Panasonic SR-MS182 Fuzzy-Logic 10-Cup Rice Cooker, White Review

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(More customer reviews)This cooker is supposed to be able to: cook white rice (normal mode), white rice (quick mode), brown rice, sticky rice, rice porridge, steam, cake, slow cook. I tested the functions I would most often use: cooking white rice, steaming, cake, and slow cooking.
[1] Cook rice (white jasmine) in normal mode
This cooker is meant to make as little as 2 cups rice (4 cup yield cooked) to 10 cups (20 cup yield cooked). Cooking takes about 40 minutes. When cooking the minimum (2 cups) with the recommended amount of water according to the markings in the inner bowl, the finished rice seemed a bit dry and undercooked. Whenever I find the rice slightly undercooked for my taste when the machine says the rice is finished cooking, I let the rice steam for a few additional minutes in "warm" mode, and it'll usually eventually get cooked more thoroughly, though still a bit dry. I've had the same problem with my old rice cooker. With smaller amounts of rice, the markings are usually off so I need to add more water than what is recommended. I tried cooking 2 cups again, but this time, added water 1-2 millimeters above the recommended water line, and the rice came out perfect when the machine sounded the "ready" beep. When I made a larger amount in this cooker (4 cups), I added water only up to the recommended line, but this time had no problems with the finished rice. Again, this is the same way my old rice cooker (different brand) performed, so don't necessarily think badly of Panasonic's line, there are problems all around - just keep tweaking water as you get to understand how the rice will turn out the more you use the machine.
[2] Cook rice in quick mode
I tried with 2 cups again. Cooking finished in about 15 minutes, but was far more undercooked than the rice in Task 1. I let the rice steam in "warm" mode for about an hour, and the rice was better - took away the whole point of trying to cook rice quickly, though. Doubt I will bother using this over normal cooking.
[3] Steam
You can set the cooking time for steaming anywhere between 1-60 minutes, adjusting in 1 minute increments. The plastic steaming tray fits into the inner bowl of the rice cooker. The tray is approximately 8.25 inches in diameter and 2.25 inches deep. There are two nubs in the plastic tray protruding inwards that you use to help lift the tray out of the inner bowl when steaming is done. Steamed 4 quartered russet potatoes great, and tray was very easy to clean.
[4] Cake
Instead of cake, I made a batter for pumpkin bread that is normally baked at 350º for about 55 minutes in a loaf pan. Put it in the cooker on "cake" mode and it finished cooking in 55 minutes as well. Cooked nicely though the texture of the crust is slightly different and better suited for actual cakes. There will not be the golden crust on the top of the baked good you are used to with oven baking. The top of the cake/bread will look and feel more like steamed buns. You can set the cooking time in "cake" mode anywhere from 20-65 minutes, adjusting in 5 minute intervals.
[5] Slow cook
A completely frozen block of corned beef was cooked in "slow cook" mode for 3.5 hours. It was nice that I didn't have to worry about falling asleep with the machine on since there are no flames to deal with on the stove and didn't have to watch for spillovers. There is no temperature control, but the machine keeps the temperature so the water stays at a low simmer. Cooking times for slow cooking can be adjusted in 30 minute increments anywhere from 1-12 hours.
Happy with overall performance except for quick cooking rice.
Other notes:
The machine will remember the cooking time settings you last used for the steam, cake, and slow cook options - great so you don't have to reset it all the time when you cook the same thing often. A detail I really appreciated was that the inner cover to the lid had a rubber gasket around the edges with a layer of rubber folded back in such a way that when you open the lid, with all the condensation on the inner cover from the steaming of rice, the water is caught in the groove in between the layers of rubber and does not drip all over the bottom half of the machine. The machine displays the time when not in use, but it just operates on a 24-hour clock i.e. when it is 4 in the afternoon, you will see 16:00 on your time display. There is unfortunately no other option for those of us who like to simply see 4:00 pm. The display lays more horizontal than vertically. I wish the display were more vertical so you could easily see the time on it sitting down in a chair across the room, not only if you're standing over it. Disappointed there is no slot/holder for the rice scoop. It would have been nice since once the scoop starts getting used, there's rice sticking all over it and it would be good to have somewhere to put the scoop in between servings without having to dirty another dish or the countertop.


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Take the guesswork out of making restaurant-quality rice with this easy-to-use rice cooker. The handy appliance offers a 10-cup uncooked-rice capacity, producing up to 20 cups of cooked rice--great when cooking for a group of friends or the whole family. Simply add dry rice, measure in the water, make a selection, and push the "start" button. Equipped with micro-computerized Fuzzy Logic technology, the unit automatically makes fine adjustments to the temperature and heating time to ensure perfectly cooked rice. Choose from a variety of menu options including steam; quick cook; porridge; slow cook; cake; and white, brown, and sticky rice. Once the rice has cooked, the appliance automatically switches over to "keep warm" mode, which maintains an ideal serving temperature for up to 12 hours. The unit's delay timer offers a 24-hour clock with one memory setting for starting the cooking cycle at a later time, and its automatic shut-off function offers peace of mind. Other highlights include a binchotan-type black pan with white anodizing for better tasting rice, a dimple pan that expands heat by 20 percent for enhanced performance, a detachable steam vent, a large orange LCD read-out, a detachable power cord, and a carry handle for convenient transport. A steam basket, measuring cup, rice scoop, and a user manual in English, French, and Chinese come included. The 835-watt rice cooker measures 14-1/5 by 11 by 9-4/5 inches and carries a one-year limited warranty.

