Panasonic's high-tech rice cookers are "awesome" to say the least
White rice is justice.
Speaking of the leading role of the daily dining table, it is white rice. Hokka Hokka Tei is delicious, isn't it?
A rice cooker cooks such Hokka Hokka Tei with the touch of a switch. It is an unsung hero who cooks delicious rice almost every day.
Recently, rice cookers equipped with various functions to cook rice deliciously have been released by various companies. I don't buy a new rice cooker so often, but I'm curious about the new rice cooker.
When I was eating with that in mind, I asked Panasonic for an invitation to launch a new rice cooker product. Since I can sample freshly cooked rice, I skipped the meal from the morning and went all the way!
Three evolution points of the new dance cooking series!
The new product is the "Odori-cooking SR-VSX1" series. There are two types, 5.5 go cooking and 1 sho cooking. Recent rice cookers have a lot of functions and cook rice deliciously, but this new dance cooking series has evolved further. I will introduce the points in a nutshell.
1. You can cook dried rice deliciously!
Water is added when rice is cooked, but the amount of water may change between freshly milled rice and rice that has been stocked. New rice and freshly milled rice have a large amount of water. On the other hand, the rice stored at home is in a so-called dry state where the water has been removed.
As a concrete value, the moisture content of freshly milled rice is 14%, and the moisture content of rice two weeks after milling is 12%. I don't remember eating it two weeks after I bought it ...
Which is better, new rice (freshly polished) or dried rice? Well, that's new rice (freshly milled), isn't it?
Then, shouldn't dried rice be cooked as delicious as new rice (freshly polished)? With that in mind, Panasonic has been equipped with sensing technology to determine the freshness of rice before it is cooked from 2018. It is equipped with "Omakase Judgment Cooking" that cooks deliciously with 3 elements of large heat IH, variable pressure, and high temperature steam according to the freshness of rice. And with this new model, even in the additional cooking process, the steam temperature is changed according to the condition of the rice, so that it can be cooked even more deliciously. Simply put, it will determine whether the rice is new (freshly milled) or dried rice, and will cook it according to each.
What is this commitment. Isn't it insanely amazing?
So, tasting here. I tried to compare the ordinary rice that I bought at the supermarket (more than 2 weeks after the rice was milled) with and without the rice cooked.
Then, obviously, the rice cooked with the specially selected rice is plump and chewy and delicious! On the other hand, if you cook without it, it feels like the usual rice. In other words, it's like "rice from a restaurant that sticks to rice" and "rice to eat at home." By the way, I could see the difference better when it was a little cold.
Dried rice is as delicious as new rice. This is awesome. I've been wanting it at this point ...
2. Keep the deliciousness of cooked rice together
Recently, I think there are many people who cook a lot of rice to keep it warm or freeze it. I cook a lot and freeze it. However, the taste of rice that has been kept warm for a long time or frozen is less than that of freshly cooked rice, isn't it?
The new dance cooking series solves this problem. We have evolved the "steam heat insulation" that was installed in conventional models to suppress drying and yellowing even with long-term heat insulation. The softness of rice is about 10% higher than before, and the suppression of yellowing is about 20% higher. Steam is ejected when keeping warm, and this value is achieved by increasing the number of times from 2 to 10.
In addition, a new "rice course for freezing" is installed. This is "high temperature water immersion" that equalizes the water absorption in the rice grains and softens the stickiness after reheating, "long-time boiling" that makes the grains less sticky without breaking the grains by slowly heating, and after reheating with firmness. A mode to cook in combination with "high temperature steam" that makes it easier to loosen. Both firmness and softness are about 10% higher than when cooked in normal mode.
It's best if you can cook rice every time you eat it, but it's difficult in a busy family. With such a function, you can cook rice in bulk with confidence.
3. The power of IoT evolves the deliciousness every year
It seems that the wave of IoT is finally coming to rice cookers. The new dance cooking series can be linked with the smartphone app "Kitchen Pocket". First of all, there is a function that you can change the cooking time reserved in the main body from outside, but this is well expected.
What's amazing is the function called "separate cooking" that changes the cooking method according to the quality of the rice produced that year. The characteristics of rice depend on the weather conditions of the year of production. It tends to be sticky in hot summers and dry in cold summers. Taking these factors into consideration, we will create the optimal cooking method for the rice of the year.
Moreover, it is. It cooks according to the brand of rice! There are 63 brands that correspond to each other, and they automatically cook according to the individuality of the rice. 63 brands are registered in the rice cooker by default, but more brands will be added in the app in the future.
Somehow, I feel an obsession with rice or rice cooking. Thank you for your time.
Koshihikari from Uonuma is cooked with almost no modification so that you can enjoy the taste of rice as it is. That is the best. Is Koshihikari from Uonuma so great rice ... (I've never eaten it).
If you are particular about rice, you can use this brand of rice to get the rice in the best condition. Other rice can be cooked in the regular course.
The app also has a "brand concierge" function that will tell you which rice brand is right for you when you answer the question. You might know, "I liked Koshihikari, but Sasanishiki was actually better ..."?
Rice cooker recommended for those who want to stick to rice
A new dance-cooking series that makes you feel very particular about it. The estimated retail price of the 5.5 go-cooked "SR-VSX101" is 115,000 yen, and the one-box cooked "SR-VSX181" is 120,000 yen. You can choose the color from white and black.
The release date is June 1st. It is highly recommended not only for families who are thinking about buying a new rice cooker, but also for families who want to be more particular about the rice they eat every day.
I've been using my rice cooker for over 10 years now, and it's a very ordinary rice cooker with no function, so I'd like to make it like this. Then you can buy brand rice or bang bang and cook them separately.
Photo: Kazuki Miura