If you are looking for a rice cooker, you can opt for a full-featured fuzzy logic cooker with microprocessor or just the basic type, depending on your requirements. Full-featured or basic? Some creativity can give you a taste of both worlds...

The microprocessor type is feature loaded and has 'fuzzy logic' to cook at the press of a button. This type of cookers could also cook a multitude of recipes. You can have different types of rice, or you can choose to cook some porridge or you may even want to boil some soup or stew in a so called 'all-in-one' cooker. For those who have tight work schedules, the delayed cooking function is very useful, to set the ready time. So you can come home from work with rice piping hot, ready to eat. What if you are tight on budget, looking for a basic rice cooker, but still want the delayed cooking function? Here's how...

What you need:

1. A basic rice cooker - one button does it all type (price range USD 20-40)
2. A timer switch (price range USD 8-15)

How to do it:

Wash rice in the rice pot and add the desired amount of water. Cover the pot and press the button to "COOK". Set the timer switch duration to 1 hour, with the time ending with the desired ready time. Say you plan dinner at 7:00pm. So start at 6:00pm and end at 7:00pm. Plug rice cooker and timer switch and switch on power. Ensure that timer on/off toggle is switched to timer on. Then turn time dial to current time.

What are the advantages?

1. You save time preparing dinner. Set the rice cooker up at night before you sleep or in the morning before you leave for work. I do it before I sleep to avoid rushing to work in the morning.
2. You save electricity. Leaving the rice cooker on the whole day on "KEEP WARM" consumes electricity.
3. Avoid discolored rice. If left on "KEEP WARM" for too long, the cooked rice will become discolored and have slight burnt taste. By switching off the power after the rice is cooked, you get snow white rice that is fluffy and nice. Tip: you can set the timer to keep warm every 15 minutes if you have unpredictable work hours.
4. You spend less. A fuzzy logic rice cooker can cost between USD70-185. Whereas a DIY setup with basic rice cooker will cost as low as USD28.