We’ve had one of those really pricey Japanese “neuro fuzzy” rice cookers on our counter for several years now and it’s never let us down–except for the fact that it’s a bit on the small side and really isn’t made to handle much more than rice. When this COSORI rice cooker came along with a massive upgrade in cooking capacity and additional preparation options like steaming, sauté, or slow-cooking, we thought we’d give it a try and see if a more economically priced “fuzzy logic” model could compete with one of the more highly rated imports that costs nearly 2x-3x the price. Spoiler alert–the COSORI’s results were every bit as tasty and evenly cooked as our pricier dedicated rice cooker with just a few VERY tiny provisos that made it land just shy of the perfect rice (and other foods) cooker in our minds. We found the COSORI’s design handsome and appealingly minimal yet still modern-looking with a slick display, rounded edges, and a single silver lid opener button that didn’t give us pause to leave the cooker out on the counter all the time. Our other rice cooker has a cutesy, almost “Hello Kitty” vibe to it with a bulbous body, big garish and oddly colored buttons and labels against a weirdly small and somewhat difficult-to-read LCD display, with silly musical tunes played for various power and status reports. When first powered up, the display provides you with a set of clearly labeled touch-sensitive buttons to activate cooking options for quick, white, and brown rices, oatmeal, multigrains (barley, quinoa, etc.), as well as additional functions for steaming, slow cooking, sauté, and warming. If no commands are entered, the cooker enters standby mode after 5 minutes and the only thing illuminated is a single “Start” button down in the corner–again, making it less intrusive if left plugged in and set in plain sight all the time. In the box you get the rice cooker, a steamer basket insert, a refreshingly well-written set instructions, a separate recipe booklet, measuring cup, and a “standing rice paddle.” I wasn’t sure what that last bit meant until I left the paddle sitting upright in a pot of cooked rice and saw that the little lip at the end of the paddle hooks over the edge of the inner pot so it can’t slide down into the bowl–nice! Using the cooker is dead-simple–press the button that corresponds to the ingredients you want to cook, add your food/water to the inner bowl (which includes handy text and graduated measuring guides printed right on the inside), adjust the cooking time with the +/- buttons if you wish, and then press START. You can also choose to delay cooking for up to 24 hours using the DELAY TIMER button. The cooker will beep several times when cooking is finished…you can also check your progress on the big countdown timer illuminated on the display. Once the cook cycle is finished, the cooker automatically enters a “Keep Warm” mode which can theoretically keep your food warm for up to another 24 hours, though the instructions suggest you not exceed 3-5 hours, depending on the dish, to maintain taste/consistency. Each cooking function comes preprogrammed with supposedly ideal cooking times for certain types of rice/grains, and the “fuzzy logic” on the inside supposedly senses the moisture content in the grains to adjust temperatures and timing during the cook cycles, but the instructions (and recipe booklet) also include a quick reference guide to further adjust cooking time based on varying amounts of ingredients and water ratios…definitely a handy reference when you graduate beyond a simple few cups of white rice and water. Cleanup is a breeze as the inner pot is totally nonstick; I think we spent all of maybe 60 seconds or less to actually clean the entire unit after each use. The inner lid comes away from the assembly very easily with just a single press on the big orange release latch. The steam trap can also be cleaned after lifting the similarly obvious steam cap release latch. While we loved the COSORI’s 5-quart capacity in the inner pot, the nesting steam basket only has a 2.3 quart capacity. I understand that you need some space for the boiling water, and this would probably be fine for one or two people; but if you have a larger family to prepare meals for, you might find the steamer a little cramped for larger dishes. We also noticed that there are no integrated handles on the inner pot. This is the one thing we wished carried over from our smaller rice cooker as it made transport of the finished rice around the kitchen a breeze; here, we had to remember to use pot holders just to lift the pot out of the cooker as even the “Keep Warm” setting left the pot too hot to touch. It’s a very small niggle, but a feature we missed nonetheless. Finally, as to the results…we tried 3 cups of jasmine rice right out of the gate and just went with the preprogrammed cooking time–perfection! The grains were tender without being mushy, tasty and sweet, and most importantly, they were uniformly cooked throughout the entire bowl without any hard/crunchy/snappy bits sprinkled throughout. We moved on to steamed broccoli next and the results were, again, simply out of this world--we didn't even have to adjust the cooking time from the default settings. We can’t wait to move on to other cooking options like oatmeal or complex dishes like slow-cooked stews as the COSORI is off to a simply fantastic start. If you’re looking for an intelligent rice cooker that also has a few tricks up its sleeve for other cooking functions, the COSORI should definitely be on your short list!

