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Which Rice Cooker Brands Are Non Toxic?
I originally bought an Instant Pot pressure cooker to use it as a rice cooker. It cooks rice very well. However, I decided to buy a rice cooker separately just for cooking rice only. Instant Pot pressure cooker is so great that I ended up using it for most of my cooking other than rice. Therefore, I decided to have a separate rice cooker. I can’t cook dinner if rice is already in the instant pot! So I researched for a non toxic rice cooker with a stainless steel inner pot. Rice cookers just like pressure cookers or slow cookers, they can be toxic with non stick coating materials. In this post, I share with you, how rice cooker can be toxic and what non toxic rice cookers are available.
How Rice Cookers Can Be Toxic
As I have mentioned in my previous post, ‘Non Toxic Pressure Cooker – Is Instant Pot Pressure Cooker healthy?‘, many rice cookers have an inner pot made of aluminum coated with non-stick Teflon. This non-stick coating is used for preventing rice from sticking to the pot. However, if non-stick Teflon is scratched, the pot can release dangerous chemicals. Teflon is safe if it is not scratched or overheated. Teflon becomes a problem if it is exposed to the temperatures exceeding 500 °F. However, Rice cooker cooks rice around the boiling point (212 °F). Therefore, there is a no concern with Teflon being overheated.
Teflon, on the other hand, is easily scratched with metal utensils. If teflon gets scratched, aluminum will leach out of the pot into food. When aluminum enters our body, it accumulates in our brain, kidneys, lungs, thyroid and liver. Some studies show that elevated aluminum content has been found in the brains of persons with Alzheimer’s disease. Also, some research suggest that aluminum-containing underarm antiperspirants contribute to the development of a breast cancer.
Teflon can also leach other toxic chemicals if it is scratched or overheated. Teflon nonstick coating is coated with a material called polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) was made with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in the past. However, due to its toxicity to cause liver disease, thyroid disorders and testicular cancer, it was replaced with another chemical called Gen X. However, Gen X is supposedly just as toxic as PFOA. In addition, for some PTFE, PFOA is still used. Therefore, teflon is toxic and it should be avoided.
Safe Alternative Material To Non-Stick Teflon Coated Aluminum
Uncoated stainless steel is a safe alternative material to non-stick teflon coated aluminum. Stainless steel is a moderately reactive material and it can leach nickel, iron and chromium into food. However, this is the case only when you cook acidic food such as tomato sauce in the pot or cooking something for a long hours of duration. Rice is not acidic nor it needs hours to cook. Therefore, cooking rice in the stainless steel is very safe.
There are many rice cookers with a ceramic coated inner pot. Although this material is not Teflon, I would not choose a ceramic coated material since the coating can be scratched. Ceramic coated pots are often coated over aluminum. In addition, ceramic coating contains nanoparticles which can enter our bodies through air or food. If ceramic coating is scratched, the pot will release nanoparticles and aluminum into food. A study published in 2016 concluded that nanoparticles get released when ceramic coated pots or pans has surface wear or damage from scratch. Ceramic coating wears off over time with normal use, making the coating thin. When the coating is thin, it can be scratched easily.
Keeping Rice Warm
Cooked rice should be placed in a closed container and refrigerated after 2 hrs. Uncooked rice has bacillus cereus, a species of bacteria that causes severe food poisoning. They survive from cooking and they can grow rapidly in room temperature. Therefore, cooked rice is recommended to be stored in the fridge after 2 hrs.
Bacteria doesn’t grow at the temperature higher than 60 degrees Celsius or 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Most bacteria grow between 40 degrees F (5 degrees C) and 140 degrees F (60 degrees C). Therefore, if the keep warm function of your rice cooker is 60 degrees Celsius or 140 degrees Fahrenheit higher, rice can be kept warm in the rice cooker. However, rice will also dry out over time and change texture when you leave rice in the rice cooker for a while. Therefore, keeping rice in the rice cooker for a long time is not recommended. Some electric rice cookers say they can keep rice up to 12 hours depending on a model. However, if you are not sure if keep warm temperature of your rice cooker is below 60 degrees Celsius or 140 degrees Fahrenheit, store rice in the fridge after 2 hours.
Non Toxic Rice Cookers With A Stainless Steel Inner Pot
Now, let’s take a look at non toxic rice cookers that have a stainless steel inner pot.
