Rice cookers are essential kitchen appliances that help you cook rice perfectly and within a short time. Apart from cooking rice, a rice cooker can do more, like making soup, cooked cereals, pasta, and veggies. You need to maintain your rice cooker regularly to ensure it cooks excellent tasting food.
Additionally, cleaning a rice cooker after every use ensures there is no hard to remove stains or stuck-on food. You will also eliminate unwanted odor and prevent watery or uncooked rice from getting in hard to reach places. I have a quick guide on how to clean a rice cooker for healthy cooking results. So keep reading...
How To Clean Rice Cooker - 5 Steps You Should Follow
Whether you have rice cookers for small family to large one cleaning a rice cooker depends on the type of material and whether the pan features a nonstick coating. Cleaning the appliance after every use is recommended because food particles from the previous cooking can burn when cooking, which brings about negative impacts on the cooker's working.
Instead of using chemicals, it is great to use vinegar and warm water to clean the cooker’s inside. And if you use chemicals, ensure they don’t get their way in the cooker or hot plate. Before you begin to clean your rice cooker, ensure you unplug and then follow these simple cleaning tips.
1. Safety Precautions:
Before you clean any electrical appliance, it is vital to ensure you do not expose the water's electrical parts. Therefore, you should keep the base of the cooker dry. Again, if you had used the rice cooker, let it cool down for around 30 minutes before cleaning it. You should also read the safety precautions that come with your rice cooker.
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2. Remove Cooker Parts:
There are several removable parts in your rice cooker that you need to take away for easy cleaning. These parts include steam cap, dew collector, inner pot, spatula, and inner lid.
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3. Prepare Your Cleaning Solution:
Make your favorite cleaning and sanitizing mixture that should include dishwashing liquid (2 teaspoons), chlorine bleach (2 teaspoons), and enough water. Take the removable parts and soak them in the mixture for about 3 hours. After that, rinse and dry them well.
When cleaning the inside pot, use a soft sponge and do not wash your kitchen utensils in the inner pot.
Again, do not put the inner pot on top of other dishes or upside down because they can cause damages to the nonstick surface.
4. Dry The Parts:
Ensure all the parts of the rice cooker are dry before you assemble them back. It is great if you clean every part independently with a soft cloth.
5. Cleaning The Inside And Outside:
Take a towel or a cloth and drain excel water. Wipe the inside and the outside of your cooker perfectly. Next, use a dry cloth to wipe the cord and get rid of food remains that might be on the heating plate. Do not allow water in the inside of the cooker because this can make it a short circuit.
Frequently Asked Questions - FAQs
Q: How do you remove stains from a rice cooker?
A: To remove stains on your rice cooker, you can wash it like other detachable parts. If your pressure cooker's lids ate not detachable, soak a sponge in hot soapy water and then remove the stains and other residues. After that, use a rinse cloth and make sure you don’t wet the cooker’s inside.
Q: How do I clean my rice cooker with vinegar?
A: Cleaning your rice cooker with vinegar is easy. Mix three cups of water with a cup of vinegar. Put the mixture in the rice cooker and let it boil. After that, allow it to cool, and then rinse the pot with water.
Q: How often should I clean my rice cooker?
A: You need to remove residue rice every time after cooking. I use soap to clean the pot if I add ingredients like oil or I notice mold growing. However, the mold will only grow if you leave cooked rice and close the lid at room temperature. If the lid is open, the rice will dry out, and no mold will form.
Q: How do you remove black stains from a rice cooker?
A: If you notice black stains in your rice cooker, you can clean them with baking soda and water. Use 2-3 teaspoons of baking soda and simmer it for some hours under low heat. Remove the cooker and let it cool down and scrub to remove the stains.
Q: How do you clean the bottom of a burnt cooker?
A: If your cooker has a burnt bottom, you can add baking soda at the bottom and add enough water. Let it simmer for 15 minutes, making the burnt residue fall from the cooker.
Q: How do you clean mold out of a rice cooker?
A: Mold can develop in your rice cooker if you leave it there for too long, which can be dangerous to your health. Once you remove your cooked rice, use water and soap to wash the cooker. Spray distilled white vinegar and water on the inside, and then rinse it.
Q: How do you remove the inside of a rice cooker lid?
A: If your rice cooker has a detachable lid, you can remove it and wash it in warm and soapy water. However, if the lid in your rice cooker is not detachable, dip a soft sponge in soapy water and then clean the lid to remove residues and stains.
Conclusion
Rice cookers might not be the most expensive appliances in your kitchen, but we all want them to serve us for many years. You can extend the life of your rice cooker if you maintain it accordingly. Cleaning your rice cooker after every use will enhance its use because dried food will not compromise the cooker's performance. By following the above tips on cleaning a rice cooker, you will enjoy extended use and optimum efficiency.
Useful References: How to Clean a Rice Cooker - Compact Appliance , Tiger Corporation
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Hello, This is Annie Walker, a 36-year-old blogger, founder, and editor of Cookware Guider from NY, USA. I am a cookware fanatic and passionate cooker. I love to cook with different types of cooking appliances (example: all types of cookware, rice cookers, slow cookers, etc) almost every day in my kitchen. I love to share my experience with my readers in my blog. Also, I enjoy helping people to solve their problems through my website. You can follow me on Twitter & Pinterest. To know details about my blog please check the about us page.