The two types of Aroma rice cookers we’ll cover in this post
Sometimes cooking rice can be a bit of a hurdle, but we’re here to help. We tested two of the most popular rice cookers on the market, the Aroma Select Stainless® Rice & Grain Cooker and the Aroma Digital Rice & Grain Multicooker.
The Aroma Select Stainless® Rice & Grain Cooker is a simple rice cooker that has a 100% food-grade 304 stainless steel pot to cook rice and various grains. It’s a single-button system that makes cooking rice simple in your kitchen. We picked out a six-cup rice cooker in white, but they also come in red and black colors and a larger 14 cups sized rice cooker. If you want a simple machine and aren’t too picky about your rice, then the Select Stainless® Rice & Grain Cooker is your preferred rice cooker.
The Aroma Digital Rice & Grain Multicooker is a little more complex in that it not only makes rice, but it can also make oatmeal, other grains, chili, and even steam vegetables. It also includes a digital screen and delay timer for planned meals. While the Select Stainless® Rice & Grain Cooker model is made with stainless steel, this version has a ceramic nonstick coating. This version we tested is an eight-cup rice cooker.
Between the two machines, we prefer the Aroma Digital because it gives you plump and consistent rice grains versus the Aroma Select Stainless, which can often give you unevenly cooked rice or slightly wet and slightly hard rice grains. This difference in rice consistency is due to the type of heating element in each machine.
The Aroma Digital is made with an induction heating element, which cooks food evenly throughout the chamber and the Aroma Select Stainless heats the rice from a single hot plate which can have spots that are hotter than others–this also can cause burned rice at the bottom of the pot. We also appreciated that the Aroma Digital beeped loudly to alert us the rice was finished when the Aroma Select Stainless only switched from on to warm; This could lead to dried-out rice if you forget about the cooker.
The Aroma rice cooker manuals
Each rice cooker also comes with manuals that describe how much rice and water to cook. These models also include specific rice measuring cups that you need to use if you are following the manual. One rice measuring cup equals ¾ traditional measuring cup. For the most part, both models use the same measurements for cooking white rice, but it’s displayed differently on each manual.
The Aroma Digital recommends using a 1:1.33 ratio of rice to water, which means for every 1 cup of rice you need to add 1 ⅓ cup of water to the pot. The Aroma Select Stainless states to use 2 cups of rice and fill the water up to line 2 inside the pot. We measured this at about 16 fluid ounces (or 480 ml or two traditional liquid measuring cups) and this means leaning more towards a 1:1 ratio. This latter 1:1 ratio is similar to our rice cooker post for our National brand rice cooker.
Each Aroma rice cooker also has manuals available online, you can access the Digital Rice & Grain Multicooker manual here and the Select Stainless® Rice & Grain Cooker manual here. If you have other types of
How much rice should you use?
When cooking in each of these rice cookers, it’s important to know the maximum amount of rice you can cook for each cooker. The Aroma Digital can cook between two to eight cups of cooked rice per batch. The Aroma Select Stainless can between two to six cups of cooked rice per batch. When we refer to cups, this is in reference to the rice measuring scoop that each rice cooker comes with because it differs from traditional measuring cups.
Do you need to wash the rice?
Yes, you should definitely wash rice. Washing rice helps to remove excess dirt and debris that may be leftover during processing. You are also removing extra starch on the grains and this helps to prevent mushy rice. Note if you are using enriched rice, washing rice might remove some of these nutrients.
Rice to water ratio to use for Aroma rice cookers
I’ve found that the best rice to water ratio for Aroma Select Stainless to be 1:1 and the ratio for the Aroma Digital is 1:1.33.
It’s important to note that each cooker comes with its own measuring scoop that they note measures to be about ¾ cup. All the measurements in these manuals that refer to “cups” refer to this particular rice scoop. If you want to use a traditional dry measuring cup, make sure to use the ¾ cup instead of a full one cup spoon.