The biggest problem I have with rice is that it is so hard to get right. But this product solves that problem for me. Which makes cooking rice easier than ever. The product itself is very modern appearing. I love the full touch screen on the front. When the machine is off it looks fantastic. And when it is on it looks very modern and futuristic. Touch screen quality responsive and very easy to read. It will give you a countdown (estimated) of when your rice will be done. Along with multiple options on which rice you are cooking or dish you are trying to prepare. As it doesn’t only do rice. When preparing rice you just select the type of rice and amount and then it gets to cooking. Where it will automatically choose the time. Which I thought was neat. The rice I cooked was right on the money and very delicious. I’ll be using this a lot. Additionally, can go into a “keep warm” setting when done cooking. As the rice can take quite a bit of time to cook (45 – 90 minutes depending on amount and type). So, you’ll want to start this way before your meal. The overall build quality is excellent. It is very simple to navigate seeing as it is a touch screen. You have a button on the top to open the lid which does automatically lift. Then you’ve got some removable parts depending on the dish/rice and things to clean. Everything comes apart and back together easily. The unit itself is very quiet when cooking. Where I didn’t even hear it except for the occasional puff of steam through the hole on the top. Cleaning up was easy. Power cord is short, mostly for safety reasons to prevent it from being pulled out accidentally. In general, was impressed with the safety features. The unit itself didn’t get hot to the touch. But did get slightly warm after about an 60 – 75 minutes. Overall size is good. Really no complaints.

Super simple and extremely easy to use. It’s also the sleekest, nicest looking one I’ve seen as well. It’s not too big that it’ll take up a lot of space on your countertops. It has a nice touchscreen to boot. There is no on or off button so when you plug it in, it’s automatically on but it won’t start until you press one of the many options. It’s not a smart rice cooker so if you’re looking for one with an app, this isn’t it. I don’t think that it’s even necessary. Everything doesn’t require an app, especially rice, lol. I’m pretty darn good at making rice in a regular pot so I didn’t have high expectations but it’s great. I’ve looked at rice cookers before, more-so for the hubs, but I’ve found them to be too small. This can make 10 cups which is overkill for a smaller family but having the option to make larger pots of rice for special occasions or when hubs makes his pork belly fried rice dish and there’s never enough because it’s so gosh darn delicious. My favorite part of this is that everything on the inside is dishwasher safe. But even easier to clean by hand. The rice came out so fluffy and delicious. We enjoy more aromatic rice like basmati and jasmine and it cooked perfectly. I’m confident that this can take over the task of cooking rice which isn’t difficult but it opens up more room and prep time for other items in a meal. You can also steam, slow cook, and make oatmeal.

The Cosori 5 Qt Rice Cooker is my first new rice cooker in a long time. Its five quart capacity is nice and large though takes up quite a bit of countertop space (10” W x 12” L x 9” H). With the spring lid open (not removable), the height is around 19 inches and may not fit underneath cabinetry. The design is sleek and modern with a flat top, large touch-screen control panel, and smooth sides. The unit is fairly light at 8.5 lbs without any food in it and the handholds on the bottom make it convenient to move around. When idle for more than 5 minutes, it will automatically go into sleep mode and simply displays “start” on the control panel. What’s interesting about this rice cooker is that there are 9 different modes, three of which are for rice: white, brown, and quick, as well as other cooking functions like steam, slow cook, sauté, oatmeal, multigrain, and keep warm. When making Jasmine rice, it took about 50 minutes to cook after preheating for 10 minutes. The “white rice” mode cooked it thoroughly and perfectly fluffy. Any rice can be made in a little less time with “quick rice” mode, which saves about 10 minutes, however, may result in a harder textured rice. I loved that there’s an oatmeal setting that can also be used for rice porridge, as I make both of these quite frequently. After cooking is completed, the unit automatically enters “keep warm” mode and can hold the temperature up to 24 hours. You can also set a delayed start on the unit up to 24 hours to perfectly time your meals to be ready when you arrive home. The unit comes with a plastic steamer basket insert which is thick and durable. There are small handles on the sides to help you lift it