Fuzzy/induction/Zojirushi rice cookers

imposter

Not at all - it's good to know the facts. Minefield indeed!

I travel an awful lot, and can wait on my rice cooker (after all, I don't have a house yet to put it in), so I think what I'll do is pick one up the next time I am in Singapore or Hong Kong (along with some other decent Asian electronics) and take my chances with the dreaded UK customs "red lane" and the 17.7% tax :eek:

lucyrobb

I really wish I had found this site and thread sooner! I bought a Zojirushi from the US and being the idiot that I am didn't realise the voltage was different to that used in the UK/Europe. I plugged it into the socket in my kitchen, the Zojirushi made a funny sound and then there was a faint smell of burning I thought I only needed an adapter plug but obviously I was sooooo wrong. :embarasse

Anyway, thanks for this thread and all the advice on it...off to check out that Yum Asia linkie to see if I can get myself a replacement.

succhan

we bought a rice cooker from "Cook Japan" and are really happy with it, they have Sanyo and their own brand - we are very happy with ours, it is no different to the more expensive rice cooker we brought back from Japan on a vist home a couple of years ago which is now broken. All their machines are made for the UK/EU market, we also use ours as a slow cooker and to make other meals

lucyrobb

succhan wrote: »

we bought a rice cooker from "Cook Japan" and are really happy with it, they have Sanyo and their own brand - we are very happy with ours, it is no different to the more expensive rice cooker we brought back from Japan on a vist home a couple of years ago which is now broken. All their machines are made for the UK/EU market, we also use ours as a slow cooker and to make other meals

Personally I'd never go for an 'unknown branded' rice cooker over the number one Japanese Zojirushi brand. It's the same with all my kitchen appliances...I buy only the very best because I put them through their paces and want them to last ( I don't care if they are a little more in price). You may as well buy a Cuisinart, Morphy Richards, Tefal or, in the case of a slow cooker I would even go for the Chinese made 'JML Star Chef' which at least have some branding...albeit of poor quality.

My room mate at University had her Mums Zojirushi hand me down which had been going for 12 years and as mentioned on this thread and the Amazon reviews with Zojirushi your paying for quality and tried and tested robustness of its products. In fact, I've never heard of a Zojirushi breaking down or failing to perform. This is why I ordered my replacement Zojirushi today from Yum asia. I'll report back if anyone is interested on it's performance?

lucyrobb

Well I thought I would report back on my Zojirushi, just in case it helps someone else. I suddenly realised I said I would but forgot, I’ve just been a bit busy!

So I bought a NS-ZAQ10, it was delivered the day after I bought it and after a few months of use every day I can honestly say it’s amazing. It has lots of cool features like adjustable texture which is great because I like my rice a little ‘harder’- I have tried cooking all types of rice in it (it even has a setting for semi brown rice) and it comes out perfectly every single time. I love it because I don’t even have to think about what I’m doing – great in the morning when I’m half asleep and setting the timer for the rice to be done when I get in from work!! I hate mornings so the fact it’s easy is a bonus. I’ve tried rice pudding, oat porridge, mixed rice (the rice is cooked with veggies and meat at the same time) and I’ve tried the sushi setting once and it turned out well. I’ve experimented with risottos which turn out really tasty (butternut squash risotto is lovely). I’m still experimenting and I’m waiting for a rice cooker cookbook to arrive so I can cook some other things.

In my opinion, the Zojirushi is far superior to the other cheaper brands I’ve owned, my Japanese friend told me not to buy a Chinese fuzzy logic rice cooker because Zojirushi has the highest build standards of all the rice cooker companies. The taste and texture of the rice produced from the ZAQ10 is out of this world, so I’m glad it was worth the money I paid – I am happy to pay extra for a top quality brand. The inner bowl has stay cool handles and is really heavy duty and good quality. All in all this rice cooker is the best kitchen appliance I have, no joking! I am eating rice a lot more and it makes cooking brown or wild rice a lot easier too. Now all I have to do is buy a bento box so it’s easier to take my lunch to work!

Slinky_Malinky

Very interesting - I had never heard of Zojirushi. I love rice, especially basmati, but usually cook it in a pan or pressure cooker. If I had one of these gadgets I would probably cook a big batch of rice and freeze the extra, but then I suppose I would lose something of the perfectly cooked-ness?

arkonite_babe

succhan wrote: »

we bought a rice cooker from "Cook Japan" and are really happy with it, they have Sanyo and their own brand - we are very happy with ours, it is no different to the more expensive rice cooker we brought back from Japan on a vist home a couple of years ago which is now broken. All their machines are made for the UK/EU market, we also use ours as a slow cooker and to make other meals

Another vote here for Cook Japan!
I bought the Sanyo model from them and it's fab! Slow cooker, rice cooker, porridge and I can even make yoghurt, though I have yet to try that bit

Reasonable postage and they are so so helpful and friendly. ten out of ten from this happy customer!

lucyrobb

Slinky_Malinky, there wouldn't really be any need to cook a big batch then freeze it as the Zojirushi is so easy to use, so you can just make as much as you need each time and keep it warm for 12 hours or use the timer so it's ready when you need it. Mine also has a reheat function which is handy to have if I make too much rice and don't want to keep it warm.

Arkonite_babe, seems you are one of the lucky ones with your Sanyo. Two of my friends had one of these Sanyo models and both broke - I think one had a problem with the electronics and the other's display broke, made funny noises and then stopped working both within 5-6 months of buying them. They looked on the internet and found quite a few reports of the Sanyos breaking...hopefully you will have better luck with yours than my friends had!

On a side note it seems that the poster called Succhan is somehow affiliated with the company they are recommending, as one of Cook Japan's websites is regularly updated someone called Succhan, so I'm not sure how this person can be saying they bought a product from that company?

georgie_boy

ZOJIRUSHI

I'm thinking of getting an electric frying pan. Whilst searching around, I have just come across the: Zojirushi EA-TAC35 Sizzler.
Does anyone know where we can obtain these (or the brand) in the UK please ?

I'm disabled and after an E.Frying pan that is easy to wash/clean and can be used at a high enough temperature to sear/seal steak / fish / meat etc - any other recommendations please ?

I also need to replace my G.Foreman Grill (non stick ? - apparantly this is true, as it dosn't stick to the machine ?!) I also want one that can be used at a high temperature - any ideas please ?

thanks for reading

imposter

chucky66 wrote: »

No m8, Im knowledgeable about all things customs and importation related. You need to be because its a minefield. I searched for years for a Zojirushi rice cooker and looked into importing one just like you said. I did a lot of research with the costs and even phoned Customs to see what they would charge when it got to the UK (had to spend about an hour trying to get through to them on the phone!). Eventually I gave up on the idea of owning a Zojirushi because of the hassle of importing and then by luck I found Yum Asia who I bought from.

I thought I would update this thread for those people, like me, who wish to import their own Zojirushi rice cooker from Malaysia, Singapore or Hong Kong, where they have our 3-prong plugs and voltage.

I recently returned from Japan to the UK and went to declare a bicycle I had bought there, thinking that I would need to pay VAT + import duty on it from what I had learned from this thread. I was told by the Customs official that there was in fact a "free" threshold for goods imported into the country, which was in the region of £390. so anything below that price did not need to be declared.

So the bottom line from me is: if you want a Zojirushi rice cooker and are going on holiday to Malaysia, Singapore or Hong Kong, buy one there and bring it back with you instead of using a middle-man import company like the ones ADVERTISED above. You will NOT need to pay import duty or VAT on a rice cooker if it is priced below £390 (and all of them will be).

That's what I will be doing later in the year. I refuse to buy from the import companies listed above.