Zojirushi Micom NS-TSC10 Review: Patient Rice At A Price That Needs Justifying

Eight menus, and what each one costs you in minutes

The control panel offers white/sushi, quick, mixed, porridge, sweet, brown, cake and steam. Zojirushi's manual gives the 1.0-liter model roughly 45 minutes to an hour for white or sushi rice, 29 to 40 minutes on quick, 55 minutes to an hour and five for mixed rice or porridge, 45 to 50 minutes for sweet rice, and an hour and 25 minutes to an hour and 50 for brown. Those figures assume 120 volts, a 68 °F room and 64.4 °F water, and the manual calls the on-screen remaining time a reference figure that shifts with water and room temperature.

Capacity shrinks with the menu. The pot takes 1 to 5.5 cups of white rice, but only 1 to 4 cups of mixed, sweet or brown rice and half a cup to 1.5 cups of porridge, all measured in the 180 mL cup that ships with it. The cake menu is rated for 120 g of all-purpose flour and the manual warns against baking powder or soda because the rise can interfere with the lid. Steam defaults to 40 minutes and can be set anywhere from 1 to 60, with the water boil included in the count.

The two keep-warm modes are the part worth paying for

When a cycle ends the cooker drops into regular keep warm on its own and holds there for up to 12 hours. Extended keep warm, selected with a second press of the button, runs at a lower temperature for rice that will sit a long while. The machine refuses to enter that mode after mixed, porridge, sweet or brown rice, after 12 hours of regular keep warm have already elapsed, or if the pan has cooled from a power cut. There is also a reheat function tied to the keep-warm state.

The ceiling on the second mode is printed twice on the same manual page, and the two figures differ. The conditions that block entry include "If 4 hours of Extended Keep Warm has already elapsed," while the steps for the mode say "After 8 hours of Extended Keep Warm, the Rice Cooker automatically switches to Regular Keep Warm." The 4-hour figure sits among the conditions for entering the mode and the 8-hour figure in the steps for running it, and the manual does not explain how the two relate.

The manual publishes the cost of all this patience: an average of 29 watts during keep warm on the 1.0-liter model at full capacity in a 68 °F room, against 610 watts while cooking. It also lists what not to do, including leaving the spatula in the pot, holding rice past 12 hours, and keeping anything other than rice warm. A lithium cell keeps the clock running for the delay timer, and Zojirushi says its replacement is a paid service job, not a user task.

Direct heating, a thick black pan, and a 14-inch footprint

The NS-TSC10 heats from a plate under the pan, which Zojirushi calls direct heating, and it uses a thick black inner pan with a nonstick coating to spread that heat. The step-up Neuro Fuzzy NS-ZCC10 at $279.99 lists the same Direct Heating system in its own specification table, while the NP-HCC10 at $419.99 switches to induction, which heats the pan itself. If even cooking at the edges of a full pot is a worry, that $190 is where the answer lives; the TSC10 is the model for people who decided the answer is no.

Zojirushi lists the cooker at 10-1/8 inches wide, 14 deep and 8-1/2 high, about 8 pounds, with a 3.3-foot cord that retracts into the body. The 14-inch depth is the number to measure against a counter under wall cabinets, and the manual's own rule for that spot is about steam, not the lid: "Allow enough room for steam to escape if using beneath shelving," because steam or heat may damage, discolor or deform shelving. Zojirushi publishes no open-lid height, so the clearance the lid itself needs is not stated.

The exterior is clear-coated stainless with a brown top, the inner lid detaches for washing, and the accessories are a steaming basket, a measuring cup, a nonstick spatula and a holder for it. Zojirushi states the unit is made in China in its own factory.

A year of coverage that leaves the pan out

Zojirushi America warrants electrical products against manufacturing defects in materials and workmanship for one year from the retail purchase date, requires a copy of the receipt, and repairs a covered unit with new or rebuilt parts at no charge in the US and Canada. You must phone for a return-authorization number first.

On freight Zojirushi writes only "This warranty includes shipping fees. Packaging fees are not included." It does not specify which legs that covers, and a unit found not defective or out of term comes back "at your expense." Excluded from coverage are non-electric parts and consumables, and the list names inner cooking pans, measuring cups and power cords. Zojirushi's manual warns that the nonstick coating "may wear out with use" and "may eventually discolor or peel off," and points you to a replacement pan.

Buying from Zojirushi's own store adds a one-month return option, but only for a unit still sealed in its original packaging, and you pay the return postage. Shipping to you is included, electric products go to the continental US only, and an order can be canceled by written notice for one hour after it is placed. A cooker opened, used once and disliked has no return path except the defect warranty, so the decision should be made before the seal is broken.

Skip it if rice is an occasional side, not a staple

Pass on the NS-TSC10 if your rice habit is a pot every other week. The $60 you save with Zojirushi's own NS-RPC10 at $169.99 buys a simpler machine that cooks white rice and holds it, and a twice-monthly cook will not notice the missing brown and porridge programs. Pass as well if speed matters more than texture: the fastest this cooker gets is the 29-minute quick mode, and the manual admits the grain comes out firmer on it.

Also step back if a nonstick pan bothers you as a wear item. Zojirushi says the coating on the inner pan may wear out with use, keeps the pan outside the warranty, and sells replacements, which is honest but means the cooker has a running cost. The people this machine suits are the ones who put rice on at breakfast, eat it at dinner, and would rather have the machine manage the wait than a lid on the stove.