1

I have a "Hamilton Beach Multi-Cooker" rice cooker / steamer / etc. 840304400 is the model number.

We only cook rice for sushi, rice bowls, onigiri, etc. 9 times out of 10, we want to work with cold rice after it's cooked. 1 time out of 10, we want to crack an egg into the hot rice as soon as it's done and have the rice cook it.

We're happy with the way it cooks our rice, neither over nor under done, but only if we catch it between cooking mode and keep-warm mode. It doesn't beep, and its count-dowm timer doesn't start for a long time. With 8 minutes of keep-warm (there's a count-up timer in this mode), the bottom of our rice became browned. So now, we have to be super attentive or else our rice burns. We have to check on it every ten minutes until the countdown starts, and be there to manually turn it off at 0.

Our previous rice cooker (similar style, with the multi-function buttons, by Aroma) didn't have the keep warm mode (or if it did, it didn't turn on), so we were able to start it, leave it for several hours, and come back and make dinner. It also beeped when it was done, so we were able to sit in the other room and come crack the egg into the rice when it was at it's hottest.

Is there any way to bypass "Keep Warm" mode so we can have perfectly cooked cold rice?

Improve this question
3
  • 3
    I suspect that the issue is that 'keep warm' is just too warm for you ... and that's likely because manufacturers don't want their users getting 'fried rice syndrome' : livescience.com/65374-bacillus-cereus-fried-rice-syndrome.html
    – Joe
    Sep 19, 2021 at 1:48
  • 2
    Honestly that sounds like the wrong model for you. It may be possible to add a beep with a fully external device, if there's a visual indicator, but I doubt you could do anything about keep warm mode.
    – Chris H
    Sep 20, 2021 at 9:46
  • I'm afraid that sounds like a defect in the model. Sounds like you need a different device.
    – FuzzyChef
    Sep 20, 2021 at 15:02

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

Since you know exactly how long your cook time is (or at least you should have a relative idea of it), you can just put the rice cooker on a power supply that has a timer-based shut-off mechanism. They sell some analog/mechanical variants usually in pet stores in the reptile section, as it is commonly used for polyphasic lighting for their enclosures. Or if budget isn't too big a concern for you, you can also go with a smart bulb so you can automate the process (e.g., set up a toggle that will send the kill signal in n minutes from activation, etc). The latter option comes with the added benefit of being able to shut it off remotely in the event you forget to set it up when you had started steam process.

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.