Aroma Simply Stainless Steel Rice Cooker – Non Toxic Rice Cooker
Aroma Simply Stainless Steel Rice Cooker has automatic keep warm function to keep the rice warm. It has no “Teflon ®” nor other non-stick surface materials. Aroma recommends to keep rice warm up to 12 hrs or less before rice begins to dry. You can get 6 cup (cooked rice) or 14 cup for this rice cooker.
Aroma strives to be environmentally responsible and put efforts in sustaining our environment. They use bi-degradable, recyclable packaging materials. They also adopted molded pulp in place of polystyrene foam in just Aroma’s rice cookers, Aroma is projected to keep over 40,000 cu ft of polystyrene foam and plastic out of landfills in one year – an amount that would fill over 20 semi tractor trailers.
Inner Pot: 100% surgical-grade 304 stainless steel cooking pot
Aroma Nutriware Stainless Steel Rice Cooker – Non Toxic Rice Cooker
Aroma Nutriware Stainless Steel Rice Cooker is a little fancier version of Aroma Simply rice cooker above. This rice cooker makes 14 cups of cooked rice. It has white rice, brown rice, sauce and steam function. It also has automatic keep warm function to keep the rice warm. Aroma recommends to keep rice warm up to 12 hrs or less before rice begins to dry. Inner pot of this rice cooker has no “Teflon ®” nor other non-stick surface materials. It comes with a stainless steel steam tray, a spatula and a measuring cup.
Inner Pot: 100% surgical-grade 304 stainless steel cooking pot
Oyama Stainless Steel Rice Cooker – Non Toxic Rice Cooker
Oyama Stainless Steel Rice Cooker has automatic keep warm function. It has no “Teflon ®” nor other non-stick surface materials. It also comes with a stainless steel steamer tray. Oyama recommends to keep rice warm up to 12 hrs or less before rice begins to dry.
Inner Pot: Stainless Steel (304 Grade) inner pot
Tatung Stainless Steel Rice Cooker – Non Toxic Rice Cooker
Tatung Stainless Steel Rice Cooker has automatic keep warm function. It has no “Teflon ®” nor other non-stick surface materials. It also comes with a steam plate, an inner pot lid, a rice spatula, and a measuring cup. This rice cooker has four modes of cooking: braise, steam, rice and stew mode.
The Tatung Company strives to be environmentally responsible and sustain our environment. They have been working out greenhouse gas emission inventory in the factories and subsidiaries since 2009. They also have been focusing on the development of energy-saving technologies and renewable energy service such as acquiring green mark and energy label, developing LED parts and products, solar energy wafers, film/single/multi crystal solar energy module, and critical materials for C-LiFePO4 batteries.
Inner Pot: Stainless Steel – 18/8 (food grade 304) inner pot
Lotus Foods Stainless Steel Rice Cooker – Non Toxic Rice Cooker
Lotus Foods Stainless Steel Rice Cooker has automatic keep warm function. It has no “Teflon ®” nor other non-stick surface materials. It also comes with a steaming tray and a rice paddle.
Lotus Foods puts efforts to sustain our environment and got awarded for implementing the ‘More Crop Per Drop’ system, allowing farmers to dramatically increase yields while decreasing water consumption, seed use and methane gas emissions. They were also recognized for educating their supply chain and customers about the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) ecological rice production methods.
Inner Pot: Stainless Steel (Surgical grade 304) inner pot
Final Thoughts
All of the above rice cookers do not contain teflon or any type of non stick coatings. They all have an uncoated stainless steel inner pot which food is in direct contact with. They also have automatic keep warm function which will prevent rice from sitting in a room temperature. However, rice dries out and will change texture if rice is left in the rice cooker for too long. Therefore, try cooking rice in a small portion rather than cooking in a large portion and keeping rice in the rice cooker for a day or two. Some of the brands above also come with a stainless steel steamer which you can use it to re-heat refrigerated rice.
My favorite non toxic rice cooker is Aroma Simply rice cooker. It doesn’t come with a steamer but you can purchase it separately here. I need a bigger size than 6 cup so I got myself a 14 cup Aroma Simply rice cooker.
