Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 5-1/2-Cup Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker and Warmer, Premium White Review

5 Responses to “Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 5-1/2-Cup Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker and Warmer, Premium White Review”

1. Thomas E. Tweedel says:

   August 24, 2010 at 7:59 pm

   Review by Thomas E. Tweedel for Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 5-1/2-Cup Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker and Warmer, Premium White
   Rating:
   I finally convinced my wife to replace the old but still functional single switch rice cooker I’d owned for about 10 years. I have longed for something with an off switch so rice doesn’t burn to the bottom when I forget to unplug it. This guy was the ticket.

   It seems like a fairly complex machine but its really easy to use once you understand the setup. Its well designed. The pot is easy to clean and the inner lid snaps off for easy cleaning as well.

   I have to say the rice it produces is some of the best I have had. I did a side by side cookoff with the old and the new rice cookers. The same rice just seemed to have more consistant texture and better strong flavor. Definatley worth the upgrade since we do lots of rice.

   The one drawback I found is with the somewhat misleading specifications. They say this is a “5 cup” rice cooker. So I’m thinking 5 cups=40oz. Plenty big enough for a family of 4. Well its not quite that much. It seems in Asia (on the metric system) their idea of a cup is a teacup. If you look at the picture and see the two little cups next to the machine, it will hold 5 of THOSE cups. Those cups are approximatley 6oz each. So really it is a 4 (American) cup rice cooker, not 5. Of course 3/4 of a cup is about how much rice you’ll eat in a meal so one run of this machine should be able to produce rice for 5. If you need more that that consider the NS-ZAC18 10 cup (8 cup) model.

   The trick to the machine is to use the little cups that come with it. You measure out a few “cups” of rice and dump it into the pot. Then you add water and fill it up to the graduated mark on the inside of the pot. So if you toss in 2 cups you add water until you hit the 2 cup mark. It has different markings for Brown, White and Sushi rice.

   Before discovering the proper way of using the smaller “cups” I used a regular 8oz cup on some Jasmine rice (then filled it to the designated level). It still came out way better than my rice cooker. It was firm but not hard and full of flavor. So if you screw up or loose your little “cup” you can still get great rice as long as the stickness is not absolutely critical to the receipe.

   The manual makes a huge deal out of its ability to handle some “no rinse” rice who’s milling technology was proudly developed in Japan. They devote pages to the setting and cooking it, but actually its pretty similar to the regular rice, you just use the green cup instead of the clear cup.

   All in all this is a great little machine. If you want the best and are willing to pay the bucks this is the one to get. You will not feel your money is wasted.

   Update:
   
   Its now 6 years later and countless batches of rice and this little thing is still going strong. The pot has a few scratches from years of continous daily use but its holding up.

   We expanded our use of this little gem. I’ve learned not to think of it as just a rice producing device but as a rice cooker + modified crock pot. My wife started using it to produce porriage and then later soup. She’ll pour the ingredients in the night before, set the timer and her breakfast is ready 30 minutes before she wakes up. You can use it for grain soups, porriage, oatmeal and more. We buy packs of Thai flavored rice that say were supposed to cook on the stove. We dump the stuff in and hit go. They come out plenty tastey.

   There is a quick cooking cycle that we use a lot. Shaves about 20 minutes off the cook time. Flavor suffers a little (though its still great) but when your in a rush…

   Perhaps the most amazing thing however is what it does to brown rice. As a kid I was never fond of brown rice. Too hard and crunch and I was never that big on bran flavor. We got some brown rice and started cooking it in this thing and it was a whole new world. I don’t know how it did it but it came out soft, a little chewey and decent tasting. Brown rice was now something worth eating vs avoiding.

   So if for whatever reason you are looking to switch to brown rice but not thrilled with the flavor do yourself a favor and get one of these units. It makes it a whole new experience.

