The Hitachi Rice Cooker range
For some reason I imagined that the Hitachi Rice Cooker range would be full of the latest Hi-tech Fuzzy Logic and Induction heated cookers that we see from the other large Japanese domestic appliance manufacturers such as Zojirushi, Tiger, National Panasonic and Sanyo. It was a surprise then to see that in fact the majority of the models in the Hitachi rice cooker range are of basic design, though some do have a couple of features you will not see on many models at that end of the market.
If you are looking for a simple automatic cook and then keep warm rice cooker, Hitachi provide a model in three popular sizes, all of which come with a steaming plate
- RD 4056 PB - 5.6 cup
- RD 5086 PB - 8.3 cup
- RD 6106 PB - 10 cup
Identical in size and almost identical in appearance to the above models are the RD 4057B, RD 5087B and RD 6107B Hitachi rice cookers. They do incorporate a couple of features which many will find very useful, namely an audible signal is sounded when the cooker has finished cooking, and an on/off power switch so that you do not have to disconnect the plug from the socket to turn the power off. These models also have non-stick cooking pots in addition to steaming baskets.
More feature rich are the 5 cup RZM 10 SY and the 10 cup RZM 18 SY Hitachi rice cookers. Similar in appearance to pressure cookers, these rice cookers have air tight locking lids, which along with a 12 hour keep warm function help to keep unused rice in the pot fresh for longer. With these models, power is automatically turned off if you remove the cooking pot from the cooker. The cooking pots have a non-stick coating for easy cleaning and the power cord for the cooker retracts into the body of the cooker for tidy storage.
There is at least one Fuzzy logic Hitachi rice cooker model in existence, the RZST 10Y, but it is not an easy item to get any information on, there being only one reference to it on all of the internet.
