Lakeland 2 Portion Mini Electric Rice Cooker – 500ml Non-Stick Pan White Or Brown Rice & Porridge

I have a small kitchen, so any gadget I consider bringing into it needs to be assessed. I don't need space clogging up with a fad. I did however find that I was eating a lot of rice and tending to buy the microwave pouches, as I find boiling and monitoring a pan for half an hour tedious, and pouring and straining it at the end stressful. The price of the pouches was steadily rising, so I ran the numbers. I could buy 1 kg of rice for the same cost as 2 and a half pouches and it would likely make about 4 times as many meals as that. With the rice cooker running for longer, I wondered about electricity costs. I worked out my 1000w microwave probably uses about 0.06p to run for a minute and a half, and the 250w rice cooker would probably work out to around 1p every 10 minutes (and it generally runs about 30-40 mins), so while it is a bit more electric to cook, it pales in comparison to the money saved on the rice. There's obviously the cost of the rice cooker as well, but it seemed quite reasonably priced and in time this would pay for itself. So I got one, and I absolutely love it. The small size fits into my kitchen perfectly, with it managing to etch out its own spot pretty easily. I've had it a few months now and I must use it at least 5 times a week. It's so easy to use, fill up the cup that comes with it with rice, give it a rinse, chuck it in the pot with 2 cups of water, press a button, and get on with something else until it beeps at you. No monitoring and stirring, no draining at the end as all the liquid used is absorbed or evaporated. What I hadn't factored in was how much more quality there is to rice cooked this way over the microwave pouches. There's a feel to the pouches that I'd got used to, but looking back now it's a bit like when you buy grated cheese from a supermarket and each piece sort of feels plasticy and independent from each other piece, in a way cheese never does if you grate it yourself from a block (if that makes any sense!). The rice cooked in this becomes so fluffy and delicious in comparison. There's still the place for the odd pouch, as rice in a minute and a half is very convenient if you're short on time, but if there's chance to do it in the rice cooker then it's well worth the extra time. However there is also the ability to plan ahead built in. You can delay it up to 12 hours, so stick it all in before work, set the timer and you come home to rice. Another great benefit if you're trying to watch your diet. If I've had a stressful day at work, I get that pang in the back of my head telling me I should just pick up some junk on the way home, but now the rest of my brain kicks in and says "nope, you've got rice waiting for you at home!" A great way to nudge yourself towards making healthier choices. The keep warm function is also great, you don't have to time everything down to the minute, or know exactly when you're going to be back lest you come home to cold rice. It will still be there, ready when you are. I've experimented with a few different things as well. You can chuck noodles in there, dried risotto mixes, dehydrated vegetables, herbs and spices, or pre-cooked meats (I wouldn't try any raw meat, or put any kind of meat in it if I was going to be leaving it while I'm at work) one of my favourites I've found is to cut up pieces of chorizo and stir it in, it permeates all through the rice and gives it a great flavour. I also keep meaning to have a crack at seeing if it can do a rice pudding, but haven't got round to it yet. There is also a porridge function, but I've never been a big fan of porridge (bread soup imo) so I've not tried that, but I'm sure it works perfectly too if that's your thing. One note if you're buying this, the timer function is described as "delayed start" in the manual, but the time you set is when the rice will be ready, not when it will start. The first time I used the timer I wanted it ready in about 3 hours, so I set it to 2 hours and it was ready an hour before I was. Not the end of the world with the keep warm function, and obviously I know better now, but I wish someone had told me beforehand. If you routinely set the timer to run while you weren't around, you could end up with rice ready an hour before you needed every time and not realise, and that will be using extra electricity keeping it warm unnecessarily. So yes, this is a very good product. I've never used another rice cooker, so how it compares in its sector I couldn't say, but that doesn't change that it's perfect for my needs as it is and well worth the price.

Bought to make porridge, as I hate making it on my slow electric cooker and trying to microwave it, ends in a big overspilt mess. It takes 60 minutes but you can set a timer. This isn't a problem as I like my breakfast a bit later. I greased the base with a little butter as advised, rinsed the oats and used half water, half milk. I like the fact that the unit is only 250 watts of power, so economial to run. There was no spill, no mess, no burning. The porridge was really creamy and perfectively cooked. I was very impressed. Convenient next day delivery from.Amazon, which saved me having to go to my loval Lakeland store or wait to have it delivered. I will definately try cooking rice in it, I like the small portion facility, perfect for solos or for 2 person households. Easy to clean and I am really pleased with my purchase

Easy to store away, can be portable, definitely non-stick which is really good. I haven’t tried the porridge mode yet. Even though it is a nice handy rice cooker, it takes extremely long time to cook as just 1 small half of the rice measuring cup took 26 minutes, it takes almost an hour for an actual full cup of rice to cook. I don’t know about other people cooking time experience with this but with my opinion from my experience with this is, if you need a small rice cooker that cooks fast then this isn’t for you. But if you don’t mind how long it takes for it to cook then it’s ideal little rice cooker.

I can never ever cook rice perfectly. Those days are OVER, thanks to this nifty little device. I went for this one as there is only my husband & I at home now, plus I don't have a big kitchen and worktop space is precious. What this rice cooker lacks in stature, it more than makes up for it in performance. Clear, concise and easy to understand instructions. I use white basmati rice and after measuring out one level cup full (cup provided) and washing it first to get rid of the starch, pop it in the non-stick rice cooking vessel (provided), then add 2 cups cold water to the rice using the same measuring cup. Clip the lid on, switch on, select the "rice" function and leave it to work its magic for 30 minutes. It beeps 5 times at the end, to alert you that it's finished cooking. It then automatically switches to a "keep warm" function, ensuring your rice stays hot until you're ready to plate up. WOW! The rice turns out perfect every time - hot, fluffy and delicious. It works reliably every time. Compact and lightweight, small enough to leave on the countertop or in a cupboard. Parts are not dishwasher friendly, handwash only, but takes no time at all as the components are small. Cooks a perfectly sized portion for 2 people, using the 1 cup rice/2 cups water method. So glad I bought this, my current favourite small electrical appliance. Photo shows the small (but mighty!) size of this magnificent piece of kitchen kit. Highly recommend 10/10 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

What a handy piece of kit, compact enough to sit in a cupboard without taking up vast amounts of valuable space. Nicely designed, easy to use controls, good instructions. At last, fluffy rice in 30 mins - (if you like it sticky use the old saucepan method) and you can also wake up to great bowl of porridge.

My new favourite kitchen gadget - if you want perfectly cooked rice every time treat yourself to a rice cooker! This little unit is perfect for one or two portions and nails it every time. Super simple to use, easy to clean and does exactly what it says on the tin - it cooks rice perfectly!

One word..Brilliant. if you live alone..this is first class.Easy to operate and clean. Excellent results.

Perfect little rice maker. Makes dinners so much easier. Easy to use and clean. It takes up little space and is easy to store. Great non-stick, good value for money, no leakage, and I like the slick black appearance.