Rice cooker question

[RyanD]

Hello,
I'm having trouble deciding which rice cooker to get. Seems like they all have that non-stick bowl, which is probably teflon (is this bad for rice cookers as well as frying pans?). Also, one choice has a "dark grey aluminum non-stick bowl). I'm not sure about this. This is however one of the better quality ones apparantley, all the other ones that I see just say "non-stick," so I don't even really know what they are made of. Do you guys have any advice? Thank you

Ryan

[shelley]

Get the one that's just a plain gray bowl. Mine has no coating at all, so maybe it's the aluminum version? It IS very light. Hmm. this is interesting, I didn't consider that it may be aluminum.

[J F]

I have Martin Yan's rice cooker that has a light silvery gray bowl that weighs about as much as a feather. It is not non-stick, but cleans out quickly if you let some hot soapy water sit in it. I assumed it was aluminum and likely bad for me, so I don't use it all that much. Doesn't aluminum leach into foods?

Wouldn't it be safer to learn the right timing for cooking some rice in a Calphalon pot? That way you get the non-stick without the worry of leaching, no?

[shelley]

yep, aluminum does tend to leach. So calcphalon or ceramic would be best. 20 minutes of a light simmer is what's needed for most long-grain rices.

[itslaura]

Strange though it may sound, I bought a rice cooker at Walgreen's - got it on rebate so it couldn't have cost more than $10 - and I love it! It has a metal bowl, not a non-stick, and makes perfect rice.
Laura