Instant Zest 8-cup vs Zojirushi 5.5-Cup Neuro Fuzzy

Awesome decision on my part! It cooks my rice (jasmine and basmati) sooo perfectly. I like the pot in this rice cooker way better than the one that was in my Aroma. The Aroma would almost overcook the rice sometimes, and even if it was just nicely cooked, the rice stuck. The Instant Pot does not stick! It's a much better coating

The rice from this cooker is delicious and the process was very simple after discovering that long-grain rice, which is what I eat, is the exception rather than the rule for this cooker. On the Quick Start Guide, a single sheet added to the enclosed paperwork, (and not anywhere in the manual that I could find) it states that the cooker is designed for short and medium grain rice. The Quick Start Guide says that long-grain rice should be cooked using the Mixed rice setting. Fine, except that in the smaller print of the operating manual it says that the Timer function, which I'd like to use, is not available for Mixed rice

The keep warm setting though I don't think you should use for long periods cause it will keep cooking the items in the pot, so be careful with that.

I especially like the stay cool handles on the bowl, which was one of the reasons I chose this model.

My 20 year old rice cooker bit the dust and I needed a replacement. I own an instant pot, but didn't care for the way rice came out of it and when I'm cooking my meal in the instant pot, I wanted a second machine for rice. I also wanted a smaller machine since my family eats grain in small portions.

The spatula holder is not easily removable without damage (because it has plastic hooks that allow it to slide in one direction) and I broke mine when I yanked it out for cleaning. But not worth the cost of replacement. How do the parts prices compare to those for, say, Instant Pot? And expensive cooking equipment really should have replacement parts available for parts that wear out. I would not buy from a company that did not offer that

You can make mixed greens and saute slow cook and keep warm now this one, the 8 cup instant pot zest only has the option go ahead and show you guys up...

Dislike how long it takes to cook, although I expected that it would take longer than using a pot on the stovetop. It is hard to time dinner if the rice is not premade, as the timer does not begin until there is only around 13 minutes left of cooking. Until then you are in the dark for how long the rice will take. Maybe this is because the time will adjust to how quickly the rice is cooking

Don’t waste your time downloading the app as suggested in the guide. It has recipes for a few other Instant appliances, but NOT for the Zest. The lid doesn’t come off for cleaning and there are NO cleaning instructions in the guide that comes with the cooker. A more complete guide is available online, but it’s just unacceptable to have to search for such basic information

I wash my rice by putting it into a tall plasticware container with a snap-on lid with some water and shaking it. I put in water, shake, drain off the water through a sane and repeat until the water runs clear. This is important because if the rice isn't washed thoroughly the bran powder will act as an emollient, which will mess up the chemical balance when other ingredients are added and could cause the cooker to boil over. I should note here that I've been washing and cooking rice the Japanese traditional way for years, so it's a bit of a ritual for me