   We haven’t tried steaming anything yet. Maybe when our steamer breaks..
2. J. Baldwin says:

   August 24, 2010 at 8:24 pm

   Review by J. Baldwin for Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 5-1/2-Cup Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker and Warmer, Premium White
   Rating:
   This rice cooker makes the best rice we have ever had – at least since our travels to Southeast Asia. And despite the fact that this machine *seems* smarter than it’s user, it is remarkably simple to operate. The instruction book lacks a little bit in terms of recipes and creativity – but it does a good job giving you the basic idea of how to use this machine. This space age looking rice cooker is a little pricey, so it may be overkill for some – but I love all the features this offers and consider it well worth the price (which is a hundred less than what it is offered for here at Amazon). We eat a lot of brown rice, which is not something that other rice cookers handle well. This one has a setting for brown rice, and cooks it to perfection. Also has a setting for semi-brown rice, sushi rice, porridge & more. You get to pick how soft or hard you want the rice to turn out by using the control panel. Being able to set a timer for having rice ready when we get home from work is handy. This thing also cooks complete meals – definitely get a good cookbook for rice cooker cooking We are expirimenting with many varieties of rice that I normally would have shyed away from, since I could not seem to cook even plain old brown rice properly until now.

   It took me 6 months to decide to buy this thing. We were originally contemplating the MYC10 series, but the specific settings for brown rice became important to us. And this one takes up less space on the countertop than the MYC10. We will be eating rice nearly every day now thanks to this machine! I am definitely glad we chose the ZAC10, and would recommend this product. It’s a keeper!

   UPDATED JUNE 12, 2004: We have now had this rice cooker for nearly a year, and have used it at least 3 times a week. It has held up to regular use quite well, we have not had a single problem with it. If anything, we are eating at home more than ever because of the simplicity of planning meals ahead of time. One thing that we have learned is that the 5 cup capacity is for using the cooker for white rice. Brown rice capacity is about 3 cups. So if you anticipate using this for more than 3 6 oz. cups of dry brown rice, you might consider steppig up to the 10 cup capacity model ZAC18. One tip for making very tasty rice, use a broth instead of water (or 1/2 and 1/2). If you are on fence about this cooker go ahead and take the leap – it is fantastic! No regrets!

   UPDATED April 18, 2008: Well, the “Brown Rice” setting finally died this week after nearly five (yes FIVE!) faithful years of weekly use. We remain very pleased with this product, and plan to upgrade to the newest model in a 10 cup capacity.
3. Bob says:

   August 24, 2010 at 8:41 pm

   Review by Bob for Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 5-1/2-Cup Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker and Warmer, Premium White
   Rating:
   For starter I have no complaints about the quality of the rice this machine makes but I am sure there are many other machines that make very good rice in the same price category. I am giving it a mediocre review because of the process and expense you have to go through to change the battery (even though it is only every 4 years or so). You cannot do it. The machine must be taken (or sent at additonal expense) to an authorized dealer who will have to desolder the battery from the circuit board for replacement. The charge for this work is around $20 or more plus $7+ for the battery. This process annoys me because I am sure other rice machines have a simple and inexpensive way to replace the battery (and it must be changed at some point, it won’t work without it). Just something to be aware of.
4. CMCM says:

