Aroma Housewares ARC-753SG Rice Cooker: Full Review

The Aroma Housewares ARC-753SG is a 3 cup rice cooker that offers basic rice cooking functionality along with a few extra features. This compact, budget-friendly model has a stainless steel exterior and nonstick inner pot. It's designed to make up to 6 cups of cooked rice, allowing you to prepare small batches for 1-3 people. The Aroma ARC-753SG doesn't have fancy technology or advanced settings, but it delivers reliable rice cooking in an affordable package. With its streamlined operation and modest capacity, this model is best suited for singles, couples, and college students who want a convenient appliance for making grains quickly. The ARC-753SG balances simplicity and versatility, giving you a solid, staple rice cooker without a high price tag or steep learning curve.

Design

The Aroma Housewares ARC-753SG rice cooker has a sleek and modern stainless steel exterior that will look great on any countertop. The stainless steel construction gives it a premium, commercial-grade appearance. The stainless steel body is fingerprint resistant to help keep it looking cleaner longer. The lid and steam vent are also made of stainless steel. The stainless steel inner cooking pot features a surgical-grade 304 food-grade stainless steel interior. This high-quality stainless steel ensures even heat distribution for perfectly cooked rice every time. The inner pot has a durable nonstick coating to prevent rice from sticking and make cleaning easy. The tempered glass lid allows you to monitor the cooking process without releasing heat or moisture. Overall, the high-quality stainless steel design provides excellent durability and aesthetics.

Another excellent rice cooker option to consider is the Instant Pot 112-0170-01. It offers versatile cooking functions that go beyond rice cooking, such as steaming, sautéing, and even making yogurt. Its sleek design and intuitive controls make it a user-friendly appliance in any kitchen. For more details, visit: Instant Pot 112-0170-01.

Capacity

The Aroma Housewares ARC-753SG rice cooker has an uncooked capacity of 12 cups. This makes it a good size for families or those who frequently cook rice. With a 12 cup capacity, you can cook up to 12 cups of uncooked rice which yields around 24 cups of cooked rice. This is enough to feed about 12 people as a rice side dish.

The 12 cup capacity gives you flexibility to cook smaller or larger batches of rice. If you don't need the full 12 cups, you can easily adjust the water measurements to cook 2 cups, 4 cups or any amount up to the full capacity. This allows you to efficiently cook just what you need for any given meal.

One downside of the larger 12 cup capacity is that for smaller 1-2 person households, you may end up cooking more rice than you need in one batch. However, any leftovers can be refrigerated or frozen and used throughout the week. Overall the 12 cup capacity makes this model well-suited for most households.

For a smaller alternative, consider the DASH DRCM200GBAQ04 rice cooker. This compact model has a more modest capacity, perfect for individuals or couples. It can cook up to 2 cups of uncooked rice, yielding about 4 cups of cooked rice, making it ideal for smaller meals or side dishes. Its compact size also makes it easy to store in small kitchens or limited counter space.

Features

The Aroma Housewares ARC-753SG rice cooker offers some nice features for a mid-range appliance. One of the highlights is the fuzzy logic technology, which helps regulate cooking times and temperatures to adapt to the contents of the pot. This results in perfectly cooked rice every time, tailored to the type and quantity of rice or other ingredients being prepared.

The digital controls provide easy operation with simple buttons for basic functions like cooking, keeping warm, and delay timer. An LED display shows the cooking status and time remaining. The digital settings allow more precision in timing and temperature compared to basic cookers.

Other useful features include the steam tray for steaming vegetables, fish or meat while rice cooks below. The cooker also has a durable surgical-grade 304 stainless steel inner cooking pot with a non-stick coating for easy cleanup.

Ease of Use

The Aroma ARC-753SG stainless steel rice cooker is designed to be easy and convenient to use. It features programmable digital controls that allow you to select the cooking function and make adjustments.

There are several menu settings to choose from, including white rice, brown rice, quick rice, steam, slow cook, and delay timer. This makes it simple to get perfect rice every time, whether you want fluffy white rice or nutritious brown rice. The digital display clearly shows which function is selected.

