Rice cooker
An electric rice cooker is a kitchen appliance that is used to make cooking rice easier. Only the rinsed raw rice and the appropriate amount of water need to be poured in. Cooking takes place without further intervention using the "spring rice method", in which the cooking water is completely absorbed by the rice grains or evaporates.
Conventional cooking of rice in a saucepan on the stove requires constant monitoring so that the rice does not boil over, become mushy, dry out or burn, but is still cooked sufficiently - rice that is cooked too short tastes little different, but it can lead to digestive problems. In addition, the rice tastes better if no condensation drips down from the inside of the lid during cooking . In better rice cookers, the water is therefore returned to the heating element in a different way than through the rice, where it then evaporates again.
The first automatic rice cookers were launched in Japan by Toshiba Corporation in the 1950s . Today, automatic rice cookers are very widespread throughout East, South and Southeast Asia, even in families who otherwise have little kitchen utensils.
technology
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The switch-off mechanism is temperature-dependent: the temperature in the saucepan remains constant at 100 ° C due to the water - when all the water has evaporated or has been absorbed by the rice (depending on the amount after approx. 10-30 minutes), the temperature of the heating element and the Depending on the model, the rice cooker either switches itself off or keeps it warm. The temperature sensor is a permanent magnet , consisting of selected material for a certain Curie temperature , placed between the bottom of the pot and the heating element. This magnet holds the switch contact, which is tensioned by springs. When it reaches its Curie temperature, its magnetism disappears . This occurs when the water has evaporated and the temperature at the bottom of the pot increases as the heat is no longer dissipated through the water. The magnet falls off and no longer counteracts the spring. This interrupts the switching contact to the heating element or switches to the small heating output for keeping warm. The process is similar to that of a magnetically controlled soldering iron , with the difference that the permanent magnet in the rice cooker is given a self-holding function by the spring mechanism or other circuitry , which makes it monostable and the heating element is not switched on again even when the magnet cools down. Burning is not possible due to this switch-off. Some rice cookers have two separate heating elements. For operation on a mains voltage of 220 to 240 volts they are connected in series , for 105 to 125 volts they are connected in parallel . The rice cookers are wired for a mains voltage at the factory; a switch to adapt to the available mains voltage is unusual.
application
Some rice cookers are deliberately turned down at higher temperatures so that the rice on the bottom of the pot becomes crispy. This allows it to be served as a rice cake. This crispy base is called Okoge (お こ げ) in Japanese , Nurungji (누룽지) in Korean and Tahdig (ته دیگ) in Persian .
Many rice cookers can keep the rice warm for many hours, some with a built-in timer - this is an important function in Asia, as rice is usually prepared in the morning for the whole day. Keeping it warm at a sufficiently high temperature also prevents the bacterium Bacillus cereus from multiplying , which can quickly attack cooked rice at too low a temperature and cause food poisoning .
The rice cooker has a metal pot that can be removed for cleaning ( aluminum for cheap devices , a Teflon-coated metal alloy for expensive models to prevent it from sticking). In some models, a silicone mat inserted in the pot protects against scratching when stirring.
In Southeast Asia, rice cookers with a ceramic pot are also offered. They are models with electronic cooking time control that can also be used for the preparation of soups and rice congee .
Other meanings
A solar cooker is often called a rice cooker in colloquial language, because in poor countries it is mainly used to cook rice dishes. Likewise, water-cooled motorcycles and cars from Japanese production are disparagingly called rice cookers.
Web links
swell
- ↑ a b c ChumpusRex: Rice cooker examination (condensation water return , shutdown mechanism , keep warm function), published on December 10, 2012.
- ↑ corgLLC: Rice Cooker Repair (replacement of the thermal fuse ), published on September 4, 2013.
- ^ Toshiba Firsts Of Their Kind . Toshiba Corp. Museum. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
- ↑ Help, my Porsche is getting more and more valuable! , Die Welt 11 May 2015.
- ↑ BLUTS-BROTHERS , car newspaper from June 25, 2015