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Meal Madness: Slow Cookers vs. Rice Cookers

The Heated Debate: Slow Cookers vs. Rice Cookers The Heated Debate: Slow Cookers vs. Rice Cookers
Meal Madness

Will this be the biggest upset in kitchen history? We're ready to end the rivalry between these hotly debated small appliances. Each side has a huge fan following, so we decided to pit the two against each other to determine which deserves the title of Kitchen Champion. Keep reading to learn the differences (and similarities) between these two kitchen favorites.

How to Choose Between a Slow Cooker and a Rice Cooker

Rice cookers and slow cookers may share the same "set it and walk away” ease that makes them favorites in the kitchen, but these two small appliances have some distinct differences. The most important distinction being the type of heat each creates, which effects how they’re used and the types of food that can be cooked in them.

A slow cooker distributes slow and even heat— that's why you can leave a roast cooking for hours and get tender and not overcooked results. Rice cookers work fast to bring ingredients to a rapid boil, which delivers the intense steam needed to create fluffy rice or steamed vegetables.

Slow Cookers
Rice Cookers

The Kitchen Champion

The simple truth is a rice cooker can’t do everything a slow cooker can do, and vice versa. Using a rice cooker and slow cooker together can create easy yet exceptional meals. While your chicken teriyaki finishes simmering in the slow cooker, make brown rice in the rice cooker. Or have a dessert going in the slow cooker while your shrimp and grits dinner cooks to perfection in the rice cooker.

So, who is the Kitchen Champion? You. Because when you're able to double the ease of preparing meals by using both of these kitchen favorites together, you're going to be the real winner.

Test Kitchen Tip: If you really feel the need to pick just one, select the cooker that delivers the most benefit based on your needs— the types of food you prepare regularly and the amount of time you have until dinner being key factors.

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