The rice cooker also has an automatic keep warm function that kicks in after cooking. This keeps your rice at an ideal serving temperature for up to 12 hours without overcooking. You don't have to worry about checking the rice or turning the cooker off - it automatically switches to keep warm when done cooking.

The large, easy-to-grip handle and control panel make the Aroma rice cooker straightforward to operate. Inside the cooker, the nonstick inner pot is simple to clean and remove. Overall, the intuitive controls and pre-programmed functions allow you to cook rice with one-touch ease.

Rice Cooking Performance

The Aroma Housewares ARC-753SG rice cooker does an excellent job cooking all varieties of rice, including white, brown, jasmine and basmati. The cooker has specialized settings for both white and brown rice that optimizes cooking times and ensures perfectly fluffy grains every time.

One of the standout features is the ability to customize the texture of the cooked rice. There are soft, standard and firm options that allow you to cook rice to your preferred doneness - from soft and sticky to perfectly al dente. The firmness settings work very well for getting chewy, separate grains especially for rice varieties like basmati.

The intelligent cooking logic and fuzzy logic technology provides precise temperature control and adjustments throughout the cooking process. This results in light, fluffy rice with individual grains that are evenly cooked through without any mushiness or sogginess. The cooker does an excellent job adapting and responding to the type of rice being cooked to yield delicious results.

Other Cooking Functions

The Aroma Housewares ARC-753SG rice cooker includes several useful functions beyond cooking rice, making it a versatile multi-cooker for any kitchen.

Steaming: The steam tray insert allows you to steam vegetables, seafood, dim sum, and other foods while rice cooks below. Steaming is a healthy cooking method that preserves nutrients and textures. With the ARC-753SG's capacity, you can steam a good amount of food for the whole family at once.

Slow Cooking: With the tempered glass lid, the cooker can be used for slow cooking recipes like stews, chilies, and curries. The heating elements maintain an even, low temperature over long periods for tender slow-cooked foods. While not a full substitute for a dedicated slow cooker, the ARC-753SG allows some basic slow cooking for 2-6 people.

Accessories

The Aroma Housewares ARC-753SG comes with some handy accessories that make using this rice cooker even easier.

Rice Measuring Cup

The rice cooker includes a rice measuring cup that holds one cup of uncooked rice. This makes it easy to measure out the exact amount of rice you want to cook. The cup has clear markings showing cup measurements from 1/4 up to 2 cups.

Serving Spatula

A plastic serving spatula is also included for scooping rice out of the inner cooking pot. The soft edges of the spatula won't scratch the nonstick surface. This spatula also works great for stir frying or sauteing food in the inner pot before switching to rice cooking mode.

Steam Tray

For steaming vegetables, fish, chicken or other foods while simultaneously cooking rice, a stainless steel steam tray is provided. The steam tray neatly fits into the rice cooker over the rice, allowing you to cook a complete meal at once. The steaming action keeps foods moist and tender.

Pros

• The Aroma Rice Cooker has an impressive 8-cup cooked capacity, making it suitable for families or meal prepping multiple servings at once. The generous size means you can cook up to 4 cups of uncooked rice, yielding 8 cups of cooked rice total. This large capacity is a major pro for the Aroma cooker.

• This machine is more than just a standard rice cooker. It has versatile functionality that allows you to steam vegetables, fish, poultry, and more all in the same pot. The steam tray inserts directly into the cooker, letting you steam foods while rice cooks below. This makes it easy to prepare complete meals with protein and vegetables at the same time as rice. Having multiple cooking functions in one device is extremely useful.

• The Aroma Rice Cooker isn't limited to just rice and steaming either. It can also cook slower-cooking grains like oatmeal, quinoa, and barley using the same simple controls. The ability to cook a variety of grains and not just rice adds value and versatility.

• Overall, the large 8-cup capacity and the useful versatility of being able to cook many different foods with one device are major pros for this rice cooker model. It delivers more functionality than basic rice cookers.

Cons

• The lid on the Aroma Rice Cooker does not seal tightly. This allows steam to escape during cooking, resulting in rice that is not as tender. The loose-fitting lid can also allow food odors into the kitchen.

• While it is a very functional rice cooker, some users feel the price is more than they want to spend for a basic appliance. There are cheaper alternatives available. For those who cook rice frequently though, the ease of use and consistent results may justify the price.