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I bought a first rice/multicooker Tefal RK8121. I cooked the rice according to the manual.

I put the rice inside and added the steaming tray on top of the rice to steam at the same time (it doesn't say anything about that in the manual though). Added the water and started the program (with pre-washed rice). The program is one that automatically stops using some sensors inside the machine.

The rice is supposed to be cooking for 10 minutes, as written on the package. It didn't stop cooking, so after 40 minutes I had to stop it. The bottom of the rice was already a bit overcooked and the rice was mushy due to it being so long in there.

Why did it not stop? I tried it another time with wild rice, and it stopped itself after 30 minutes and the rice was perfect. But with white rice like Thai Jasmin, it didn't stop even after 40 minutes, this happened twice. I know somebody else who bought the same cooker and has the same problem, I guess there's something we must be doing wrong, but I'm not sure what.

The program used for cooking is rice/cereal.

What am I doing wrong? I tried both following the rice cooker's water advice, and the rice package's water advice and both without luck, the rice cooker keeps cooking the white rice for way too long.

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    Did you measure the water and rice using the cup provided? Rice cooker cups are a different size to standard measuring cups so it's important you use the same cup for both. It's crucial to measure the water and to drain well after rinsing the rice. The ratio of rice to water varies with the type of rice as well as the area of the rice cooker.
    – Chris H
    Jun 3, 2017 at 14:26
  • @ChrisH I did that, but still the same result, the rice cooker doesn't stop even if all water is gone and the bottom rice is starting to brown (and this happens on 2 devices, so it can't be a broken device). Other person I know with the same device says he cooked the rice without using the steaming tray, but cooked only rice inside and still had the same problem.
    – Kevin Van Ryckegem
    Jun 3, 2017 at 14:27
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    It's possible that it was broken out of the box ... but I wouldn't use the wild rice as a valid test -- it isn't a true rice. Unless the rice cooker specifically says something about wild rice in the manual, I wouldn't trust it to cook it. (I don't even know if I'd trust brown rice in a low-end rice cooker). It's also worth mentioning that most of them do best when they're at least half full -- trying to cook only 2 cups of rice in a 10 cup rice cooker will likely never come out well. (the residual heat as it enters cool-down has less rice to absorb the heat)
    – Joe
    Jun 3, 2017 at 15:17
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    Not the same model, no. As @Joe says a large rice cooker (which ours is) is a bit of a compromise for small quantities. But it shouldn't massively overcook.if the water quantity is right and it's failing to cut off, it should burn once the water is gone.
    – Chris H
    Jun 3, 2017 at 17:41
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    @KevinVanRyckegem : I don't think so. Most package times are for adding the rice to already boiling water, then turning it down to low. Rice cookers add cold water over the rice, then heat up ... so it's going to take longer.
    – Joe
    Jun 4, 2017 at 1:20

1 Answer 1

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Most ricer cookers use temperature of the pan - which is regulated by water content! - to decide when to stop. Only when enough water has evaporated to leave you with reasonably dry, palatable grains can the pan temperature exceed 100°C/212°F. If what you are cooking cannot absorb all the water, the device will cook until all the water has evaporated (which the lid makes very slow).

If actually boiling it dry doesn't stop it, and no "keep warm" or "saute" or similar special mode has been selected, return it, it is broken.

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  • I will try adding less water next time! Strange thing is that the only time it actually stopped (with the brown rice) it actually still had a bit of water left in it, I'm guessing I put too much.
    – Kevin Van Ryckegem
    Jun 3, 2017 at 17:38
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    @KevinVanRyckegem : are you adding the water first, or to the rice? Every cooker I've seen says to add the rice first (which will displace the water, so not as much water as if you added the rice afterwards)
    – Joe
    Jun 4, 2017 at 1:21
  • @Joe That's a good point, but I put the rice first, as the manual says.
    – Kevin Van Ryckegem
    Jun 4, 2017 at 9:30

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