I really like Aroma Nutriware rice cooker as well since it has a little more functions such as brown rice, white rice options and sauce, steam functions. It also comes with a steamer tray. I will be actually recommending Aroma Nutriware rice cooker to my parents since they want to get a large size rice cooker with brown rice option. Aroma not only makes great rice cookers (they are one of the leading rice cooker brands) but also they put efforts in sustaining our environment. I like what they are doing as a company. Although Aroma Simply and Nutriware are my choices for a non toxic rice cooker, any of these rice cookers I listed will work well as a non toxic rice cooker.
If you are interested in the popular Instant Pot pressure cooker, please read my previous post, ‘Non Toxic Pressure Cooker – Is Instant Pot Pressure Cooker healthy?‘,
If you are interested in non toxic cookware, please read my previous post, ‘Non Toxic Cookware Guide – What Is The Healthiest And Safest Cookware?‘
If you are interested in non toxic bakeware, please read my next post, ‘Non Toxic Bakeware Guide – Which Bakeware Is Safe And Non Toxic?‘
If you are interested in safe turkey bakeware, please read my post, ‘Non Toxic Turkey Roasting Pans – Which Turkey Bakeware Is Safe?‘
You can read my review on Instant Pot Duo Plus 60 9-in-1 pressure cooker in my post ‘Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Review – How Instant Pot Changed My Life.’
PLEASE SHARE THIS POST WITH YOUR FRIENDS OR LEAVE ME A COMMENT! 🙂
Hi Isabelle
this is a great article, thank you for sharing,
I am looking everywhere for a slow cooker appliance that is made out of stainless steel like the one you are presenting here. However, I’m concerned about the pressure. My Mom used to cook all her life with a pressure pan (old fashion one which actually was made of stainless steel) and she had a bad accident and she burnt even though she was an experienced cook.
But perhaps, I will go for a slow cooker made of stainless steel. The rice cookers you are mentioning sound fantastic, but they seem to be only to cook rice and I would like something more versatile. I have seen very good ones, but they are all made of teflon or some sort of coating, which I would like to stay away from. In addition, all my cookware is stainless steel and I cook everything with them. I got concern when you mentioned that stainless steel can react too. I make Soups, some stir fry meals, vegetables and chicken. I also steam as I have a steaming basket. For the oven ( i use a toaster over) I use glass or some hard ceramic, not coating ceramic.
Your suggestions would be greatly welcome
Thank you
Tibisay
Hi Tibisay,
Stainless steel is a very good material for cooking. Although it could leach iron, chromium or nickel when you cook salty or acidic food such as tomato pasta sauce especially for a long duration of time, it is one of the least reactive material compared to other materials. If you are concerned, you can avoid cooking tomato sauce in stainless steel cookware and try other materials such as glass. You can also add cast iron, carbon steel cookware and use it alternatively with stainless steel cookware depending on what you are cooking.
Instant Pot pressure cooker has a stainless steel insert and it cooks many different dishes including rice very well. I use it all the time and often cook rice with it as well. It has been the best cookware I have purchased so far. However, you have mentioned that you would like to avoid a pressure cooker and also want a more versatile cooker than the rice cooker I listed. Yes, although some of the rice cookers can do steam, saute or boil, it is less versatile than all in one cooker such as pressure cooker or slow cooker. Unfortunately, most slow cookers out there have ceramic, aluminum or non stick inner pot which I don’t really like and I couldn’t find one with a stainless steel inner pot. However, I found a pot with a stainless steel material which also comes with a slow cook base. You can cook all types of food including meats, veggies, soups or rice. You can use the slow cook base to turn the pot into a slow cooker. It is a bit pricy but it is made of stainless steel and seems to have good reviews. Hope this helps! 🙂
Hi
I have been searching safest cookware and have read that stainless is safer than teflon or alminum but still it’s metal and not 100% safe. The safest one is ceramic or stone. What do you think about the ceramic rice cooker? I have been looking for it but some people say that ceramic por has coating and scratches easily.
Could you please tell me about how safe stainless for me?
Thank you so much!
Hi Tee,
I woudln’t buy a rice cooker with a ceramic inner pot because ceramic can have lead or cadmium. Although ceramic material itself is inert and non toxic, ceramic glaze can contain lead or cadmium. We wouldn’t know if the inner pot has the lead or cadmium until we test it. I would only buy ceramic material cookware from a reputable company who has tested their products for lead or cadmium. You can read about ceramic material at below links.
