When you have a rice cooker at home you don’t need to worry about cooking rice; but you should know the right process of how to use and clean a rice cooker. These are very vital issues, failing which you might end up into a mess. So, before you make rice in your rice cooker, you must collect tips for using rice cooker. Here are some handy tips which will help you in both the process.

Using the rice cooker

• You must be very particular in following the instruction to use the rice cooker. There are various brands of rice cookers available in the market. Although the basic instruction is common for all of them, but there might be something unique to your appliance.
• Use the measuring cup supplied as an accessory of the rice cooker to measure the rice and water. Your gross estimation on the proportion of rice and water may not be correct for the initial time period. However, you might pick up this after using your cooker for several times.
• For best result, soak the rice for at least half an hour before you put into the cooker. Also make sure using exact amount of water for cooking in the rice cooker, as it is mentioned in the instruction. Excess water will definitely create a mess of all.
• Don’t open the rice cooker as soon as it is done. Let the rice rest for at least 10-15 minutes before removing the cooker lid. This will make the rice more fluffy and non-sticky. Also you should not open up the lid, while the cooking is going on, as this will result in uneven cooking of rice.

Cleaning the rice cooker

• If you have removable cooking bowl and lid, then you can take this out for cleaning. Let them soak into plain water or warm water, in case some leftover rice parts are sticking to the bowl. Then use soapy water to clean these parts with the use of sponge. Never use a scrubber to wash the containers, particularly when they are made with nonstick material.
• You may follow the instruction to clean the rice cooker by its own. For this you have to leave the empty cooking bowl inside the cooker after transferring the cooked rice into a separate container. Put the rice cooker into warm mode and keep the lid open for couple of minutes. This procedure will dry out the residue parts, which you can just wipe with a clean towel after some time.
• Periodically you should spend some time for cleaning the whole appliance. If you can maintain the rice cooker in proper shape, it will give you service for much longer period. There might remain some sticky and dried residue of cooked rice on some unexpected areas. For this, use a clean and moist towel to gently rub over the surface without leaving any scratch. But never use plenty of water to wash the outer body as it might even destroy the appliance completely.
• The best way to keep it clean from mould and mildew; is to use the rice cooker in a regular basis. As much as you use the appliance, the heat and steam formation will keep all these things away and it will remain at its best health.

Image Courtesy: gadgetskitchen.com