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 List Price: $24.99 Sale Price: $16.95 
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Oster's 4722 Rice Cooker and Steamer is the perfect way for couples or small families to make rice perfectly and easily. This rice cooker has a three-cup capacity that amounts to 6 cups of fully cooked rice. The 1-liter steaming tray cooks up healthy vegetables. The cooker can even be used to prepare soups and fondue. And don't worry about different household schedules: The glass lid and keep-warm functions ensure rice won't get cold. Nonstick pot and steaming tray are removable and dishwasher safe for easy cleaning. Includes Manufacturer's Warranty.
- Cooks a variety of food including rice, soup, fondou and more
- Prepares up to 10 cups of rice
- Includes 1-liter steaming tray
- Automatic keep warm feature
- Integrated one-touch operation
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I’ve never owned a rice cooker before this, however, I have cooked lots of rice over the years. Its an inexpensive rice cooker and if you follow the directions, it’ll do fine.
Since moving to the mountains of Colorado, its taken me years to adjust to the lowered the boiling point due to the higher elevation (8300′)… it takes more time (add ~10-20min) and the dry climate means using more water (for a 1 cup of dry rice, takes ~2.5+ cups water rather than 2cups). Still, there have been many times when rice just didn’t work out the way I wanted.
So I mentioned that it would be nice to have a rice cooker and let it deal with the cook time. Of course I had done some research, and when this came in the mail as a present, I was a little nervous since Oster’s seem to get so-so reviews. Well, I cooked my typical basmati rice, a 1/2 cup dry and added my typical 1c water plus extra, put lid on, pressed the button and went to do something else.
A lot of reviewers mention how the rice on the bottom gets over-cooked, sometimes brown or burnt. Some reviewers like the crunchiness, some hate it. Well, the directions tell you to stir the rice – especially the bottom of the cooker after 15 minutes. Sure enough, the rice at the bottom was starting to stick. I scraped it all loose, added another 1/4 cup water, chopped it up a little, put the lid on, and let fate take its course. Would the rice by a burnt mess? 20 minutes later we had the best sticky rice we’ve ever had!
Plus it seemed to cook faster. And I really liked that it went to ‘warm’ mode automatically. One major drawback: It spewed hot sticky water up under the lid and through the vent all over the kitchen but once we wiped the lid off (without picking up the lid), it settled down. If you are a neat freak or want a set-and-forgot, this rice cooker is not for you. And for me, I’ll come up with a little steam catcher helmet and deal with the mess. For the price, its a good buy. And, I love the red color too!
[found this cool tip from Spyce: To help keep the starch from bubbling up and spraying out of the vent hole, rinse the rice thoroughly and drain. Heat a small amount of olive oil in the rice bowl, once the oil is heated, carefully add the rice and saute it for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the water and continue cooking.] I’m going to try this tip next time!
BTW, this cooker seems like a knock-off of the similar Rival rice cooker (both owned by Jarden]
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Look, all rice cookers require a degree of set-it-and-forget-it-but-pay-attention. It’s in the nature of the beast.
I put into the cooker a scoop (included measurer) of brown rice, 2.5 cups water, a veggie bouillon cube, and some olive oil; and in *ABOUT* an hour, sometimes less, sometimes more, check your local weather conditions, I have a VERY NICE bowl of WELL-COOKED rice. Okay, sometimes it needs to sit an extra hour, power off, to fluff properly. So COOK AHEAD OF TIME!
I can serve it directly or use it in a salmon skillet; different results require some attention to detail, but anyone who CANNOT use this device is an IDIOT.
In the two years I’ve owned this machine, I’ve cooked MINIMUM five hundred bowls of rice. It works.
I ADORE this machine.
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I just used my rice cooker yesterday and was very pleased with the results. It makes just enough for my family size (there’s only two of use) and the clean up is easy.
I was concerned about the sputtering that I have read that other rice cookers make. I didn’t encounter that problem at all. I used jasmine rice in mine and decreased the amount of water in by a 1/4 of a cup. I also rinsed it quite a few times and since I don’t have a proper strainer (I believe I read that a mesh strainer would be good for this) I still had some water left over. That was the reason for the water decrease, although it wouldn’t have been more than a few tablespoons at best.