Exposure To Lead Or Cadmium Released From Ceramics
Heavy Metals In Ceramic Glaze Pose A Risk To Health
Stainless steel is moderately reactive material compared to very reactive material such as aluminum or copper. It could still leach iron, chromium and nickel if acidic food such as tomato sauce is cooked in it, especially for long duration. However, the amount of iron, chromium and nickel gets released from stainless steel is generally not enough to cause a concern according to Health Canada. You can also try to get low nickel stainless steel material such as 18/8 or 18/10 stainless steel. Iron and chromium is generally not a concern since our body uses them unless you have iron or chromium related health issues.
I hope this helps! 🙂
Dear Isabelle,
Thankyou so much for your response and the great info! I really appreciate it.
OK, now I will finally buy a safest rice cooker, the stainless steal one that you recommend! I am so glad to found your blog. Thank you so much for sharing those great info! I will read all 🙂
Happy holidays to you and your family!
Sincerely,
Tee
Thank you, Tee!
Happy Holidays to you and your family too! 🙂
Happy holidays to you & your family!🎉💕
I am glad to see this post. I am already using a stainless steel rice cooker!! I appreciate your work!!
Thank you!
Hello,
Thank you for this article. My daughter has some medical conditions and based on the hair toxic result that we just did her aluminum level is so high so I’m looking for a safer rice cooker since ours is so old and scratched (we eat rice everyday and I had no idea it could be toxic). What do you think about Charcoal thermal spraying coated inner pot? I’m talking specifically about Cuchen rice cookers like this one : https://cuchenamerica.com/product/cjh-pc0603ictus/
I’m still learning about this so I appreciate your inputs !
Thank you.
Hi Isama,
Generally I don’t like any type of coatings in the cookware. However, I have not found any negative information about thermal spraying coated inner pot. I would need more information for me to see if this particular coating is safe. I have inquired Cuchen to see if this rice cooker contains any harmful chemicals such as PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, PFHxS,PFBS and GenX etc. in the coating. I will let you know once I hear from them. Thank you!
Hi Isabelle, Great blog! Very informative. I have a question – I’m looking at this rice cooker. https://www.amazon.com/Elephant-Cooker-Pressure-Induction-5-5-NW-ZX1/dp/B07D9RKZWF. Not cheap as you can see but that doesn’t mean it’s safe either. There’s a little diagram on the left showing the make-up of the pot – it’s all in Japanese sorry but basically (from inside out):-
Platinum (blue)
Aluminium (orange)
Iron (red)
Stainless Steel (green)
Love to know your thoughts.
Thanks a lot!
Hi Sean,
Platinum is one of the least reactive metals so it is a good material for cookware. Since aluminum is right underneath the platinum, if the platinum gets damaged, aluminum can leach out. However, many cookware has aluminum underneath because of its exceptional heat conduction. Just have to be careful not to damage the surface. My only concern is if the platinum inner material has any non stick coatings with harmful chemicals. I have contacted Zojirushi directly about the coating. Once I hear from them, I will you know. Thank you!
Hi Isabelle, Wow you are going above and beyond – thank you! Actually I already contacted Zojirushi and got the following reply:- “It is coated by fluorine with a little bit platinum powder for inside of the inner pan” so basically the same as teflon, right?
Hi Sean,
Yes, Fluorine is an univalent poisonous gaseous halogen. Fluoropolymers are a big part of the coating formula and the reason that foods don’t stick (non stick). The best known fluoropolymer is polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon). Toxic chemical, PTFE is used in the process of making Teflon Fluoropolymers. Hope this helps! 🙂
Hi Isabelle, Yes very helpful thanks a lot. I think I’ll be avoiding it. Japan, home of the quality rice cookers, has surprising few stainless steel options. I think the whole issue just doesn’t get much play here.
Yes, I understand. There were some great rice cookers which I wanted to get in the past. However, I ended up not getting them because they came with non stick inner pot. I use only a rice cooker with a stainless steel inner pot now.
Hi Isabelle,
Thanks for the great article and research!
Would any of these rice cookers work if you wanted to add chopped vegetables like carrots, squash, broccoli in with the rice? Should I get one that also does steaming? I would like to cook rice and veggies at the same time, but not sure that would work?
