By: Camille Hansen
When cold rainy days arrive the comfort food comes out. Warm bread smells wafting through the kitchen comes to mind. The baking book comes in handy on a damp day like this. Or maybe you just want something fast, but not microwaved. How about a nice warm pot of rice? It goes with everything and takes less time to make than bread. That’s right, the Elite Gourmet 3 Cup Rice Cooker can whip out a pot of warm rice in minutes.
Maxi-Matic, Inc.’s Elite Rice Maker takes just twenty minutes to cook and then a pot of rice is ready to eat. For the health nut, it also comes with a steam tray to heat veggies on, while your brown rice cooks. The perfect gift for a college student, or small family, this rice cooker makes up to 3 cups at a time. That means several meals a day for a starving student, or one meal for a family.
The Elite Rice Cooker comes with the Elite 3 Cup Rice Cooker ERC-003ST, vegetable steam tray, heat proof handles, aluminum cooking pot, glass lid, and a keep warm function. Maxi-Matic, Inc. also makes 5, 8, 10 and 15 cup rice cookers for larger families and groups. One even comes in red.
I’m on the go all the time, so the Elite Gourmet Rice Cooker manages to feed me. Also my cooking expertise never left the dorm room days of macaroni and cheese and ramen noodle soup. Forget cooking rice the old fashioned way, that health hazard becomes a whole other story. This rice cooker makes it easy and with no mushed, burned, or soupy rice we’re good.
Now the downside, this rice cooker comes cheaply made. May not last more then three attempts in some cases. Mine so far, fingers crossed, still functions. The wiring inside may be faulty or loose in some cases. On top of that the warm function may actually be dangerous, since rice sticks to the non-stick pot.
For alternatives to the Elite Gourmet Rice Cooker you might want to look at the Black and Decker 3 Cup Rice Cooker RC3303. It doesn’t come with a steamer, but is inexpensive, sturdy, and lasts longer. Another option is the Aroma 3-Cup Rice Cooker and Food Steamer ARC-733-1G, which comes with a veggie steamer.
While considering the Gourmet Elite Rice Cooker maybe look at other options out there, before wasting your money on a cheaply made product.