to replace the gluten. Perfect for sandwiches, toast, or your favorite jams and butters.

Butter Mochi: A savory dessert that uses sweet rice flour for a soft and chewy cake. You may see these around Hawaii, where it’s a local gluten-free favorite.

Gluten & Guilt Free Donuts: Fluffy and delicious, you won’t notice the difference with regular donuts. These sweet treats are best enjoyed with a cup of coffee and sharing with friends and family.

For more rice flour or gluten-free bread recipes, visit our breadmaker recipe page on our website.

Do you have any special rice flour recipes or tips to share with us? Let us know on social media by tagging your photos on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram! #Zojirushi #ZoFan

Product Inspirations – Multicooker (EL-CAC60)

Posted on January 14, 2019 by Zojirushi America Corporation

New year, new product!

We’re so excited to introduce our Multicooker (EL-CAC60). This appliance is amazing for making foods from so many cuisines – American, Japanese, Mexican, Italian, Indian and many, many more!

Zojirushi Multicooker EL-CAC60

So…do we tempt you with the foods you can make in the Multicooker first or the awesome features of this appliance?

Food it is!

The Multicooker comes with nine menu settings which include Sauté/Sear, Simmer, Low/Slow Cook, Steam, White Rice, Brown Rice, Quinoa, Yogurt and Keep Warm. To sauté or sear, simmer, slow cook or steam, choose one of the settings, the temperature and the time. With the Sauté/Sear setting, we made Gumbo and Pot Roast. Then we used the Sauté/Sear setting to start dishes like Sukiyaki and Texas Chili, which we finished off with the Simmer setting. (Yum.) Using the Low/Slow Cook setting, we made Cioppino and Miso Soup, as well as fresh Tofu. (Hungry yet?) With the Steam menu setting, we made Steamed Dumplings and delicate Steamed Fish with Ginger and Scallions. And if you want to make white rice, brown rice, quinoa or yogurt, the Multicooker automatically selects the correct cooking time and temperature, adjusting for perfect results each and every time.

Cioppino! Need we say more?

And best of all, these menu settings can be customized, like the Low/Slow Cook setting. It can be adjusted to four different temperatures, ranging from 140°F, 160°F, 180°F to 200°F. The Sauté/Sear setting has two customizable options, one for browning meat (410°F) and one for sautéing aromatics like garlic and onions (350°F). Even our Simmer setting has a High or Low option!

Self-standing lid keeps your countertop tidy and clean!

So, how does the Multicooker do all of this? It comes in a 6-quart capacity, and features a tri-ply 18/8 stainless steel cooking pot that rests inside the main body, secured there using convenient resin handles, which stay cool during cooking. The inner cooking pot is 10” in diameter, ideal for larger cuts of meat and poultry, and holds and distributes heat evenly. The cooking pan rests on a large heating plate with 1,350 watt high-powered output allowing high temperature cooking like sauté and sear. Unlike a standard crock pot or slow cooker, this combination of cooking pot and heating plate lets you braise, sear or sauté foods prior to slow cooking. The cooking pot is topped with a lid made using clear, tempered glass so you can view foods as they cook.

An upward-facing control panel makes it easy to use.

The Multicooker features our smart technology, and uses a microcomputer to provide preprogrammed settings and an upward facing LCD control panel to control time, temperature and menu settings. And it features our commitment to safe design through the user of a concealed heating plate, a removable power cord that detaches when snagged to prevent the hot pot from falling off the kitchen counter, and a spill guard that directs hot overflow to avoid accidental scalding. Accessories include a full-color recipe booklet, a stainless steel steam basket and rice measuring cup.

We can’t wait to hear what you’re cooking up in your new Multicooker (EL-CAC60). All of our recipes are in the recipe booklet, and we’d love to know how they turned out for you. Let us know in the comments below or on our Facebook and Twitter pages! Simply tag #zojirushi!

Product Inspirations – Micom Rice Cooker & Warmer (NS-LGC05)

Posted on March 13, 2017 by Zojirushi America Corporation

We love one of our newest rice cookers, the Micom Rice Cooker & Warmer (NS-LGC05)!

This rice cooker is ideal for small families or couples, as it can cook as little as a half cup of rice or oats and up to three cups of rice. Whether you’re making an individual portion or enough for a small family, this compact rice cooker is versatile as well as stylish, with a clear coated stainless steel exterior that looks sleek and modern on any kitchen countertop.

The Micom Rice Cooker & Warmer comes equipped with a microcomputer that uses advanced fuzzy logic technology to make fine adjustments to cooking time and temperature, ensuring rice is cooked to perfection every time. It also comes with menu settings to make white rice, sushi rice, brown rice, long grain white rice and special menu settings for steel cut oatmeal and GABA brown rice. GABA, or gamma-aminobutyric acid, is said to help lower blood pressure and relieve stress. Using the GABA Brown Rice setting activates the GABA in the brown rice by soaking it for two hours at 104°F before cooking.

