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1. The actual cooking. Does the rice cooker cook rice good? Or does it overcook/undercook the rice, making it soggy, or still hard, or perhaps unevenly where parts of the rice are overcooked and soggy near the edges but the center portion is still undercooked and hard. Or perhaps the bottom layer is burnt to a crisp. This rice cooker cooks every part evenly. No sogginess.
In fact, OGs like myself knows how to steam rice properly like in the olden days before rice cookers were invented. I learned to do this when I was in the 2nd grade, when my mom was on a week long trip. My dad (who's really picky with how his food was prepared) approved it so I kept steaming the rice manually for the entire week. This rice cooker cooks rice as good as the manual way.
2. Extending the life of cooked rice. Does the rice on the top and or sides at the top start crusting dry rock hard or turn yellow after a short time like 24-48 hours? This is a clear sign of poor humidity or temperature control on the part of the rice cooker. If you finish your rice within hours, this is not a problem for you. But if you need the rice to last a few days, this is a real problem. This rice cooker keeps cooked rice in perfect or near perfect conditions, even after 24-48 hours. Cooked rice rarely goes hard (especially top edges) or yellow even after 48+ hours.
Throughout the years, I've owned many rice cookers. Eventually things break and the cooked rice starts to form hard crusts on top, or start turning yellow, sometimes in less than 24 hours after cooking. This is not normal, and not acceptable. This rice cooker has not given us much problems after a year of ownership.
Mine was purchased summer 2021, and made in China... but, it works great! I was afraid made in China and "they don't make them like they used to" would be negative. Still, this has better reviews than newer models. Rice is in "Regular" mode, and NOT "Extended" mode. Regular is basically what the rice cooker is in after it's done cooking. Extended mode is if you manually put it in that mode to extend the rice. But...the irony is extended mode will increase higher probability of the rice yellowing due to a decreased temperature. Read the manual.
I've had my rice in regular for 98 hours and still good to eat. Although note this is with 2 cups brown rice and 3 cups white Jasmine (Budda brand) rice. No watery smells etc. But that'll probably be the limit I'm willing to do LOL. Usually we finish the rice in 2 days, sometimes 1.
One thing I have noticed is that this rice cooker has a plastic piece on the underside of the lid that surrounds the aluminum top. The edges of the plastic is supposed to be on the bottom of the aluminum lid, so that it allows only just enough steam out (while cooking) and humidity (after cooking to extend the life of the cooked rice for a few days). When opening the lid, sometimes it'll jerk up fast and forceful, causing momentum to move a part of the plastic above the aluminum. I think this can cause the top cooked rice to crust and turn yellow, which can happen if the positioning of the plastic and lid aren't correct during cooking, or afterwards. I pay attention to that from time to time and fix it by pushing the alluminum lid up to extend the life of the cooked rice. You can pull the aluminum top off to clean.
Also, word of advice:. Don't buy cheap rice. Italians will tell you the type of grain used to make pasta makes a world of difference. Same with rice. Usually long grain "Jasmine" rice will cook better and taste better than cheaper rice grains.
BTW, I'm straight up 100% Asian and eat rice meals multiple times a day. Many reviewers might eat rice once a week or month only. You do NOT want to be taking "rice" advice from someone who doesn't eat rice regularly LOL. That's like taking advice from your car mechanic for a medical problem you have.
The Tiger brand rice cookers used to be the shiznit decades ago, but they don't make 'em last anymore. This is so far the better rice cooker I've bought. Also, searching "yellow" in the reviews, this rice cooker had the least hits. I'll update this as the years go by.
100% authentic Asian (who actually eats rice) approved.
Update July, 2023:
Added a video showing rice after 65 hours. We were busy and didn't get to eat 4 cups of rice made fresh. After 65 hours (almost 3 days), it's no longer considered fresh, but only the top was a little crusted and slightly yellow. However, once I scooped about 1 inch of the top off and threw that away, the underside was still edible, no funky smell etc. LOL. Insane, huh? Well, the family ate it, as you can see from only a little left.
