One of the most useful small appliances that you will ever buy is a rice cooker. A rice cooker can do much more than cook rice and is useful in both the kitchen and the dorm room.

Rice cookers can cook rice of course, but they can also cook other hot cereals, steam vegetables, cook deserts and even cook stews and soups. While not all rice cookers can do all of these tasks, many are able to do most of them.

The best rice cookers are made in Japan. There are other models that may be less expensive from other countries, but you will enjoy using the Japanese rice cookers the most.

You will find rice cookers range in size from a three cups to ten cups. Buy the size that is closest to the amount of rice you normally cook. While larger cookers will cook smaller amounts, they work best at full capacity, but not over filled.

Additionally, you need to know that a Japanese cup is six ounces as compared to the American cup size of eight ounces. Be sure that you adjust recipes by remembering that the cups from the rice cooker are only three quarters of an American cup.

Most Japanese households favor the mid-sized rice cookers.

One feature that you will find very important for easy cleanup is the non-stick pan. This is a very high quality non-stick coating and rice literally slides out of the pan. A quick rinse and you are ready to cook the next batch.

There are three basic types of rice cookers, the on/off models, the keep warm models and the fuzzy logic models.

Some models are either on or off. The good thing is that they automatically turn off. They may not have an indicator light, but simply turn off when all the water is absorbed into the rice. These cookers are very versatile and can do a good job at cooking rice.

The next step up in rice cookers will keep the rice warm when cooking is finished. They do not have a true off position, so be sure that you unplug the cooker when finished. You will need to buy at this level or above to get a rice cooker with a non-stick pan.

Some of the rice cookers also offer fuzzy logic. This means that they have differing settings for soups or rice texture. Some even have a setting for sushi rice.

The newest and most expensive rice cookers offer induction heating. Rice comes out perfect each time as they can compensate for variations in measurements.

If you enjoy steamed vegetables with your rice, be sure that the rice cooker you choose has a steamer basket. You can steam vegetables as the rice cooks. For extra flavor in your rice add a couple of bullion cubes to the cooking water.

If you have a college student who will be living in a dorm room a small (three to four cup) rice cooker is the perfect gift. It allows the student to have rice, steam vegetables and warm soups. It is a great way for the student to have healthy meals and avoid eating only fast food.