Thanks
Hi Mark,
It would work but since rice has to cook for certain time, the veggies will also cook for that duration.
If you want veggies not cooked too much, you would have to cook veggies separately. Hope this helps!
Great post!! I am also using it.
Thank you! 🙂
Thanks for sharing this post !! I will finally buy the safest rice cooker.
Thank you! 🙂
thankyou for this information on all cook ware coating It is word of thought for my family.
What about cast iron ? My husband just recovered from cancer. I am worry about my cookware
now. If you can give me any information on it .It would be very much appreciated
Thankyou Good Day to you!
Hi Linda,
Cast iron can release iron from cookware especially when cooking acidic foods. If you have health issues related to iron, I wouldn’t use it. Cast iron is okay, however, too much iron would not be good so I wouldn’t use cast iron material for all my cooking. I use a cast iron frying pan but use stainless steel pots and glass material pans. You can read my other post, ‘Non Toxic Cookware Guide- What is Healthiest and Safest Cookware?‘ Hope this helps! 🙂
Hi,
Really Glad to find your post on rice cooker… as I’m always in dilemma when I see the inner pot scratches… recently I bought a stainless steel rice cooker from certain brand… only tried first time and there’s weird smell (seems like burnt plastic) when cooking rice… I’m thinking the smell is likely coming frm the outer holder as its plastic… so now I’m thinking to change cooker again…
May I ask whether the Aroma brand rice cooker that you recommend has weird smell when cooking rice?
And also when it’s bubbling boiling, does hot water splatter out frm the lid?
Really look forward to your advice!
Hi Ally,
I have not experienced weird smell when cooking rice and never had splatter issues. Hope this helps!
Hi, thanks for this very informative post! Which of the stainless rice cookers is best for brown rice and basmati? Thanks so much! I don’t need a large size, and am debating the Aroma Simply Stainless you recommend, but the amazon answer to a question about brown rice were very mixed. Thank you!
Hi Saskia,
I cook brown rice everyday and Aroma Simply Stainless Rice Cooker works fine. Some people may put brown rice in the water for a little time before cooking for softer brown rice. Aroma Nutriware Stainless Steel Rice Cooker also has a stainless steel inner pot but has a little more functions. It has a separate brown rice cooking button.
I love all the hard work you’ve done for us! I’m very new to using a Rice Pot, about a week, but am loving it! Couscous, oatmeal, hard boiled eggs and basmati rice. My son wants to take one to college and eat rice regularly…he’s vegetarian and likes rice. I worry about him eating so much rice, because of arsenic. I read basmati is the safest rice, but that it still has arsenic. I tried to get him to instead eat couscous, as it is safer and also has protein. What do you think about the arsenic concern? Thank you!!! (Now I’m off to buy a new rice pot…my new aroma one has the dreaded Teflon.
Lara
Hi Lara,
I love rice too. I do have concerns with arsenic since I eat it daily. Although arsenic issue is common in rice, we can may be lower the arsenic level we are exposed to. Experts say soaking rice overnight and using more water can reduce arsenic by 82%. Also, according to Consumer Reports, brown rice had 80% more arsenic than white rice. In addition, Basmati rice from California is the lowest in arsenic. Hope this helps! 🙂
Thanks for the response! I’ll soak overnight & use more water, and only basmati white rice. Thank you!!!
Lara
🙂
Hi. Thank you for putting all this information here. I wanted to ask you, what do you think about titanium cookware? I had no knowledge that cookware could be toxic and now I am educating myself. I am Caribbean and we eat a lot of rice, I am looking for the healthiest rice cooker I can find. I wanted to know your opinion about these two rice cooker options:
Oster Titanium Infused DuraCeramic 6-Cup Rice & Grain Cooker with Steam
https://www.amazon.com/Oster-CKSTRC61K-TECO-Titanium-Infused-Cooker/dp/B01N06BZFB//ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=magneticcooky-20&linkId=35cc3843191baec23fdae9b397d226ea
or Aroma Housewares ARC-6206C Ceramic Rice Cooker
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077SM6TMT/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=magneticcooky-20&linkId=96200597e95ab1aa92c6b0817677152c&language=en_US
Hi Marianela,
I usually do not recommend any non stick ceramic coatings or ceramic inner pot. DuraCeramic uses sol-gel process and sol-gel processed materials can contain nano particles. Ceramic inner pot could contain lead or cadmium from glaze. I do not recommend any type of non stick coatings even if the product says their products are PFOA and PFAS-free. Hope this helps! 🙂
Hi Isabelle. I’m so thankful for all the hard work you’ve done for us! You are amazing! Thank you so much! I have been looking for a non-toxic automatic drip coffee maker. Do you know of any?
