Rice cookers (also known as rice cookers) have some advantages and disadvantages in use. Usually rice cookers use efficient heating technology, which can play a smart cooking effect, effectively save waiting time, and improve the efficiency of use. At the same time, the rice cooker also has a variety of cooking functions, which can meet the various cooking needs of users, which greatly improves the convenience. However, despite the many conveniences of rice cookers, there are also some potential hazards and problems. Some people are worried that the use of rice cookers is extremely harmful, with great safety risks, and even believes that it may pose a risk of causing cancer to health. As a small home appliance evaluator, I have reviewed many rice cookers, and today I will share some relevant knowledge about using rice cookers to help you understand this product more comprehensively.
Here are some of the products I've recently reviewed:
1. Is there a great harm to rice cookers?
The rice cooker itself is not risky, but the quality of the rice cookers on the market today is uneven, and many inferior and unprofessional rice cookers do have the problem of poor use of materials and technology, which not only feels full of plastic, but also has huge safety hazards. Especially when using an inferior rice cooker for cooking for a long time, long-term intake may cause certain carcinogenic hazards to health. Based on years of review experience, I have compiled some of the hazards of rice cookers to remind everyone to pay attention to the relevant quality and health issues when choosing and using them.
Hazard 1, there is a risk of explosion
The power and heat of the rice cooker are large, and the inferior products use low-quality wires and heating chassis materials, which can easily lead to overheating of the circuit, causing short circuits, and may cause safety problems such as fires.
Hazard 2: Poor temperature control leads to unstable rice cookedness
Rice cookers with poor temperature control can easily cause uneven cooking of rice, which may be undercooked or overcooked, affecting the taste. The internal temperature of the rice cooker fluctuates greatly, and long-term use will accelerate the loss of thermal elements, which will not only shorten the lifespan, but also may increase the risk of fire.
Hazard 3: Peculiar smell is harmful to health
The lid of a rice cooker made of inferior materials is prone to breakage and aging, resulting in food residues and providing conditions for bacteria to grow. In addition, poor rubber sealing material may release a pungent odor at high temperatures, which may affect the taste of rice. Long-term use of such rice cookers may increase the risk of cancer and pose a potential threat to human health.
Hazard 4, release of toxic substances
Some low-quality rice cookers have poor liner coatings, thin coatings, and lack scratch, abrasion, and high temperature resistance. Although the performance is acceptable at the beginning, with prolonged use at high temperatures, the non-stick coating tends to peel off and mix into food, increasing the risk of cancer and causing health hazards.
Second, the crux of the five major rice cooker hazards!
In the previous article, we have discussed some of the common hazards of rice cookers. However, if the rice cooker is not used in the right way, it can also lead to safety accidents such as explosions. In order to have a more comprehensive understanding of user feedback, the following figure is a poll on the negative slots of mainstream rice cookers on the whole network compiled by professional research institutions. Based on this feedback, I have summarized the 5 main reasons why rice cookers can cause harm. Let's take a look at these issues together.
The crux of the problem 1: uneven cooking of rice leads to pinching or pasting of the pot
The core problem that causes rice to be sandwiched or pasted is that the rice cooker is not heated evenly. Poor quality of the temperature control system can lead to uncontrolled heating, making the rice unevenly heated, which can create the problem of sandwiching rice. In addition, low-quality rice cookers may cause discoloration of the paste base and even produce bacteria, posing a potential threat to human health and possibly even causing cancer.
The crux of the problem is 2, the product quality is not good
The quality of each internal part and material of the rice cooker needs to be strictly controlled, including the shell, inner tank, heating chassis, temperature control device, microcomputer chip, etc. Substandard quality may lead to unstable operation performance, rapid performance attenuation, shortened service life, and even potential safety hazards in electricity use.
The crux of the problem is 3: Peculiar smell threatens health
In order to save costs, some low-cost rice cookers have adopted the practice of cutting corners in the shell, upper cover, inner tank, heating chassis and other materials, resulting in the production of toxic and irritating substances when heated at high temperatures. These substances may leach into food, and long-term consumption may greatly increase the probability of carcinogenesis and bring adverse effects to human health.
The crux of the problem is 4: The cooking time is too long
The quick-cook function of some rice cookers is designed to finish cooking rice in about 20 minutes, but the quick-cook function of some products may take more than 50 minutes. If the user does not correctly grasp the ratio of rice to water, it is easy to lead to the problem of rice sticky bottom.