out of the cooker easily, and it is deep enough (3 inches) to steam a decent quantity of food, like veggies, which can be done at the same time as cooking your rice. I also really like steaming whole eggs this way as I find you can control the final texture of them (hard or soft) better than with boiling. The inner pot is non-stick and has water level markings for different food quantities when using the various modes. These are convenient for adding the right amount of water without measuring. However, the smallest quantities marked are 2 cups of dry grain, so if you need to make less, for example 1 cup of rice for one or two servings, you’ll have to calculate the water amount accordingly and the ratios are listed in the manual. The maximum capacity is 10 cups of dry grain which makes up to 5 quarts cooked. I also really like the included scoop as it feels durable, is scratch-free, and stands up on its end, keeping the paddle off your counters without a hanger protruding from the machine. The unit makes very loud beeps when you power it on, select functions on the screen, and also after preheating and cooking. This helps ensure that you hear its alerts but you cannot change the volume level or turn it off. The unit is not “smart” so there’s no Bluetooth pairing or remote control/monitoring; however, Cosori has a smartphone app, VeSync, where you can browse recipes to make in the cooker. There is also a full-color recipe book with 10 recipes to get you started making delicious meals in the cooker. For Sauté mode, the unit pre-heats quickly in about 3 minutes, and I was able to brown ground beef in the unit in about 5 minutes. The nice part about cooking in the pot is that the walls are high so there’s little spatter outside of the unit for easier cleanup. Just remember not to use metal utensils in it to avoid scratching the non-stick coating. When the lid is opened after cooking, there’s a drip tray along the back to collect any condensation that may run off the inner lid. The inner pot and inner lid are easily removed for cleaning, and a condensation cup is hidden behind the inner lid that captures a couple tablespoons of condensation while cooking; any overflow simply drips back into the vessel without making a mess on your countertop. Note that the cooker lid cannot be closed without the inner lid installed. My only complaint is that since the steam vent is located on top of the lid towards the back, when used on my countertops it steams up the face of my cabinets. Instead, I have to use this machine on the kitchen table so the moisture won’t affect my cabinetry. Otherwise, I’m pretty happy with this rice cooker. It’s simple to use, makes great rice and other grains, and is multi-functional as a steamer, slow cooker, or sauté pan.

The Cosori 5-quart Rice Cooker is an excellent addition to our kitchen. Our old rice cooker died, and the Cosori is doing a great job replacing it and adding more flexibility. After the initial cleaning and the recommended steam test, we cooked one cup of washed Calrose white rice. It took a little over 30 minutes. The rice quality was perfect and did not stick to the container. We then used the Cosori to steam fresh broccoli. I set the timer for 7 minutes, and the broccoli was tender and tasty. I’m still getting used to all the different settings. It is easy to use and intuitive. The alert tone is clear and distinct without being too piercing. I did discover a few quirks with the cooker. I accidentally pressed the start button while moving the cooker, and all the front controls lit up. There was no way to turn it back off. It eventually turned itself off. When I washed the internal components, including the inner lid, and waited for them to dry, I could not close the top lid. For one meal, I wanted to delay the start of steam cooking by five minutes to match when the main course would be ready, but I could not set the start delay below 17 minutes. These are all minor quirks. Pros • Controls are intuitive and easy to use. • Delay start can be set up to 24 hours. • It can keep rice warm for 24 hours. • Non-stick inner pot. • Includes 2.3-quart steam basket, rice paddle, measuring cup, user manual, and recipe book. • Quick-start instructions via packaging and peel-off label. • Easy to remove and clean the inner lid. • Slow cook mode. • Steam cook mode. Cons • You can’t set the start delay to less than 17 minutes. • It can’t turn off immediately if it starts pressed by accident. • You can’t close the lid if the inner lid is removed. Cooking of: • White rice, short/med./long grain • Brown rice, short/med./long grain • Quinoa, Barley, Farro grains • Oatmeal, Steel-cut, Rolled, Porridge, Quick-cook • Steaming, Sauté, and Slow-cooking Summary Overall, I am happy with the Cosori 5-quart Rice Cooker. Aside from the minor quirks, the flexibility of various cooking options makes this a versatile appliance for our kitchen.