Zojirushi NP-HBC18 10-Cup (Uncooked) Rice Cooker and Warmer with Induction Heating System, Stainless Steel Review
Zojirushi NP-HBC18 10-Cup (Uncooked) Rice Cooker and Warmer with Induction Heating System, Stainless Steel
Perfectly Cooked Rice with the NP-HBC18
Extract the full nutrient potential of rice with this advanced rice cooker from Zojirushi. The induction heating method heats the inner cooking pan resulting in exceptionally well-cooked rice. GABA brown cycle activates gamma-aminobutyric acid, a beneficial nutrient in brown rice. 10-cup capacity is great for parties or large families. Note: Capacity is stated in 6-ounce cups of raw rice. Cooked yield is roughly double the amount. Features automatic keep warm and extended keep warm cycle. Menu settings include: white rice (regular, softer or harder) sushi mixed porridge sweet GABA brown brown quick cooking. Easy-to-read LCD control panel with clock and timer display. Measuring lines on inner cooking pan for precise control of ingredients. Removable inner cooking pan makes clean-up a breeze. Convenient detachable inner lid allows easy washing. Comes with a rice measuring cup and a rice spatula with holder. Menu settings include: white rice, brown rice, sushi rice, mixed rice, and porridge.
Make Every Type of Rice
Brown Rice
This is a menu setting designed to cook delicious brown rice. In order to cook hard rice bran and the rice inside, preheating time is extended for better absorption of water, and is cooked at a lower temperature to allow the rice to cook longer without becoming mushy.
Sushi Rice
Because sushi rice will be processed after it's cooked, it's easier to handle when it is a little firmer. This menu setting is very similar to regular white rice, but uses less water (adjusted by the water fill lines) for a firm finish.
Mixed Rice
Mixed rice is rice cooked with additional ingredients and seasonings. This setting extends preheating for better absorption of seasoning. Also, the cooking temperature is slightly lower than regular white rice, to avoid ingredients from boiling over.
Porridge
Instead of cooking rice in larger amounts of water and risk making it sloppy, use the porridge setting to cook fluffy porridge. Cooking temperature is slightly lower than regular white rice, to be cooked longer for soft texture.
GABA Brown Rice
A newly discovered way of cooking brown rice to "activate" it and increase natural occurring gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), an amino acid in brown rice believed to have health giving properties such as lowering blood pressure, improving kidney function and relieving stress. The brown rice is "activated" by soaking it at 104°F for 2 hours before the actual cooking begins. All Induction Heating System rice cookers, including the IH Pressure models, have the GABA brown rice setting.
Easy-to-read LCD control panel
Zojirushi NP-HBC18 Features
- Superior induction heating (IH) technology
- Healthy cooking options: brown rice and GABA brown rice settings
- Easy-to-clean clear coated stainless steel exterior
- Automatic keep warm and extended keep warm
- Delay timer (2 settings)
- GABA brown setting or Brown Rice Activation activates brown rice for increased nutritional values
- Menu settings include: white (regular, softer or harder), mixed, sushi, porridge, sweet, brown, GABA brown and quick cooking
- cETLus listed, tested to comply with FCC standards
Detachable inner lid for easy cleaning
MICOM (Microcomputer) Technology
Aided by microcomputer technology, this category of rice cooker takes having rice on your menu from occasional to serious. MICOM allows the cooker to have multiple functions on its menu, making it a necessity for any avid rice fan who wants to incorporate rice into her daily diet. The microchip does all the thinking for you by, based on the type of rice you are cooking, from adjusting cooking times, temperatures, and timing the pre-soak of the raw grains to the final "wait" period during steaming.
Conventional rice cookers simply turn on and off in reaction to temperature. The "fuzzy logic" of MICOM fine-tunes this adjustment to adapt to various rice types, such as white, brown, sweet or porridge, which all have different cooking requirements. The trigger to everything is the thermal sensor, a small round button at the bottom of the inner body of the cooker. As the inner pan's weight rests on it and activates the sensor, it starts the cooking process and keeps an eye on the temperature and time.
Induction Heating (IH) system for precise temperature control
Induction Heating took rice cooking to another level by introducing another dimension to the heating process. Where the heating element would normally be located at the bottom of the cooker, IH transforms the entire inner cooking pan into a heat conductor, allowing for higher, more precise and more uniform cooking temperatures.
Induction heating occurs when a magnetic material enters a magnetic field. This is recreated by passing an electric current through coils located at the bottom of the rice cooker's body. As the special, 2-ply inner cooking pan is placed inside, a magnetic field is created, which in turn generates instant heat. The entire cooking pan becomes the heat source, with the ability to cook at higher temperatures, which can be turned on and off instantly for greater control.
Spherical inner cooking pan and heating system provide even heating for perfectly cooked rice
Accessories include rice measuring cup, nonstick rice spatula and spatula holder