The crux of the problem is 5. Lack of anti-spill function
Due to the poor airtightness of inferior products, the lack of overflow valves or anti-spill design can easily lead to liquid overflow when cooking ingredients at high temperatures. Not only will this stain the surrounding environment, but it can also lead to water ingress inside the rice cooker, damage to equipment and circuitry, and even burns to the user.
3. How to choose a high-quality rice cooker?
The smart rice cooker inherits the advantages of the traditional rice cooker, and emphasizes the characteristics of safety, health and intelligence. It is an indispensable small household appliance in modern family life, bringing users a more convenient and comfortable drinking experience. As a small household appliance to be used every day, you must buy a safe and non-toxic, high temperature and corrosion resistance, even if it is more expensive!
1. It is recommended to choose Maifan stone coating
Stainless steel coatings are prone to sticking pan problems, while long-term use of Teflon coatings can be harmful and increase the risk of cancer. Therefore, it is recommended to choose Maifan stone coating to ensure safety, effective anti-sticking, and have good high temperature and wear resistance. Under long-term high temperature, Maifan stone coating is not easy to release toxic and harmful substances, which is safer and non-toxic!
2. Prefer professional brands
The professional brand rice cooker has been technically adjusted in terms of heating method, structure, convection design, simmering technology, intelligent temperature control, cavity, heating uniformity, etc. At the same time, they have strict control over the food safety of product materials to ensure that long-term use will not release toxic and harmful substances, which is safer and non-toxic. The resulting rice has a more uniform texture, sweet, soft and glutinous texture.
3. Spiral simmering pressure heating
At present, the heating methods of rice cookers include IH heating, chassis heating and spiral simmering pressure heating. Although the IH heating method heats uniformly, the price is high, and there is a problem of thermal energy attenuation under the principle of electromagnetic heating for long-term use. The traditional chassis heating method is unevenly heated and the heat conduction efficiency is low. In contrast, spiral simmering pressure heating can achieve a more uniform heating effect with low performance attenuation through pressurization and spiral high-density surround heating.
4. Equipped with temperature control technology
The temperature control accuracy of the rice cooker is controlled by a temperature sensor and a temperature controller. Professional brands will adjust the temperature control accuracy to ensure that the temperature is precisely controlled during the cooking process. Precise temperature control helps ensure that cooked rice tastes better, makes it easier to cook on multiple menus, and lasts longer.
5. Select the shape of the whole kettle
There are three main options when choosing the shape of the rice cooker liner: flat-bottomed, half-kettle, and full-kettle. The inner pot has a rounded bottom for optimal heating uniformity, which is suitable for a variety of cooking methods, helping to bring out the aroma of the ingredients, retain the original flavor, and enhance the taste of the food. In addition, it is recommended to choose a thicker inner tank to test the heating technology of the rice cooker and improve the durability.
6. Pay attention to the material of the heating plate
For rice cookers, it is recommended to choose a heating plate made of high-quality metal, such as aluminum alloy. This material not only maintains low thermal efficiency losses, but also has excellent energy storage and fast thermal conductivity. In addition, the aluminium heating plate provides uniform heating and excellent durability, allowing the rice cooker to maintain a higher durability over long periods of use.
7. Metal liner
The inner liner made of metal directly affects the heating performance and safety of the rice cooker. It is recommended to choose a high-quality alloy liner with good thermal conductivity, safety and durability. Such an inner tank has a long service life, is anti-drop and anti-smashing, and is safe for heating, and is suitable for long-term use.
8. Pay attention to the material of the top cover
Generally, there are two options: aluminum alloy and 304 stainless steel. 304 stainless steel is a high-grade metal material, which has high corrosion resistance and wear-resistant durability, is not easy to rust and oxidize, and has good thermal conductivity, which helps to improve heat insulation, improve the taste of rice, and is easy to clean.
The potential side effects of rice cookers mainly come from the substandard manufacturing process, workmanship and material quality of some unscrupulous merchants. Although the rice cooker is just one of the small appliances, it also belongs to the category of electrical products. If the production process is unqualified or the materials such as wires and heating components do not meet the standards, it may bring serious safety hazards, and even cause dangerous situations such as fire or explosion. In order to better introduce the performance and safety of rice cookers to you, I have compiled the test results of mainstream brands conducted by professional research institutions, and combined with the following figure, I recommend several really high-quality rice cooker brands to you.