While the Aroma Digital listed the number of white rice cups to water cup ratio, the Aroma Select Stainless uses the water line inside the rice pot. They also use a completely different table for brown rice and grains, so make sure to use the correct table.
| # of Rice Scoops | Rice by weight | Water Line | Water Scoops | Water Volume (ml) | Water Volume (Fluid Ounces) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 150g | Line 1 | 1 1/3 | 236ml | 8 fl. oz. |
| 2 | 300g | Line 2 | 2 1/3 | 475ml | 16 fl. oz. |
| 3 | 450g | Line 3 | 3 1/3 | 620ml | 21 fl. oz. |
| # of Rice Scoops | Rice by weight | Water Line | Water Scoops | Water Volume (ml) | Water Volume (Fluid Ounces) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 150g | Line 1 | 1 1/3 | 236ml | 8 fl. oz. |
| 2 | 300g | Line 2 | 2 1/3 | 475ml | 16 fl. oz. |
| 3 | 450g | Line 3 | 4 | 710ml | 24 fl. oz. |
For more recipes on how to cook rice see below:
- jasmine rice in an Instant Pot
- white rice in a rice cooker
- brown rice in a rice cooker
- white rice in a microwave
- brown rice in a microwave
- white rice in an Instant Pot
- brown rice in an Instant Pot
- how to cook sticky rice
- how to make sushi rice
- Instant Pot basmati rice
Aroma Select Stainless® Rice & Grain Cooker instructions
Ingredients
- 2 scoops (300 g) jasmine rice
- 16 fl oz (475 ml) filtered water plus more for rinsing
Equipment Used
- rice measuring scoop/cup that comes with the rice cooker (or weighted scale)
- rice paddle
- Strainer
Instructions
- Measure out the rice with the rice measuring scoop.
- Place the rice in a strainer and rinse under cold running water until the water runs clear.
- Transfer the rice to the stainless steel pot and add the filtered water. It should fill to the 2nd line. If you are using a different cup amount of rice, then fill the water to the same line marking. (For example, if you are using one cup of rice, fill the water to the line one marking on the inside of the rice pot)
- Place the lid on and press down on the switch so that the “cook” light turns on.
- When the switch moves up and the “warm” light turns on, it’s finished. Keep the lid on for an additional 10 minutes to allow the rice to soak up any additional moisture. After 10 minutes, remove the lid and fluff the rice with a rice paddle.
Aroma Digital Rice & Grain Multicooker instructions
Ingredients
- 2 scoops (300 g) jasmine rice
- 16 fl oz (475 ml) filtered water plus more for rinsing
Equipment Used
- rice measuring scoop that comes with rice cooker or weighted scale
- rice paddle
- Strainer
Instructions
- Measure rice using the rice measuring scoop that came with the rice cooker.
- Add the rice in a strainer and wash under running water until the water is clear.
- Put the rice into the inner chamber pot.
- Add the filtered water until it hits the same number of line as the amount of cups used. (For example, if you use one cup of rice, fill the water to the line 1 measurement marking on the inside of the rice pot.) Use your hands to flatten the top of the rice and create and even surface so it cooks evenly.
- Close the lid on top, turn on the power button, and press the “White Rice” button.
- The digital screen should show a moving pattern or line across the screen, which means it’s heating up. When there's 10 minutes of cooking left, it will start to count down.
- The rice cooker will beep and alert you when it’s finished and automatically turn to the warming function.
- Open the lid and fluff with the rice paddle.
How to troubleshoot your rice and recipe
Sometimes you get little hiccups making rice, and we’re here to help. Here are some ways to troubleshoot your rice recipes:
- If your rice is too hard, then you need more water in your rice. You can fix this by adding it in a microwave safe bowl and adding about two tablespoons over the rice and placing a towel over it. Microwave for 30 second increments until you’ve got soft and tender rice. If it’s still hard, you can add more water slowly and microwave.
- If your rice is too wet and mushy, then you have too much water in your rice. Unfortunately, you can’t remove water from the rice so you need to make sure to reduce the amount of water in the ratio the next time you make rice. If you don’t want to waste rice this time around, you can reuse the rice to make cháo gà (Vietnamese chicken rice porridge / congee).
How to clean your rice cookers
When cleaning any rice cooker, be sure to wait until the rice pot has fully cooled before rinsing. For the Aroma Select Stainless, you can use soapy water to clean the inner chamber and glass lid in the sink. Make sure to let it dry completely or wipe it down dry before using it again to cook.
To clean the Aroma Digital, you should only wash the inner rice pot, any unattached accessories used during cooking (rice paddle, rice cup), the inner lid, and the condensation collector. Use soapy water to rinse out any debris and dry completely on a dish rack or with a towel. Refrain from using any hard metal sponges to clean the chamber because this can damage the nonstick ceramic coating. Thoroughly dry all parts before using the rice cooker again.
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