Because rice takes a while to cook on the stove, it’s easy to forget and accidentally burn. A rice cooker both speeds up the process and ensures that your rice is cooked to perfection every time.

An electric rice steamer also makes it easy to cook large quantities of rice at once without taking up any of the burners on your cooktop. And, the rice will stay warm until the meal is ready. A rice steamer is the perfect small kitchen appliance for holiday meals or for anyone who cooks rice on a regular basis. You might also add it to the list of great kitchen appliance gifts.

When it comes to choosing the best rice cooker for your kitchen, capacity is the most important component. Ensure you choose a machine that can make the quantity of rice you want. A small rice cooker is perfect for a household of one or two, but larger rice cookers, like 10+ cup rice makers, are ideal for families or for those who frequently host gatherings.

If you enjoy freeing up space on your stovetop and in the oven—or if you don’t have all of the traditional large kitchen appliances—you will not only love the convenience of a rice cooker, but you might also enjoy similar small kitchen appliances, like pressure cookers, toaster ovens and air fryers. All of these give you an easy and compact countertop appliance for preparing a range of foods.

For your rice cooker specifically, you can get the most out of it when you start experimenting with different kinds of rice. Rice varieties vary greatly as does the role of rice in different dishes. Having a rice pressure cooker gives you the perfect excuse to try out new varieties and recipes.

If you are making the most of a compact kitchen space—or the lack of a kitchen space altogether—you can get a lot of use out of a mini rice cooker. Similar to other appliance essentials for small space living, you can even set it up in another room or any location with an outlet.