   August 24, 2010 at 9:31 pm

   Review by CMCM for Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 5-1/2-Cup Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker and Warmer, Premium White
   Rating:
   This ZCC-10 just came out in March 2005 and replaces the ZAC-10. NOTE: All reviews prior to this one are actually for the older model. While I was researching rice cookers recently, I called Zojirushi to ask about the altitude issue that had been mentioned as a problem to fuzzy logic type cookers. At that time, they told me this new ZCC model was about to be released which fixed that and would work accurately at higher altitudes. I waited to order it, and it works GREAT. I live at 4,000 ft. elevation and both Basmati rice and brown rice turn out better than any I’ve ever made before–absolutely perfect. I had dinner guests gushing about the wonderful rice without having any idea I had this cooker! It literally takes about 2 minutes to figure out how to use the ZCC-10. You can choose white rice with sub-settings of sushi, soft or hard. There is also a quick cook cycle, one for mixed grains, plus sweet, semi-brown and brown rice, plus a cycle for pre-washed rice (probably only available in Japan). After cooking is done, the machine plays its little tune and shifts into a warm cycle (up to 12 hrs) and if you want to go beyond that, there is an extended warm cycle, plus a reheat setting. While in warm, you can open it up at any time, get some rice, and close the lid again and the warm cycle continues until you unplug it. Cleaning is quick and simple…in fact, although I removed the inner lid to clean (it easily snaps in and out) there was actually not much more than a few drops of condensation on it. The rice bowl cleans up with no effort, nothing sticks. The rice produced by the ZCC-10 is a gazillion times better than my previous little Hitachi cooker (switch type). The little melody is amusing…Twinkle Twinkle Little Star plays when you start the cook cycle, and Amaryllis plays at the end. You even have a choice of switching between high melody, low melody or beep. The buttons on the front are large and very easy to read. The unit looks like a cute little space ship with a handle–so very Japanese! I previously heard some complaints about not all Zoji cookers coming from Japan, but this one was definitely made in Japan, for what that’s worth. SIZE: This is called a 5.5-cup model. The most I have made was 3 Zoji cups (be sure to measure using their little cups, not your usual measuring cup!), which didn’t entirely fill the bowl and which was plenty for 7 people to have quite a lot. I probably could have done 4 cups, maybe more. They call it a 5.5 cup cooker, which must mean 5.5 of THEIR measuring cups. That would be a fair amount of rice. As a complement to this cooker, I also recommend the “Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook”, sold right here on Amazon. Great stuff in it to use in this cooker and lots of rice/rice prep/rice cooker information! Many or maybe even most recipes require fuzzy logic type cookers, by the way. I discovered you can use a rice cooker to make all sorts of surprising things, such as oatmeal and other grain cereals, rice pudding (and other puddings), a really amazing variety of different things! I was hesitant to spend this much on a rice cooker and thought about it for months, but I can enthusiastically say it’s worth it, especially if you plan to use it for more than just cooking plain old rice. Everyone I spoke to in kitchen type stores unanimously said Zojirushi was the absolute best, and now I know why!
5. BiplaneBuilder says:

   August 24, 2010 at 10:14 pm

   Review by BiplaneBuilder for Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 5-1/2-Cup Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker and Warmer, Premium White
   Rating:
   I agonized over the decision to buy this rice cooker and did a lot of research. I had a cheap rice cooker that was OK but it was a simple on/off type. I found I wasn’t using it that much because the brown rice took so long to cook I did not want to wait. Finally decided to do it and I’ve been very pleased. I use the porridge cycle a lot for a oatmeal/leftover rice breakfast.Key features:
   Timer: Set it to have the rice ready at 6pm and it is ready at 6pm. This is especially important for brown rice because it takes about 80 minutes to cook.Rice settings: Cooking brown rice, just select the brown rice setting. Same for porridge, sweet, semi brown, and 3 white rice settings.Porridge Setting: I use the porridge cycle 3-4 times a week for a oatmeal/leftover rice breakfast. I’m hooked on this stuff. (Recipe is in the Ultimate Ricecooker Cookbook).Very Easy to clean: Basically, you clean to non-stick pot and the pop out top each time you use it. It really can’t get any easier. (One person who reviewed this machine complained about it being “difficult to maintain” but I can’t imagine how they came to this conclusion).Rice paddle holder on side: This may sound like a minor item but I had a cheap rice cooker that had no where to put the paddle during serving and it was a pain. I prefer not to just set things on the counter.The only thing that needs a little work is the instruction manual. It is very limited and you will want to purchase The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook. Buy it online in paperback.If you eat rice 3 or more times a week, go ahead and get this machine. It is worth the price. (If you look hard online you can find it for about $160). If you don’t eat rice 3 times a week this machine might change that.