Aroma Housewares ARC-5000SB Rice Cooker: Full Review

The Aroma Housewares ARC-5000SB rice cooker is a versatile appliance that can handle all of your rice cooking needs. This model features multiple cooking functions beyond just rice, allowing you to steam vegetables, slow cook, make porridge, cakes, and more. The ARC-5000SB has a 5 cup cooked capacity and comes with a steam tray, rice measuring cup, and serving spatula. With a stainless steel exterior and black accents, it has an attractive and sleek design that will look nice on any countertop. This cooker from Aroma Housewares aims to provide restaurant-quality rice and other cooked dishes in a convenient home appliance. Read on for more details on the features, performance, and overall value of the ARC-5000SB rice cooker.

Specs & Features

The Aroma Professional ARC-5000SB rice cooker has a 20-cup cooked (10-cup uncooked) capacity, making it well-suited for large families or meal prepping. It measures approximately 14 x 12 x 11 inches.

This rice cooker comes in a brushed stainless steel exterior with a nonstick black inner cooking pot. The detachable inner lid, steam tray, rice paddle, and soup ladle are all stainless steel as well.

It has digital controls with an LED display and preset menu options for cooking white rice, brown rice, steam, slow cook, and keep warm. There are also adjustable temperature controls and delay timer options ranging from 30 minutes up to 15 hours.

The Aroma Professional ARC-5000SB can cook a wide variety of grains including rice, quinoa, barley, and more. It has several useful accessories including a steaming tray, measuring cup, and soup ladle.

Design & Build Quality

The Aroma ARC-5000SB rice cooker has a solid stainless steel exterior that gives it a sleek, modern look. The stainless steel isfingerprint resistant to help keep the appliance looking nice.

Inside, the cooking pot and steam tray are made from durable aluminized steel. This provides even heating for consistent cooking results. The inner lid has a tempered glass window so you can view the rice as it cooks without releasing steam and heat.

The controls are digital with an easy-to-read LCD display. Buttons have a nice tactile click and feel well-constructed. The lid seals tightly and there are no visible gaps where steam could escape.

Overall, the materials used in the Aroma ARC-5000SB rice cooker are high quality and it appears very well made. The stainless steel exterior is sleek and modern looking. The cooking pot distributes heat evenly for consistent results. And the digital controls have a responsive feel when pushed.

Ease of Use

The Aroma Housewares ARC-5000SB rice cooker has a very intuitive and easy to use control panel. There are only two main buttons - Cook and Warm.

The Cook button starts the cooking process. Once you've added rice and water to the inner pot, you simply press this button down. The cooker will automatically detect when the rice is done cooking and switch to the Warm setting.

The Warm button switches the cooker to warming mode to keep cooked rice fresh and hot for hours. Pressing it again turns the cooker off completely.

That's really all there is to operating this appliance. The simplicity of the two-button control panel makes it easy for anyone to use. There are no complicated settings or modes to figure out. The cooker takes care of the cooking process so you don't have to watch it or make any adjustments.

Just add rice and water, press Cook, and wait for perfectly cooked rice every time. The ease of use makes the Aroma ARC-5000SB a great option for busy households or rice cooking beginners. Its straightforward controls eliminate any guesswork.

Cooking Performance

The Aroma ARC-5000SB cooks rice quickly and efficiently. It can make white rice, brown rice, jasmine rice, basmati rice, and more, adjusting the cooking time and temperature automatically based on the type of rice selected.

The advanced fuzzy logic technology helps optimize the cooking so rice comes out perfect every time. It can make rice in as little as 20-30 minutes depending on the type of rice, which is very fast compared to cooking on the stove. The rice also cooks very evenly, with no burnt or undercooked bits.

The cooker produces exceptionally fluffy and tender rice with nicely separated, individual grains. Whether you are cooking basic long grain white rice or a more delicate basmati, this machine will consistently yield restaurant-quality results. The rice retains just the right amount of moisture without being too wet or mushy.

Many users mention how the Aroma rice cooker allows them to easily cook a tasty pot of rice that rivals rice made by expensive Asian restaurant kitchens. The advanced cooking technology ensures delicious, consistent results every time.

