Sanyo ECJ-F50S Micro-Computerized 5-Cup Rice Cooker and Steamer
$124.95
- 5-cup micro-computerized rice cooker and steamer with fuzzy-logic technology
- Multi-menu selections; LCD clock and 24-hour timer; keep-warm function
- Titanium-coated, extra-thick nonstick pot with a round bottom for even heating
- Steaming tray, measuring cup, nonstick spatula, and instructions included
- Measures 13 by 11-1/4 by 10 inches; 1-year limited warranty
Product Description
Enjoy healthy cooking prepared easily in this mult-function unit. Making rice, soup and steaming vegetables is easy as Sanyo has incorporated the latest in micro-computerized technology in this attractive cooker. Eliminate uneven cooking with the extra thick 3.5mm titanium coated inner pot that makes sure you get no cold or undercooked areas. Since the inner pot is thick, heat distribution is more even and remains constant throughout the cooking process. This result… More >>
Home Kitchen
Sanyo ECJ-F50S Micro-Computerized 5-Cup Rice Cooker and Steamer
This is the best rice cooker ever! My wife is Asian and just loves this rice cooker, which she uses every day.
Rating: 5 / 5
This rice cooker meets all of my needs. Especially like the automatic timer, the removable inside cover(for washing), the durable titanium-coated, rounded-bottom pot and it’s compact appearance. And it’s been functioning properly for almost two years, so far. The price was right when I bought it in 2008.
Rating: 5 / 5
I had a bigger size of this rice cooker before and always happy whenever I used it. Especially when you tried to make porridge, is really best taste ever. But since I live only with my wife, the smaller one make it perfect size for us. Every day we enjoy with the result.
Rating: 5 / 5
If all you ever want to cook in your rice cooker is plain old white rice, the Sanyo ECJ-F5OS is probably going to be too much machine for you. Folks who just want white rice should consider something like the Aroma ARC-1266F 6-Cup Cool-Touch Rice Cooker which does a perfectly good job of cooking white rice for about 1/2 the price of this model.
Where this rice cooker really kicks butt is cooking things that aren’t white rice. It steams eggs & vegetables beautifully, cooks McCANN’S Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal like a champ, and makes the best brown rice I’ve ever had in my life. Seriously. I cannot express with mere words how awesome this thing is for cooking brown rice. Instead of being chewy and dull like what I was getting from my previous rice cooker, the brown rice from this Sanyo is fluffy, moist, and delicious.
Another feature that’s proved more useful than I thought it would be is the automatic timer. My wife and I recently switched to McCANN’S Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal instead of instant stuff, and with the timer on this we can just throw the ingredients into the rice cooker in the evening and then wake up the next morning to piping hot steel cut oats without having to baby-sit a pot on the stove for 45 minutes.
The build quality on this rice cooker is also excellent. The non-stick coated pot is super heavy duty, about 1/4″ thick, and has easy-to-read printed levels that indicate the amount of water required for each kind of rice or porridge. Unlike cheaper rice cookers the coating on this one is very thick, and we’ve had no problems with it scratching or chipping away. The retractable cord zips back into the unit quickly for when you want to take the cooker to the table, and the unit’s handle is sturdy and easily holds even a full-to-the-top cooker.
Overall I am *extremely* happy with this purchase and would happily buy this cooker again.
PROS:
High-quality construction
Great instructions
Easy to use
Excels at cooking all kinds of rice & oats
Wonderful home steamer
CONS:
Unit has to be sent to factory if the battery ever needs to be replaced
Rating: 5 / 5
The Japanese have turned the rice cooker into a status symbol with prices of the highest end units over $500.
The ECJ-PX50S Sanyo is a very good unit at the higher of end of the spectrum ($178 from Amazon when I purchases it but see the cost has come down quite considerably) but competitively priced when compared with units that have similar features. While the unit makes many types of rice, works as a slow cooker, and steams: I have only test the white rice, brown rice, and steamer modes.
Initial Impressions: Controls are easy to use. The construction, fit and finish on this unit is amazing. The manual is well written and helpful although the included Martin Yan recipe book is worthless and an embarrassment to both brands. It has all the features one would expect (timer, keep warm, etc) and they are easy to use. A 5 cup cooker is the perfect size for a 1-5 person family. Note: All rice cookers are measured in Japanese cups (technically a Japanese teacup). 1 Japanese cup is about 3/4 US cup.
The Rice: This device cooks rice flawlessly. I cooked about 50 batches of white rice and each batch comes out perfectly. Unlike some cheap cookers, rice in every part of the pot: from the bottom to the top, is perfect. It has a quick mode which cooks the rice in about 32 minutes which is tricky to do in a pot without burning. The quick cook mode is possible because the unit uses pressure. If you didn’t need the speed, you could buy a cheaper non-pressure assist model but I use quick-cook mode all the time. The unit cooks brown rice flawlessly also. Also, I’ve left rice in the machine for 24 hrs using the keep-warm mode and it comes out perfectly. You can adjust the texture with a setting (soft,normal, firm) and also by varying the water a little bit.
Other modes: There isnt much to say about the steamer mode excepts to say that it steams. It doesnt seem any better than using a steamer basket over the stove unless your stove is busy with other items. I haven’t used the slow cooker mode but keep in mind that this unit is a 5 Japanese cup size which a little less than 4 US cups. In other words, it is a pretty small slow cooker. That is great in some cases (you cannot under fill a large slowcooker or it burns) and not great in others. There are a lot of other rice cooking modes but I still have not tried them. But be careful. Without any recipe from the manual, I tried cooking steel cut oats in the rice-quick-cook mode and it made a real mess with oat starch shooting out of the unit. It might have worked in porridge mode which does not use pressure.
Is there anything negative about this unit? Maybe a few minor ones. Because it is a pressure unit, it has a few little parts that you would not want to lose (and you will not unless you are very careless). This also means it takes a little longer to clean, perhaps 30 seconds extra. Also, the unit is a bit noisy. Finally, with all the sophistication that went into this machine, I wish they had added a few more custom settings and recipe modes. For example, I bet it would pressure cook a potato and a whole host of things better and faster than a microwave.
Final thoughts: If you are budget conscience or simply are not that picky about your rice, you can probably buy one of many acceptable devices for under $50. If you want literally PERFECT rice every single time and a quick cook mode, this unit is worth the high end price tag.
Rating: 5 / 5