Hot and delicious steel cut oatmeal

Cooking in this rice cooker is stress-free. The nonstick inner pan comes with high-contrast water level lines that make it easy to see how much water to put into the pan for the desired amount of rice. The pan is easy to insert into the machine and rice is cooked evenly using the triple heaters on the bottom, sides and lid. The easy-to-read LCD control panel is used to select the menu setting, and once set, the rice cooker will automatically presoak, cook and steam the rice to perfection. With the clock and delay timer functions, you can set rice to cook for dinner before you leave in the morning or set oatmeal to be ready for breakfast before you go to bed! Once rice is cooked, the machine automatically switches to Keep Warm mode, and rice can be reheated to serving temperature using the Reheat function just before eating.

This model features a convenient detachable inner lid for easy cleaning and a fully-washable inner cooking pan. The retractable power cord and sturdy fold-down handle make this machine simple to store and easy to transport. It also has a removable steam vent cap which allows for high-temperature cooking without messy overflows. Accessories include a nonstick rice spatula, spatula holder and a measuring cup.

Buttered Lobster Rice

With superior technology, design and performance, this Micom Rice Cooker & Warmer is great for your cooking needs. And to get you started, we wanted to share some of our favorite recipes that work beautifully in this rice cooker. Making the basics well is at the core of using this rice cooker, so why not first try making white rice, brown rice and steel cut oatmeal. When making white rice, make sure to rinse and wash the grains well prior to cooking and to use the right amount of water for the desired amount of rice. (We’ve even created a video that shows you how to properly wash rice!) Stir and loosen rice immediately after cooking, so that excess moisture is released and rice has a fluffy texture.

Once you’ve mastered these recipes, try making Takikomi Gohan, or Mixed Rice. This delicious recipe combines chicken, fried tofu, vegetables, mushrooms and seasonings with rice, all directly in the rice cooker. And if you’re in the mood for something richer, try Buttered Lobster Rice, where delicately seasoned rice is topped with rich, buttery lobster and a spritz of lemon.

No matter what you make with this rice cooker, it’s sure to turn out beautifully. Check out our product video below for more details, and as always, let us know how you do in the comments below.

Zojirushi’s Induction Heating (IH) System Rice Cooker & Warmer (NP-HCC10/18)

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Zojirushi America Corporation

We love our Induction Heating System Rice Cooker & Warmer (NP-HCC10/18)! It’s one of our flagship products, and we love it for its stylish looks, great technology and ability to make perfectly cooked rice, every time.

This rice cooker comes in a stylish dark stainless steel color and is available in two sizes, (up to) 5.5 or 10 cups. The induction heating technology allows this rice cooker to make super-fine temperature adjustments for precise heating, and turns the pan into an instant, all-over heat source for even and consistent cooking. The NP-HCC10/18 is great for cooking many types of rice, from short-grain to long-grain jasmine rice, and even make GABA brown rice using a special setting on the rice cooker that increases the nutritional value of the rice. Menu settings on the front panel make it easy to decide which type of rice and the texture you’d like your rice cooked to. The delay timer and keep warm settings make it easy to have your rice ready at a certain time, and kept warm so that it’s fresh when you’re ready to eat. Cleaning and maintaining this rice cooker is a snap—the exterior is easy to wipe down, and the interior lid and non-stick inner pan can be removed for washing.

We’ve gotten great feedback on Amazon.com from our owners since launching our Induction Heating System Rice Cooker & Warmer (NP-HCC10/18) in 2015.

Leslie Christopher gave the rice cooker a five-star review, saying, “This product is worth every penny. Before purchasing the rice cooker, we read a review on Forbes and it stated that it was the one kitchen appliance that actually cooks something BETTER than you can by hand. We now have four or five different kinds of rice on hand – jasmine, basmati, brown, sprouted, wild, etc. I can quickly make white rice for our son and then make a batch of brown sprouted rice for the rest of the guests. I can make dried beans from scratch, and then freeze them. I have made steel cut oatmeal, too. Please purchase the rice bowl for washing the rice, and you will be pleasantly surprised. Perfect every time!”

LCBrowning also gave the rice cooker a five star review: “I started using my new rice cooker right out of the box. Best rice I’ve ever made. I watched the Zojirushi online movie of how to use and wash my rise ahead of cooking. We are never to old to learn something new…”

We’re so happy to know that they love this rice cooker, and we know you will, too. To learn more about this rice cooker, check out our product video and our website. As always, be sure to share your recipes with us!