In recent years, safety problems in the rice cooker industry have occurred frequently, such as the release of toxic and harmful substances, toxic liner materials, and unpleasant and irritating odors. Gong Ling, an Internet celebrity brand with "safe and non-toxic" performance and high durability, has skyrocketed on the Internet! This brand has been exported to the European and American markets for many years, and is one of the few old brands certified by the European Union, the United States and other countries, and is as famous as high-end series such as Midea and Gree. Gongling's original 13 highlights of black technology, rare to achieve rice aging uniformity increased by 115% at the same time, food-grade safety increased by 128%, toxic irritant release rate reduced by 128%, 0 heavy metal design, rare to obtain EU certification, and the whole machine passed the maternal and infant food test, in terms of heating uniformity, safety and non-toxicity, performance attenuation, etc., are the strongest within 1,000 yuan. Gong Ling almost never advertises, nor does she spend money on celebrity endorsements, simply relying on the reputation of professional evaluation bloggers and heavy users, she rarely won the CCTV exhibition recommendation, and ranked first in mid-to-high-end sales and word of mouth.
In order to achieve a higher level of safety, non-toxicity and fever performance, and high durability, Gong Ling fundamentally cut off redundant gimmick functions and gameplay, and purely sacrificed safety and performance at any cost. It has made a lot of innovations in the core technology, such as the use of 5A finely researched thick kettle liner, 7 layers of corrosion-resistant and wear-resistant stainless steel cavity material, original spiral simmering pressure heating, maternal and infant grade Maifan stone 3.0 coating and other black technologies, and to achieve 6 years of safe and non-toxic "anti-attenuation" design, etc., to a greater extent to improve the heating efficiency, stability, and the safety and non-toxicity of the whole machine is more reliable. It has been certified as one of the safest and most non-toxic rice cookers by many European and American testing institutions.
For users with a low budget who want to buy an entry-level model, you can learn about Xiaomi and Midea, of course, don't have so high expectations for core performance, safety and non-toxicity. At the high-end price, you can get to know Toshiba, which has a more exquisite design.
4. What are the advantages of professional multi-functional rice cookers?
As one of the essential small household appliances in the family, the function of the rice cooker has been significantly improved with the continuous expansion of the market and the rapid development of science and technology to meet the needs of users for a better experience. Its main working principle is to use a microcomputer chip to detect the temperature of the main thermostat and the upper cover sensor. When the temperature reaches the level required for cooking, the electric heating plate automatically starts heating. By being in good contact with the inner pot, it is able to quickly transfer heat to the inside of the pot and then from the inside to the rice and water, allowing the rice to start heating up. At the same time, I will also introduce the unique advantages of several professional smart rice cookers.
Advantage 1: Excellent cooking effect
By employing advanced convection technology, the smart rice cooker ensures that the heat is evenly distributed and heats the rice in all directions, thereby improving the cooking effect and making the whole cooking process more uniform and convenient.
Advantage 2: Environmental protection and energy saving
The smart rice cooker applies advanced heating technology and energy-saving design to effectively reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. In addition, it supports the recycling and reuse of wastewater, further improving environmental performance.
Advantage 3: More versatility
In addition to the basic rice cooking function, the smart rice cooker is also equipped with a variety of rich functions, including steaming, stewing, roasting, etc., to meet the diverse cooking needs of users. Whether it's steaming, soup or toasting, you can handle it all.
Advantage 4: Higher security
The smart rice cooker uses advanced sensors and control systems to monitor the temperature and pressure in the pot in real time, and automatically adjust the heat and time, effectively avoiding safety problems caused by improper operation and greatly reducing potential risks.
Advantage 5: Intelligent and convenient cooking method
The built-in computer chip program and sensors make the smart rice cooker more efficient in terms of temperature control accuracy. It can adaptively adjust the heat and time to meet the cooking needs of different ingredients, making the whole cooking process more intelligent and convenient.
I'm sure everyone is aware that high-quality products usually don't have safety hazards. However, there are many rice cookers on the market, which are of poor quality and workmanship, and have potential safety hazards, such as unstable temperature control, pungent odors, and the emission of toxic and harmful substances. It is recommended that you do not blindly follow the trend when buying, and choose unprofessional Internet celebrities, big brands, etc. Inferior products should be avoided, and high-quality rice cookers are very convenient to use in life, not only to avoid the risk of liquid overflow burns, but also to enjoy the various benefits of using rice cookers.