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.

I've been using rice cookers for about five years but this one is the best I've used by far. I love porridge and with this unit because it's small the minimum portion size is perfect for one person. That is a problem with most larger units- there is usually a minimum portion size which would equate to 2 or three times what I need. Having the delay function so that you can put the milk and porridge oats in the night before is perfect for early morning starts. Saves so much time and hassle and then just one easy to wash up small pan. Tip- I've found that Although it says it takes an hour, with 1 cup of porridge and 2 cups of milk/water around 35 to 40 minutes is a great consistency- I usually add in a banana chopped up 10 minutes before the end which cooks the banana enough. Porridge is cooked to a time whereas the rice is cooked until the water is evaporated and the rice reaches a certain temperature. So you might want to experiment with your porridge to get it exactly how you want it. I've tried multiple different types of rice all of which have been cooked perfectly. My favourite so far has been Japanese sticky rice and brown long grain rice. With brown varieties of rice you need to do 2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice. White rice is one-to-one. This is such a useful, time-saving and most importantly provides consistently good results that I would struggle to recreate with the pan on the hob. Also because the unit is quite small it doesn't take up much space on the work surface. Definitely my favourite kitchen gadget now and not one that you will just use once like a lot of things that end up in the back of the cupboard.

I like this small one person one portion tailored rice cooker. The previous rice cookers I have bought were too bulky and took up too much space on the kitchen worktop, especially as I don't have a tonne of space. It also produces exactly one small bowl of rice correct for one person to consume which is handy for me. The carry handles I am not sure about even though the rice cooker itself is a lightweight item. I prefer to transport the whole thing by holding it at the bottom when it's not in use. The inside lid has to be cleaned after each use and it was easy to do so.

We love this and use it regularly, it cooks very well and the price was very reasonable. We split it between 3 people, but it is more suited for enough rice for 2 people. Super easy to use and is really compact and fits in our cupboard in the kitchen.

Really good, well made product. I've never been that keen on rice, but decided to invest in this. With Aldi easy cook brown rice, I can make 1 or 2 portions very easily for myself and the result is very tasty, and not sticky.

This little rice cooker is the perfect size for meal prep and sushi. Unlike all the other comparatively massive (and expensive) rice cookers on the market, this one is ideal for portions suited for a work week's meal prep (up to 175 grams of basmati rice) or up to a few rolls of sushi. I've been using it for a bit over a year now, and it's made making rice-based dishes a lot more hassle free with good, consistent results, and the small size means it barely takes up any storage space.

This is the best bit of kitchen equipment that I have bought for ages. It cooks absolutely any rice you put into it. We use it for basmati, paella, Japanese sticky rice - everything. You can throw vegetables and spices in no problem and create one pot dishes. It is also great for cooking single portions when needed. There is a warning function that keeps your rice warm once cooked for as long as you need. It has a porridge setting but we haven't tried it. The only thing I would say is that is does fine for up to four people but you'd need a bigger size to cater for larger numbers.