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Zojirushi BBCC-V20 Home Bakery Traditional Breadmaker Review

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(More customer reviews)My mother taught me to make homemade bread as a child and I have been making it ever since, but a breadmaker certainly is easier. I've had two, a Magic Chef which stopped working after I accidentally left the pan soaking overnight (the mechanism that turns the paddle won't budge), and a Zojirushi, which I now use every week, and don't leave soaking in the sink. (I chose the Zojirushi because it had good reviews and because I have their rice steamer and love it.)
Features I like: Double paddles. This is absolutely the way to go if you want a horizontal loaf, otherwise some of the flour can get stuck in a corner and not get mixed up. You can solve this by scraping the sides during mixing, but having to do that sort of defeats the purpose of a breadmaker.
Another thing I like is the "Homemade" setting, which allows you to customize the cycle times. The default is for French Bread, which, incidentally, comes out very well. One caution, their recipe calls for 3 teaspoons of yeast, which caused it to overrise. I now use 2 teaspoons and get great results. Also, the "default" setting for Homemade/French Bread wasn't set correctly on mine at first, but the instruction manual listed the correct settings and it was easy to reprogram. Good instruction manual, by the way.
One other nice feature is the preheat cycle. The trickiest part with bread machines is getting the right amount of yeast for the machine's timed rise cycles. Cold liqueds slow down yeast action, warm ones speed it up. I've found that the preheat cycle helps give more uniform results. (Age and amount of yeast affects it too, but the breadmachine can't compensate for that.)
Most of the other features, like jam and cake settings, I never use.
Disappointments: The window gets steamed up during processing and opening the cover causes it to pause so you can't really watch what it is doing. Also, the delay timer only works with the "Basic" bread setting. I wanted to set it to have French bread ready when I came home, and couldn't.
The thing I use most: The "Dough" setting. I prefer to let the breadmaker mix everything up for me and do all the initial risings, and then throw it in a pan for the last rising and bake it myself. This way the paddles don't get baked into the bottom of the loaf, and I don't have to worry about over or under rising. Honestly, it is the yeast that causes most problems people have with breadmakers. Old yeast, or not enough, and your bread comes out like a brick. Too much and it either overrises and sticks to the top, as it did the first time I made French bread with 3 tsp. of yeast, or it caves in during baking and you have a U-shaped top. (If it rises but the top is flat, rather than rounded, it's not the yeast. You probably have too much liqued or too little flour - adjust accordingly.)
I don't use mixes, so I can't comment on that, but I have an electric wheat grinder and often use fresh ground whole wheat (which they don't recommend), and this breadmachine handles it beautifully. I like being able to use all healthy ingredients, like whole wheat instead of white flour, and honey instead of refined sugar. In this case though it does need extra yeast, since the whole wheat flour is heavier.
I recommended this breadmaker to both my step-mother and my best friend, so I guess that's a pretty high recommendation. (My mother still does it by hand. Maybe someday I'll get her to try a machine.)

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One of the most wonderful sensory experiences has to be the smell of baking bread. It nourishes the soul and warms the heart, just as the finished product nourishes and warms the body. This bread maker not only makes a splendid horizontal loaf, it's easy to use and clean, meaning it won't join the dud appliances gathering dust while they wait for the next yard sale.

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Panasonic SD-YD250 Automatic Bread Maker Review

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(More customer reviews)[Between 4 and 4.5 stars]
The Panasonic SD-YD250 is pretty much the state of the art in bread machine technology in mid-2003. It's one of the larger units around with a 2.5 lb. loaf capacity. This size will also eat up your counter or cupboard space: you need just under 14" of width and height, and 10" of depth, so keep that in mind when you order.
The bread consistency is excellent. It's even pretty good in the "rapid" mode, though the results are a bit better in the standard bake mode so that's what I generally use. Also, the "rapid" mode for whole wheat or multigrain bread is 3 hours (vs. 5 hours standard), so it's not like you can start the machine at the beginning of a meal and expect completed bread before you leave the table. The fastest full cycle -- "rapid" bake mode for white bread -- is 1hr 55min.
The SD-YD250 is quieter than most earlier bread makers; however, you'll still hear the clicking and whirring as it mixes and kneads the dough. It's a neat idea to wake up to the smell of freshly-baked bread but the machine isn't quiet enough to run in the bedroom unless you're a VERY sound sleeper.
The options for this machine include the following:
o basic/rapid bake
o immediate start/timer delay
o white/whole wheat/multigrain
o sandwich (soft crust)
o crust color light/medium/dark
o raisin (pause and beep to add fruit or nuts)
o dough knead without bake
o bake without dough knead
Note that not all of these options can be combined. For instance: you only get crust color selection for white bread, and sandwich mode for white and whole wheat; multigrain bread always has a dark, tough crust (although the bread inside the crust is moist and well-textured).
The container inside really is nonstick (based on my not-so-lengthy use since I bought it) and the kneading blade does very little damage to the finished loaf. Ease of use and cleanup are both excellent.
Bread results are quite sensitive to variations in the ingredients in either weight, consistency, or age. Always use fresh BREAD flour and fresh yeast (bread machine yeast recommended) and the right amount of salt, sugar, and flour. The recipes in the included book specify flour weight in units like 16 3/4 oz., so it's HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you get a digital kitchen scale for good results. Note that this will require still more counter space.
Summary: a very good machine, but you'll need a fair amount of counter space and attention to details to get the best results from it.

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Panasonic SD-YD250 Automatic Bread Bakery with 4 Baking Modes

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