Hi Bev,
Most of coffee machines have a plastic water reservoir or a plastic funnel.
BUNN VP17-1SS Stainless Steel Pourover Coffee Brewer with 1 Warmer – This one is all stainless steel including the water reservoir. Only a couple of food grade silicone gromets are used. The only thing is funnel is still a plastic but you can replace the plastic funnel with the metal funnel.
There is also a all glass one if you are interested although this is not an automatic coffee machine.
Chemex Pour-over Glass Coffeemaker
Hope this helps!
Hi Bev,
Here is another option if you are interested.
Behmor Brazen Coffee Maker
I am actually writing a blog about non toxic, plastic-free coffee makers now. It will have a full list of plastic free, non toxic coffee makers. The post will be up this week or next week. Thank you!
Thank you for your help.
Thank you!
I am generally a very capable cook, but somehow perfect rice eludes me. Hence my interest in rice
cookers. Like you, I avoid chemicals and non-stick cookware, so a stainless steel option is for me.
I am so grateful to have found your site and specifically this post! I had decided on the Aroma stainless model, however, in addition to claims that the Aroma cookers sputter and spew hot cooking water during cooking, I read a review which stated (and showed) the stainless steel flaked off
of the allegedly stainless steel bowl! Is it not solid stainless??? That is very disturbing! I am now very confused about which rice cooker to buy.
Hi Roseann, the inner pot is stainless steel and I have not heard that it can flake off. If the review from one person or multiple people? Inner pot has no coating and it is a stainless steel material. I also use an Instant Pot to make rice and it is great. Instant Pot also has a stainless steel material if you want to look for a different rice cooker. Instant Pot has different models with different price points too.
Thank you so much for your reply! It was just one review that claimed the finish flaked off. Overall the reviews for the Aroma stainless steel rice cooker are positive. One more quick question for you (I apologize if it has already been asked and answered). We are a family of three. I do like to have some rice leftover. Generally, I make one or one and a half cups of uncooked rice. Many reviewers say that the 6-cup model is quite small. Do you agree with that? Thank you for all of the terrific information you provide here!
Hi Roseann,
It would depend on your preference. 6 cup for 3 people works. However, if you eat rice often, you may want a bigger one. We are a family of three as well and I personally find 6 cup model a little too small. I like to cook enough rice and leave plenty of rice leftover. We enjoy eating rice and that is just my preference.
Hi Isabelle,
What do you think about the Cuckoo rice cooker with stainless inner pot? I think it has a non-stick coating on the stainless pot. Is that coating going to be an issue?
Thank you and I love your posts!
Halie
Hi Halie,
Cuckoo website says the following for their stainless steel inner pot.
The inner pot is coated with CUCKOO’s proprietary Xwall coating, which keeps food from being contaminated
by harmful substances like aluminum and prevents food from sticking to the walls of the pot.
PFOA FREE Reinforced Nonstick Coating
I emailed them if their Xwall coating is made of PTFE and have not gotten any answers from them. The nonstick coating is typically made from a chemical called PTFE, also known as Teflon. Teflon has been PFOA free since 2013. PFOA free doesn’t mean the non stick coating is safe. Gen X, a replacement chemical often used for PFOA is found to be also as harmful as PFOA. Their rice cooker using stainless steel is great. However, I would have to research further about their non stick coating whether it is safe or not.
I never thought about how my zojirushi rice cooker has teflon and how that could be toxic to me. There is a small scratch at the bottom of it, about 1cm. Is this going to leach toxins into my food?
I also wonder how are the stainless steel rice cookers able to not have rice “stick” to the bottom of the pot? Does the rice stick there and get hardened, making it difficult to clean?
Could you help answer these questions? Thank you!