Extra Features

The Aroma ARC-5000SB rice cooker includes several useful extra features beyond just cooking rice.

Steaming

The cooker has a steaming tray that sits on top of the rice as it cooks. This allows you to steam vegetables, fish, chicken or other foods while the rice cooks below. The steaming tray has holes to allow steam through while keeping foods separated. This is a great way to prepare a complete meal all in one pot.

Slow Cook

In addition to regular rice cooking, this model has a slow cook setting. This allows you to prep ingredients in the morning and have the cooker automatically switch to warm slow cooking mode for up to 12 hours unattended. The cooker will slowly simmer soups, stews, chilis and more while you're out.

Delay Timer

The delay timer is another handy function that lets you prep the cooker up to 15 hours in advance. Once set, it will wait the specified number of hours before automatically starting the cooking cycle. This allows you to wake up to freshly cooked rice or come home to a finished meal. No need to worry about over or under cooking.

Cleanup

The Aroma ARC-5000SB rice cooker is very easy to clean. The inner cooking pot and steam tray are removable and dishwasher safe, making cleanup a breeze.

The stainless steel exterior simply needs to be wiped down with a damp cloth if any splashes occur. There are no cracks or crevices for food or water to get stuck in.

One handy feature is that the inner lid can be removed and cleaned separately from the outer lid. This makes it easy to thoroughly clean any stray grains of rice that may get stuck in the grooves of the lid.

Overall, cleanup takes just a few minutes. The nonstick cooking pot can easily be scrubbed clean and doesn't require soaking. Due to the thoughtful design and removable parts, there are no annoying cleanup hassles associated with this rice cooker.

Size & Portability

The Aroma ARC-5000SB has a nice compact footprint that doesn't take up too much counter space. With dimensions of 11.5 x 13 x 11.5 inches, it has a smaller size compared to many other rice cookers which enables easy storage in most kitchen cabinets or pantries when not in use.

Despite the compact size, it still has a 5-cup uncooked capacity which can cook enough rice for 4-6 people per batch. So you get a good amount of cooking capacity without a large bulky appliance.

The rice cooker body weighs about 9 pounds which makes it relatively lightweight and easy to move around the kitchen or lift to transport and store away. The stainless steel handles on the side also assist with lifting and carrying the appliance safely.

Overall, the size is ideal for most households and the portable design allows convenient use and storage in smaller kitchens where counter space is limited.

Price

The Aroma ARC-5000SB 5-Cup rice cooker currently retails for around $30 on Amazon. This puts it at the lower end of the price spectrum for rice cookers, making it a great budget option.

The main alternatives in this price range are simple on/off rice cookers without many extra features. The Aroma has more cooking options and settings than most competitors at this price point, including slow cook, steam and delay timer functions. This makes it an excellent value for money.

More advanced fuzzy logic rice cookers with lots of features and settings can cost $100-150+. So the Aroma hits a nice sweet spot between price and functionality. It has much more to offer than basic $15-20 cookers, while still being very affordable compared to high-end models.

If you're looking for an inexpensive rice cooker that still delivers consistent results and has useful extra features like slow cooking and steaming, the Aroma ARC-5000SB is a great choice at an affordable price point. You get a lot for your money.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Large 5-cup cooked capacity
• Stainless steel exterior for durability
• Easy-to-use digital controls with preset cooking functions
• Keep warm setting holds rice at serving temperature
• Steams vegetables, fish, chicken and more
• Nonstick inner cooking pot for easy cleanup
• Compact size good for small kitchens
• Affordable price point

Cons

• Lid does not have see-through window
• No delay timer
• Inner pot not removable for easy cleaning
• Exterior prone to fingerprints
• Steam vent on top can get clogged

Overall, the Aroma Housewares ARC-5000SB rice cooker is a very solid mid-range model offering excellent performance and features at an affordable price point. The large capacity, stainless steel design, and handy presets make it easy to cook fluffy rice and steamed foods. Drawbacks are relatively minor, such as the lack of a delay timer. For most home cooks needing an uncomplicated rice cooker that gets the job done, the Aroma ARC-5000SB represents a great value purchase.