It cooked a lot quicker than I thought it would. The instructions say to stir at the 15 minute mark, which I did. About a minute later, the light switched to the warming function.
I haven’t used the steamer tray yet since I usually just stir fry mine but I will give it a try with some green beans. Not sure how it will work but I’ll give an update on its success or failure.
All in all, I can see myself getting a lot of use out of this product.
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I almost did not buy this rice cooker because of the reviews I read here……..but I did get it….as I liked the fact that the lid is separate and can be put in the dishwasher….I made rice in it and it came out perfect. I had no sticking on the bottom at all…….just follow directions and stir rice after 15 minutes…….then forget it……I use 2 cups rice and four cups water….salt and sprayed the bottom with a little pam……perfect…..I cook a lot of rice as I add it to my dogfood…..with canned and dry….and we eat rice at least once a week…..so buy it….it’s a great price…
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I love my little rice cooker. It’s smaller and is perfect for a small family or single person. Only problem I have is rice sticking to bottom but that’s probably my fault. It’s cute and takes up little room in my cabinets. On the counter it takes up little room as well. I use it about 3 times a week. Definitely a good buy!
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I bought this thinking it would take up so much less space on my counter top than the other model I had in mind. I got home to use it and was so disappointed until I read a comment someone else made about a review. It did sputter and spit and shoot rice water on my counter and the rice seemed to stick-the trick is to add a little butter or oil of your choice and a little salt. Now it works like a charm! I usually add liquids and butter first, then the rice. I start it up an hour or two before I want to actually eat the rice, or even longer. I’ve let it run for 3-4 hours before. It keeps the rice nice and warm all that time. I use this about every day-we love rice and I just started a gluten free diet so I’m eating more rice instead of noodles. I’m glad I checked the reviews after the initial disappointment. This one is a keeper.
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I just got this cooker today, so durability is not something I can rate yet.
These are the things I like;
1. No plastic. This was important for me. Both the bottom rice cooker and the steamer tray are metal. The lid is glass.
2. Nice and compact. I cook for my wife and myself, so I don’t something huge, and of course storage space is always limited. The steamer tray is small; on the other hand, the manual claims that this can cook up to 5 cups of rice.
3. Easy cleanup. Yes some of the rice made a gooey mess in the bottom, but a little soaking took it all right out.
4. Inexpensive.
5. Multi-purpose. I have used it once so far, and here’s what I did. I put some brown rice in the bottom rice cooker, and some salmon, broccoli and cauliflower in the steamer tray. The manual says nothing about steaming anything other than veggies, but I thought I’d try it. The result: Excellent. The salmon was cooked to perfection, and so were the vegetables. So I had a complete, tasty, and healthy meal, all in one cooker, and so long as I was prepared to let the bowl and the tray soak for a bit, cleanup was a breeze. Oh and you can make soups, stews, etc. instead of cooking rice. It’s not a large-capacity cooker but it would make plenty of stew for two people.
Things I don’t like:
1. No timer. It apparently senses when the steam is gone, and then switches to “warmer” mode automatically. The only control is a switch that goes from “cook” to “warmer.” This also means that you have to unplug it to turn it off, though that doesn’t bother me.
That’s about the only thing I have to carp about so far. It didn’t bubble or spit at all.
If I can get at least three or four years of regular (and by regular I mean nearly daily) use out of this thing, I’ll consider it an extremely good value.
Update June 2010: OK sometimes it does bubble and spit a bit. Nothing terrible. I’ve used it probably 25 times altogether without any problems. Considering the low purchase price, I’d call this thing a good value. I’d buy it again.
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Purchased item as a b day gift for my daughter. She used it the day she received it and was very pleased. The seller was fast and reasonable. No problems
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The cooker works rather well. I thought because it is so cheap that it might not work well. It does the job and it’s easy clean up because the lid and the rice pan come right off. Some cookers have the lid attached and they are more difficult to clean.
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Works great for me.I steam vegetables and rice at times. Also I have hard boiled eggs in it.
I use it about 3 times a week. Looks like a million dollars also.Easy clean too.