Hi JJ,
When non stick coating is scratched, chemicals or flakes from coating can go into food. The amount can be very small. However, some people want to be safe and just avoid any possibility of harm by throwing out the pan or pot (when damaged) or just avoid non stick all together.
For the stainless steel rice inner pots, if you don’t remove rice shortly after rice is cooked, rice stick to the pot and get hardened which makes it difficult to clean. However, if this happens, you can put some water in the pot and leave it for a while then it becomes easier to clean. Hope this helps.
bookmarked!!, I like your web site!
Thank you!
Do you know if I can use instant pot 6 qt steel insert into the aroma 20 cup rice cooker. I have tried from a friend- the instant pot fits perfectly inside the aroma 20 cup model that I have. But aroma comes with a nonstick pot and I want to switch to stainless steel pot. My aroma cooker still works great from rice cooker to slow cooker just want to change the insert to a healthy one.
TIA
Hi Elje,
Although it does seem like that could work, I would check directly with Aroma manufacturer first. Since rice cooker involves engineering and electricity, the manufacturer should be able to answer that question. Unfortunately, I am not an engineer so I can’t say if that works or not. Sorry about that. That could work but you would also want to be sure that is safe. Hope this helps!
I went to purchase the Aroma Simply Stainless Rice Cooker that you recommend, but at Amazon checkout, there is a CA Prop 65 Warning, but doesn’t state exactly what cancer causing chemical is present or what piece of the rice cooker has it. I noticed in one of the Q&As that someone said that the glass lid has a plastic handle and that the plastic continues on the underside of the lid. Without having the rice cooker in front of me I can only guess that is the Prop 65 piece? An insight on this? Thanks!
Hi Christine,
I have inquired about California proposition 65 to Aroma Housewares Co. They replied the following answer to the question.
Thank you for contacting Aroma Housewares. We appreciate your question regarding the ARC-757SG. The Prop. 65 label is in reference to the wiring the goes from the heating element to the power supply. If the unit were to ever catch fire the fumes from the wire over time may be harmful. Any components that come in contact with the food are safe as well as all our products have passed all FDA standards.
Hope this helps!
Hi Isabelle,
If not scratched or overheated, can Teflon be considered as safe as stainless steel ?
Hi Dan,
Teflon is doesn’t pose threat in general unless scratched, chipped or overheated although more studies may be needed.
Since pots and pans can easily be overheated, chipped or scratched, I wouldn’t get pots and pans coated with teflon. Hope this helps!
Hello Isabelle,
I’m a mother like you , but I want you clarify me about something. What is the best cookware ? is the stainless steel mention with 5ply or tri -ply or is the cast-iron and ceramic. Could you help me with that please? I ‘m very patient
I’m fine with the cooker rice with the inner has a stainless steel . Thank you and have a good evening.
Nadine,
Hi Nadine,
Sorry for a late reply. I must have missed your comment.
I think stainless steel is one of the most versatile non toxic cookware overall. I recently wrote a post about stainless cookware here. You will see an explanation about 5-ply and tri-ply in that post.
For a frying pan or grill, cast iron is a great material since it is naturally non stick without any chemical coating.
Hope this helps!
Hi,
Thank you for your article, it is very insightful. I have decided to purchase Aroma Nutriware based on your article, unfortunately no merchants can ship it over to Switzerland (including Amazon) and there is no warranty outside of US for Aroma. Do you know of another non-toxic rice cooker option that has multifunctions (steamer – with stainless stain steam rack, sauté and simmer, timer, keep warm)?
Appreciate your further guidance! Thank you
Hi Jessica,
Here are some other rice cooker options.
OYAMA Stainless 16-Cup (Cooked) (8-Cup UNCOOKED) Rice Cooker, Stainless Steel Inner Pot, Stainless Steamer Tray
Elite Gourmet Electric Rice Cooker with Stainless Steel Inner Pot (no steamer rack)
Hope this helps!
Hi Isabelle! Thank you so so much for your wonderful article. It was just what I needed! Bless you for making my search for non toxic rice cookers easier.
Kind regards
Thank you!
Hi Isabelle.. i am using the zojirushi rice cooker which is still made in japan. i think the inner rice cooker pot is from what it is called ” diamond coating ” ? do you think that is safe and okay ? please kindly advise. thank you very much and have a great week ahead.
