For anyone living alone who wants to buy a rice cooker then the most sensible option most of the time is to go for a 3 cup machine. This is because there is little point having an appliance that is much bigger than you require. In actual fact, a 3 cup rice cooker can make enough rice to feed five people so in most cases this size device will be perfect.

Which machine to get is going to be a much more challenging decision. There are a range of budget rice cookers including the Aroma ARC-733G, the Black & Decker RC3303 and the Panasonic SRG06FG. However this article is going to focus on where to buy a Zojirushi NS-LAC05 rice cooker. This device is not a cheap rice cooker however nor is it one of the most expensive. I feel that it is actually a great value machine that has some excellent features without costing the earth.

Zojirushi are known all over their home country of Japan as being one of the top two manufacturers of rice cooking appliances. The other top producer is Tiger. Most Japanese people will tell you that they have one of these brands of rice cookers at home.

The NS-LAC05 has some really cool features. One that I like is that the inner lid comes out. This means that cleaning off the steamy, sticky residue that gathers on the lid while cooking rice can be easily washed off. The steam vent also pops out making the whole machine a breeze to clean. As far as cooking the rice is concerned, it has a spherical inner cooking bowl. This is beneficial for heat distribution and ensures that each grain of rice is cooked to perfection. The styling of this unit is also very impressive. It has a stainless steel finish which both looks good and is easy to keep clean. If you are looking for a small, reasonably priced rice cooker, the Zojirushi NS-LAC05 could be what you need.