Hi Felicity,
It depends on what type of coating is diamond coating. Do you have the model number for your rice cooker?
I can ask the company to see if it is non stick coating.
Hi Isabelle,
Thank you for your blog post, I found it very helpful, thorough and informative.
I have been wanting to get a safe non-toxic rice cooker for a long time and you have helped me narrow down the research.
I have decided on the Aroma NutriWare as I like the extra features (especially the brown rice option)
I have now ordered one, and look forward to an easier and less stressful way to cook rice for my family.
Thanks so much
Take care
Raquel
Thank you! 🙂
I have a couple of questions:
1) the price of the rice cooker on here (the more expensive aroma based on your recommendation and versatility) I am considering is similar to the cheapest instapot. Do you see a benefit in having an instapot and a rice cooker vs a med size instapot and a small instapot? One that comes to mind is you can interact with it when it’s cooking. Thoughts?
2) Are you concerned that these rice cookers might not actually keep the food warm enough to keep it safe for many hours? I have fatigue due to a health condition so I’m attracted to being able to put things in the fridge slowly and maybe graze on the rice while the rice cooker keeps it safely warm without worrying it going bad after 2 hours. Thoughts?
Hi Mariana,
Here are answers to your questions.
1) Regardng an Instapot and a rice cooker vs a med size Instapot and a small Instapot, I would choose Instapot and a rice cooker if I have to choose. For me, I would like a separate rice cooker since I eat rice very often. I want a cookware that makes just rice exclusively. Also, I feel a rice cooker keeps rice a little better than an Instapot does.
2) Rice will dry out over time and change texture when you leave rice in the rice cooker for a while. Aroma says you can keep rice warm in the Aroma rice cooker up to 12 hrs and they recommend keeping rice in the rice cooker for 12 hrs or less. Therefore, the rice shouldn’t go bad after 2 hrs as long as the rice cooker is set at ‘warm’ and is kept in the rice cooker less than 12 hrs. (I find the earlier, I transfer rice to the container and put in the fridge, the better texture of rice remains.)
Hope this helps!
Thank you for this article. I’m really struggling to find one in England. Do you have any recommendations for finding one here?
Hi Nicola,
I see Aroma rice cooker at UBuy UK here. Hope this helps!
Thank you, it looks like I’d need a power converter though as its for US power
Hi Nicola,
That’s too bad. I don’t live in UK so I am not sure if these products are sold with compatible power cords in UK. Sorry about that. I inquired at the company and I will get back to you if they sell ones with UK compatible power cords.
Hi Isabelle,
Are you aware of any non-toxic mini (1-2 cups) rice cookers available in the UK?
Thank you
Dominic
Hi Dominic,
I told one of my readers Aroma rice cooker at UBuy UK here. However, I was told that it may need a power converter as it’s for US power. I don’t live in UK so I am not sure if these products are sold with compatible power cords in UK. Sorry about that. I inquired at the company and I will get back to you if they sell ones with UK compatible power cords.
Hi Isabelle,
My son gave me an Aroma Rice Cooker (8 cups cooked) with a Bonded Granite (5 layer nonstick inner pot) for Christmas. It says it is toxin free (no lead, PFOA, or cadmium). It claims to be reinforced nonstick- not sure what that means. I try to avoid nonstick and use stainless steel instead. So I’m wondering how safe the product he gave me might be. I wrote Aroma to ask. We’ll see what they say, but I wondered if you knew.
I appreciate your article and did some follow-up on the Aroma Simply Stainless model. There is a Select Stainless product from Aroma- is that the same one you were referring to?
Thanks for your help,
Gwen
Hi Gwen,
Sorry for a late reply.
The Aroma Rice Cooker with a Bonded Granite says it has non stick inner pot. Non stick means it has some type of non stick coatings. The one I recommened on the post has a uncoated stainless steel inner pot. Hope this helps!
Great article. I can’t find a non toxic rice cooker for myself here in the UK without paying a massive delivery fee from the US! WE have so many types of rice cookers here, but can’t seem to find any.
Hi James,
Sorry for a late reply.
Thank you for asking me about rice cookers with stainless steel inner pots. I tried to look for some options, but unfortunately, I couldn’t find any at the moment. However, I will continue to keep an eye out for them and let you know if I come across any in the future.